Daily Archives: April 28, 2007

5 Comments

In my comment trails during the week, I feel like I've unwittingly started a few spotfires and it's only after re-visiting a key few blogs again that I realise conversation has flared and is burning brightly (but hopefully not out of control). Example one - I left a comment on Chris Craft's blog about my lack of engagement with the new social networking site ning. Miguel Guhlin picked this comment up and reposted it on his blog, where a very spirited debate took place in his comments section. But that's not what I wanted to write about.

This is what I wanted to write about. Darren Draper's video, "Are You Paying Attention?" has gone viral in a way that I have not seen since Karl Fisch's "Did You Know?" resource. I've seen references in edna and in a conversation with my principal yesterday, she says, "By the way, have you seen this video?"

How do I successfully explain that yes, I have seen the video but that I've seen fit to criticise it as well. But the good news was that Darren was totally open to my feedback and even has the good grace not to say something along the lines of, "Well, you do better then!"

Because the reality is that I'm not prepared to do anything else. My main point I was trying to make, and it was not exclusively aimed at Darren's video, was that a global perspective is going to be increasingly important as we interact with each other. Darren sums it up well:

However, I am saying that if we truly are a global community, and if a blog can truly be an international forum (an international classroom, if you will), then participants in that community must make a conscious effort to avoid ego-centric references to their own particular culture - for a world-wide culture is what we must become. I'm not sure if most current participants in the blogosphere truly understand their role in shaping the future. It seems to me that as participants in this global forum, we are all forming the international culture that will eventually be called "school".

We all think we know what we're talking about. But from our particular view of the world, we overlook what we take for granted and make assumptions about what others know. Julie Lindsay pointed this out recently in her preparation for the Horizon Project - to get people from different cultures successfully communicating requires give and take from all parties.

By the way, anyone is more than welcome to put me straight anytime I'm being Aussie-centric - but try and be as respectful as I was with Darren. Diplomacy is an important skill in this new learning landscape.

Attribution: Image: 'globe' by Tinker*Tailor www.flickr.com/photos/85966598@N00/204252734