Creativity & Community is the first class I have taken at IPFW where I had the opportunity to use an electronic class forum, blogging, and library express (REX).
The forum is a great way for the instructor to communicate class assignments and upcoming events, and equally great for the student to post assignments and respond to other students postings. I had used "Blackboard" at Saint Francis, but it wasn't nearly as user friendly as the Creativity & Community forum. It's much more effective than e-mail, and allows the reading of other postings as well. I hope future courses incorporate this technology into their class.
It seems like I have purchased a lot of books over the years where I only had a few assigned chapters to read, and the balance of the book went unread. It always seemed such a shame to spend so much money on a book to use so little of it. The more expensive the book, the more critical I am of that practice. Last semester I purchased a hardback theory book for $94.00 and used very little of it in comparison to the $20.00 companion book that I read in its entirety. I guess that's why I am so impressed with the reserve express (REX) through the library. What a great way to access portions of a text or journal without having to pay for the entire publication. It's quick and easily accessible, and there's no expense to access it. Educators should be more "pro-student," and I think this is a case of one demonstrating that!
I have always been somewhat intimidated with doing something new on a computer. I've had so many bad experiences with faulty programs, wrong operating systems, crashes while downloading updates, and the general intimidation of a lengthy learning curve, and the fact that anything new with a computer stresses me out. I sort of felt that way when I discovered I was going to "blog." I had heard the term, but I didn't know anything about it. I managed to follow the instructions and became a "blogger" rather quickly. Once I was up and running, it was easy. I really enjoy blogging and see it as a sort of electronic journal. It's a good way to keep students writing and is a good assignment based project.
All three approaches to accessing, reporting, and responding have been beneficial in this class by accommodating both the instructor and the student and enhancing the learning experience economically and efficiently. I hope to see more use of electronic assessing and reporting in future classes.
Technology really has come a long way since its introduction as a personal computer in the early 70's. My first computer was a Radio Shack 48k that ran a business program and eliminated the typerwriter as my basic reporting instrument. It seemed like years before computer programmers created a viable application for home use. The internet became the final trilogy for the information highway: the computer, the operating system, and the internet.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Third Place-Third Space
Most people would not recognize McDonald's as a third place, nor would they likely know what a third place was. But if they looked back at the far end of the restaurant, they would see a small group of aging men and women clustered around a small table with coffee in hand, in heavy discussion with facial gestures, body movement, and engaging conversations from all. This small group of regulars who patronize this specific location on a regular scheduled basis comprise what has been defined as participants in a Third Place. Third in the sense of home and work being first and second, and third in the sense of regulars who meet openly in a public atmosphere with other regular participants who come and go with freedom and flexibility. This group represents consistency, stability, participation, and a sense of community through their close-nit bonding, common interest, and friendship.
This group also represents Third Space. Third Space is the space where all places are capable of being seen from every angle, a space that is common to all of us, yet never able to be completely seen or understood, a sort of "unimaginable universe" where everything comes together; the real, the imagined, the mind, the body, everyday life. It is the complex totality of potential knowledge and is a thread to the complexities of the modern world achievable only through approximations, a search to move beyond what is known. Third Place is the environment, the atmosphere, the fuel that allows and fosters the permeation of Third Space with the dialogue that brings about through provoking inquiry and questioning and discussing that opens avenues and venues for in-depth conjectures and theory development, that open up doors to other kinds of spaces for discussion, projection, evaluation, and revision. Third Place engenders Third Space by providing a format for discovery, the emphasis to activate and engage the unlimited dimensions of third space, the thirding of both/and also, as Soja would say, in opposition to the lure of binarism with its closed either/or opposition.
Third Space is the playground for mind expaning drugs and hallucinogenic that intellectuals like Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley engaged in, the search for a universal explaination or revelation that accounts for all the mysteries of the world. Drugs were thought to make third spaces more available and the attainment of universal knowledge assessible to those who were chemically induced. The doors of enlightment were partially opened, but the repercussions of closure were dramatic and injurious to the participants.
Third Space is accessible to everyone. It surrounds us and embraces us, but does not reveal itself without inquiry. It is the "other-than choice that speaks to us. It is the "twilight zone" of movie buffs, or the "third dimension" of musical groups and sci-fi groupies. Thirding allows for the continuous expansion of knowledge beyond what is currently known. It is the basis of conjecture, speculation, and creativity. Thirding provides an alternative, and other-than choice that speaks and critiques through its otherness. It is not just an additive, but an alternative that has elements of similarity and also dramatic differences.
This group also represents Third Space. Third Space is the space where all places are capable of being seen from every angle, a space that is common to all of us, yet never able to be completely seen or understood, a sort of "unimaginable universe" where everything comes together; the real, the imagined, the mind, the body, everyday life. It is the complex totality of potential knowledge and is a thread to the complexities of the modern world achievable only through approximations, a search to move beyond what is known. Third Place is the environment, the atmosphere, the fuel that allows and fosters the permeation of Third Space with the dialogue that brings about through provoking inquiry and questioning and discussing that opens avenues and venues for in-depth conjectures and theory development, that open up doors to other kinds of spaces for discussion, projection, evaluation, and revision. Third Place engenders Third Space by providing a format for discovery, the emphasis to activate and engage the unlimited dimensions of third space, the thirding of both/and also, as Soja would say, in opposition to the lure of binarism with its closed either/or opposition.
Third Space is the playground for mind expaning drugs and hallucinogenic that intellectuals like Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley engaged in, the search for a universal explaination or revelation that accounts for all the mysteries of the world. Drugs were thought to make third spaces more available and the attainment of universal knowledge assessible to those who were chemically induced. The doors of enlightment were partially opened, but the repercussions of closure were dramatic and injurious to the participants.
Third Space is accessible to everyone. It surrounds us and embraces us, but does not reveal itself without inquiry. It is the "other-than choice that speaks to us. It is the "twilight zone" of movie buffs, or the "third dimension" of musical groups and sci-fi groupies. Thirding allows for the continuous expansion of knowledge beyond what is currently known. It is the basis of conjecture, speculation, and creativity. Thirding provides an alternative, and other-than choice that speaks and critiques through its otherness. It is not just an additive, but an alternative that has elements of similarity and also dramatic differences.
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