SHARING AN EXPERIENCE
Hi, my friends!
Here I am, making the most of my time as I rest my bandaged foot up on a chair... What else can I do but enjoy communicating with all my friends, here and abroad?
This is what I had in mind when I decided to also share a bad feeling I had after the meeting with the whole staff some weeks ago at Cultura... So I wrote about my experience to "the group", knowing I would get some "pads on my shoulder"...
And what follows is my posting and all the responses I got hereafter....
Mind you, it's a looooooong piece of writing, just read what you want, "NO NEED" to read it all. Only that I think you are also involved in this rubric, as part of a group which, in Rosario, follows and believes in the use of CALL for Language Learning.
All my best to you too.
Rita
From: "Rita Zeinstejer"
Date: Sun May 29, 2005 10:00 pm
Subject: an update ritazeinstejer
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Hi, dear friends,
I always wonder how so many of you manage to devote so much time to so many
other daily chores and to this cause as well...., not my case...:-( I wish I
could !
Anyhow, just want to share what I´ve been webheading at lately... Not all my
efforts have paid. You'll see why.
After a couple of years training teachers in my Institute to use the Intranet as
a safe, though limited springboard before jumping into deeper waters, I guessed
by now teachers would gladly open their eyes into the world and enjoy the
freedom of choosing, finding and meeting... Not that easy, my friends. I did a
presentation on "Synchronous and Asynchronous Tools Aiding the Development of
Communities of Practice" last month, in which I talked about Discussion Forums,
explained the difference between Listservs and Message Boards, their features,
usefulness, examples, how to use them for classroom purposes, and then showed
chatlogs and screenshots of some of our meetings at TI, and at YM, Alado and
Elluminate, talked about our Community and about the wealth of info and of
friends available to enjoy... To me, it was just a fast glimpse, the tip of the
iceberg I showed for them to discover the rest...
And the response was negative, believe me... They came up with serious
complaints about new demands on them from me as a Coordinator. I explained my
purpose, which was just to show them what's going on in the world, what other
people are doing, this simple..., but they are blind and deaf, at least, for the
time being.
Not all has been so bad, fortunately, though this experience did disappoint me
in many a way, coming from people who know me well and whom I share many hours a
day with. On the bright side, I can also mention that I was invited to make a
presentation in a national Congress to be held in Rosario, and I chose to speak
about Blogging, as I´ve seen the topic expanded in some Spanish newspapers and
mags here. My personal experience is not that rich as to be able to come to
conclusions and make generalizations, but through the modest blog I created at
blogger.com a year ago for my CALL SIG group I have been able to try many of the
features and artifacts likely to be added, thanks to Bee, Aaron and Graham and
to many of you, always ready to give out and share. I´m planning then, WITH YOUR
CONSENT, to open up the session (it´ll be in July) showing some of your blogs,
explaining features as I go, since once I start with the slides I dont want to
interrupt the sequence, when I explain purposes and pose possible uses for
classroom purposes.
I also submitted my "Vindicating Chat" in Spanish (my fave so far, one always
has a fave deep down....) to a big International Congress in Buenos Aires,
organized by the Government, on Educational Trends Today, I´ll let you know if
it´s accepted in advance to ask for volunteers for the final salutation to the
audience...
And I have also been invited to the 2005 FAAPI Conference in Santa Fe (150 km
away from Rosario), where I´ll present a more detailed "Synchronous and
Asynchronous Tools Aiding the Development of Communities of Practice", where
once again, the Webhead Community will shine through...
Meanwhile, I keep studying as much as I can, thanking you all for just "being".
Definitely, were it not for this fabulous Community, my existence would have
missed all this joy ;-)))
Hugs to all,
Rita
From: "Dennis Newson"
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 4:38 am
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] an update dnewson2001
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Rita,
Just a slightly sad but nonetheless reassuring ('It doesn't only happen to you')
anecdote from
one of several e-lists for TEFL that I run.* There was a ferociously worded
attack on the list
and what it does and doesn't do - not from one of the local teachers, but from a
contract
teacher from outside..
We decided to start from the beginning. There are about 120 members. I invited
them all to
briefly introduce themselves, arguing that it is odd writing to a list when you
don't know who
people are or where they are from.
Four people answered.
From: "Rita Zeinstejer"
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 10:34 am
Subject: Re: an update ritazeinstejer
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Thank you, Dennis, it does help to see it also happens somewhere
else... This is one of the relieving aspects of sharing...Gives you
the fortitude to go on. But it's hard, remember..."If you can keep
your head when all about you/ are losing theirs and blaming it on
you "....? At times I wonder...
