I have been thinking a lot lately about the nature of relationships. I have been using open source software for years now and it seems that the theme that under girds everything I have done has been to foster the growth and well being of relationships. Let me explain.
Years ago I began using phpBB, an open source bulletin board software written in php (hence the name) that was a robust solution to a problem I had seemingly identified; that there was no one central meeting place for the people I knew to come together and offer or request information. From prayer requests to help with the same software, phpbb served well in handling those needs. I began to see the power in connectedness. This software allowed people to remain connected despite being miles apart.
Clich? though it may sound, the relationships began to mature until one day when I realized that the relationships I had worked so hard to foster were dying away. Folks with whom I had a virtual connection were now but strangers lingering behind a screen name.
That stuck with me as I began to work with a new piece of software I thought would be the solution to creating and nurturing enduring relationships, and since it was built around the same principle (in fact it was developed from the original phpbb source code) I thought it would be the end-all solution. PhpNuke has been far from that. The simple reason is that people?s families kept getting in the way.
Which brings me to why I am even taking the time to mention this in an open-source blog. One of the oft-touted characteristics of the open-source community is that it is, in fact, a community. Support is regularly referred to as rapid because it is handled by someone who has a desire to see the software work and further the impact that it can make if it is functioning as intended.
But at what expense? Whose daughter wants mommy to trade the computer monitor for a picnic? Whose spouse is wondering what time her husband will stop coding and come to bed. I hope not mine.
So this topic of relationships has been circling in my cerebrum for some time now. Simultaneously I have chosen to undertake the daunting task of creating learning communities in my own classroom. I toyed with a number of ways to do so with a dozen or so open source software programs all supposedly interested in helping me create community. I will spare you the exhaustive list because the software itself is irrelevant; it is the underlying principle up for discussion.
The bottom line to this is simply that my own thoughts on relationship are centered on a need for face-to-face connectedness. I am not saying that there is no place for online community, rather that there needs to be time and attention given to intentional relationship building in a live environment in person.
This is not a new idea, though. I can recall some years ago before the World Wide Web reached mainstream popularity I would fire up my 8088 machine and stare at a blue screen while my computer dialed the local BBS. Sometimes I would wait hours for one of the 5 phone lines to disconnect so that I could connect. There was no call queue, just me and my amateur war-dialing to ensure maximum chance of a ringing sound that would liven up my world merely at its sound. One of the announcements that would regularly popup on login would be a list of ?GT?s?. These Get-Togethers were designed to put faces to screen names. It was always an interesting event to see folks walk hesitantly towards the picnic benches at the designated pavilion with nametags bearing their self-proclaimed identity. Introductions were made, albeit very uncomfortably, food was consumed, and then mom would come pick me up. I only went to a couple of these ?GT?s?, I always felt better when I was hiding behind the wall of anonymity offered me by a screen name.
I say all that to say this, you and I as educators have to make building and nurturing relationships an intentional part of our day. I tell my students from day 1 that they are ?mine? and that I am ?yours?. We are in this together.
Let us be purposeful about relationship. I daresay it surpasses the effect of even the most current of technologies. We all have a driving need to know someone, and be known by someone. I do not believe that can happen outside of a face-to-face encounter.
The question I have to ask myself is, are my relationship priorities in order? Am I offering my wife and daughters the husband and daddy they deserve? Or am I wondering what?s going on in the blogsphere/emailsphere/podcastosphere?
So here?s to a reordered set of priorities, intentional relationship building, and some sort of ?GT? sometime soon.
Coffee anyone?
Open Source Classroom dot com Podcast Episode 7 - The nature of relationships in open source [6:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
