Wesch Reactions
I was inspired by what Wesch said and how he said it. Also, I learned through listening to him and watching him as he explained and showed us how his blog took off. It showed me the power of communicating over the web and also how sharing a good idea can take of and influence a lot of people by the interest that it generates.
It's sort of like what happened with moveon.org. A few people got together to try and do something to stop the US invasion of Iraq. It wasn't able to do that, but the interest in social justice evolved into a grassroots movement that grew and grew until moveon.org has millions of people that follow its lead.
But, back to Wesch.
He has a lot of knowledge about the tools that one can use to make advertisements and put out a message with music and video and using interesting clips from different sites. He talked about communication and its connection to building understanding and empathy and thoughtfulness.
He does mention that the technology is useful, but its the human connections that make it all work. Or says something like that, which I agree with.
And that teachers need to inspire interest in their students. That education and schooling should be about teaching students and each other how NOT to be bored.
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Response
I was engaged by your observation that "technology is useful, but its the human connections that make it all work." I think that this is a core message that we don't hear enough about at conferences like this. Sometimes I feel like there is too much emphasis on the tool itself, and not the interaction and connection it can create. That he mentioned empathy as a critical component was very refreshing.
I wonder about the big push to make schooling fun and interesting. Is there too great a push towards that? How can we find balance with rigor?
That's a good question. I
That's a good question. I think that fun, interesting, and rigor aren't opposition. It makes for a longer conversation...!