Most gratefully,
Rita
From: Michael Coghlan
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 10:58 am
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] an update mikecogh
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Thanks for sharing these thoughts Rita. I could pick up on many points, but
I like your last one:
At 10:30 AM 5/30/2005, you wrote:
> Definitely, were it not for this fabulous Community, my existence would
> have missed all this joy ;-)))
This is a point I like to make when giving presentations at conferences and
workshops. I can doubt the value of Internet technology, the lack of
universal and affordable access, the time it takes, and difficulties it can
cause, but on one issue I have no doubt. It has made my life infinitely
more interesting, enjoyable, and stimulating. And I know there are
colleagues and students out there who have not yet experienced this
transformation but they will. Maybe not everybody. But a significant
proportion of the planet are potential webheads, and all we can do is stand
before people and declare what we know to be true. If they don't want our
message, that's fine. But some will listen, and follow.
- Michael.
From: John Hibbs
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 11:59 am
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] an update johnwilliamh...
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Nice, Michael Coghlan - and worth repeating ---
From: John Hibbs
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 12:38 pm
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] an update johnwilliamh...
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I share Rita's observations about the difficulty of causing those in
our church to want to sing with out choir. Here is a case in point.
I am provided a nice apartment inside a fraternity house with 50
young men with whom I also share a *lot* of meals and "lot" of
educational activities. I have compelling reasons to believe they
like and respect me. I have equally compelling *examples* to show you
that they are not willing to give up their comfortable practices of
avoiding use of electronic tools (except for cell phones for social
purposes and video games for entertainment).
They do have a list serv, but nobody pays much attention to it. We
set up a blog site, but nobody views it. We set up a message board,
but nobody posts there. We have a lovely computer study room, with
two late model Windows and two Mac G-3's all connected to
broadband..which supplements and adds to the broadband connectivity
to every bedroom in the house.
Because many classes have Blackboard platforms, they use that; they
also register on line. From the outside one would think they would
both love the Internet and be glued to its future.
Yet, they don't use it much - except to copy papers which cause
amazement when the (savvy) professor runs a search to see who
originally authored the piece. They don't use it for job purposes. I
don't think one person in 50 knows how to use Acrobat (except to
click on their Adobe reader). They actually resent the posts I make
to the list serv about sites they might view for personal,
educational or employment opportunities ---"John, why can't you print
out the good stuff and put the piece of paper in the mail boxes
outside your door?."
They never heard of an autoresponder and mabye two in fifty have
built a web site.
And these kids will lead America in the first half of the 21st
Century? Ya gotta be kidding?
From: "Rita Zeinstejer"
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 1:09 pm
Subject: Re: an update ritazeinstejer
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Thanks, Gentlemen Michael and John! You have managed to make my
day...;-)!
From: "Teresa Almeida d'Eca"
Date: Mon May 30, 2005 1:41 pm
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] an update - Rita teca2002pt
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Dear Rita,
There comes a time when those who devote more time than others need to
retreat and take some time out. I did that over Easter and will do so again
sometime over the summer. The problem, Rita, is that everything always
sounds exciting and it's very difficult to say 'no'. I always learn the hard
way! Only when I'm dead tired, as is the case at the moment.
Anyway, regarding your message, all I can say, to start with, is that I wish
all our online and offline efforts paid all the time. Just think about
students: we do everything possible and impossible to motivate them, help
them learn, etc, etc, and what do we get in return, often with more students
than we'd like? Total frustration! But does that make us stop, do less, feel
down? It doesn't to me! It makes me want to do better and try to motivate
them in different ways.
As you said, there are compensations in the midst of all the negativeness
and resistance that you encounter among close colleagues, namely, all those
invitations that you should be proud of. They mean that you're work and
message are getting across, though not at the rhythm you'd like, nor within
your closest collaborators. I've felt the same in my school for years, and
even within APPI, but I haven't given up. At school, my students are
experiencing something that may never experience again, and they feel
excited with every CALL lesson. At APPI, there are always the regular
participants - my fans, as I call them -, but there's always a group of new
faces every year. And I'm sure that there are always those that I'm getting
across to.
I second your words
"Definitely, were it not for this fabulous Community, my existence would
have missed all this joy ;-)))"
and everything that Michael said in his reply, especially
"It has made my life infinitely
more interesting, enjoyable, and stimulating."
How true!
Wny similarity between WiA and the offline world at my school is pure
coincidence!!!
Keep up that Webhead spirit, Rita! When you need a pat on the shoulder and a
caring word, come to this fabulous community where you will always find
warmth, sympathy and... a loving word!
Warm hugs,
Teresa
From: "Vance Stevens"
Date: Tue May 31, 2005 7:31 am
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] Re: an update vance_stevens
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And may I add ...
I've been in this business a long time and I've overcome almost every
obstacle there is. I remember at one meeting (in Oman back in the mid 90's)
where the director was trying refurbish the language lab with new versions
of, what else, what was already there, and I was arguing that we needed an
e-lab with cd-roms, which was state of the art before Internet, and after
I'd made my spiel one colleague thanked me but noted his concern about my
leading everyone into the dark, when I'd thought of it as leading into the
light. Guru literally means dark-light, so back then I must have been
regarded as a Rugu. One coordinator asked me if what I proposed would allow
her to do exactly what she had been doing in the past (students listen,
record their voices, listen to what they have recorded). In other words, no
concept of what could be done with the new programs, ideas rooted firmly in
the past. At the time the administrators were arguing that ESL instructors
didn't need email because they didn't do research and could not possibly
have anything to say to professional colleagues around the world.
Nowadays that campus is wired with Internet available not only to the
language center but to the housing of the instructors, and students, as
well, and the story has ended happily.
A couple of points need to be made. In the future there will be more not
less technology. Teachers will become more not less familiar with the
emerging technologies at the root of new developments. Those who are aware
of what is going on and proactive will be in control of the new technologies
as they start getting used by students and the process starts getting driven
from the bottom up; hence better able to direct developments in
pedagogically appropriate directions. Those who are resistant will either
lose their resistance and join you in your enthusiasm or eventually be
displaced by younger teachers who will increasingly agitate for more
progressive workplaces.
Take heart and hang in there,
Vance
From: elderbob
Date: Tue May 31, 2005 1:40 am
Subject: Re: [evonline2002_webheads] an update elderbob@...
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Michael and Rita,
I am in agreement up to a point. There is no doubt about this community
of believers and how interesting, enjoyable, and stimulating they makes
our lives. But there is a reason for such camaraderie....and that is
because we are in many ways like peas in a pod. Our interest in being
at this trough of knowledge, has to do with the technology we are being
fed. Everett Rogers, in his 1962 book, _/Diffusion of Innovations/_,
states that it is his belief that about 2.5% of our world is made up of
"innovators" - folks who are "venturesome, educated, and full of
multiple information resources". I think there are several of these
brave souls populating our little community, who are truly innovative
and I am glad I have come to know some of them. They simply have a
knack for creating a new thing out of thin air. But most of the rest of
us, are in the group that Rogers identified as "early adopters" - we are
social leaders, popular, and well-educated. We are also risk takers.
We come to WIA because we feel that our need for forward movement will
be satisfied by our affiliation with others of the same ilk. I think
that is what makes Webheads such a strong vibrant community. I, like
many of you, know that if I log in on Sunday to the TappedIn hour or if
I read the RSS from EVonline, or if I signal to one of the myriad of
tiny Yahoo IM lights blinking on my night screen, I will be connected to
a community of souls who are slaving away at taking new technology and
adopting it as if it were their own and adapting it to whatever purpose
they may have dreamed of. By close reading and listening, I will
likely be given links to the newest educational technology creations out
there and a may even be able to grab a hint or two about how to these
new technologies.
Interestingly, it is the very technology we use to communicate with that
allows us to access and embrace this community of alikes. It is this
same technology that you say you "doubt the value of", that allows this
community to "be". More than once, have I used the term 'disruptive
technology" to describe what we do here. I think it is a bit of a
misnomer, but it is the best term I could think of to describe the kind
of utilization of technologies for purposes they weren't intended for.
This is not intended to be an indictment against the combined values of
the group but instead a compliment to their veracity and intellectual
ability. It is our "re-directing" of technological gadgetry that gives
us our reputation as being a "cutting-edge" group of souls.
I really don't believe that a significant portion of the planet has the
potential to be webheads. And if you see the inhabitants of WIA in the
manner I describe, you will find that you likely agree with Roger's
estimation that only about 13.5% of the world are "early adopters". I
think that is part of the reason that many of us find it so frustrating
that our associates at work and home just don't seem to understand or
agree with what it is that we are about. As proof, I site the examples
the several webheads who have posted to this list in the last couple of
weeks voicing their frustration of trotting out their experiential
knowledge to a larger group and having it apparently rejected by that
group. I have been careful to indicate that it only "apparently
rejected" because in the long run, the early adopters here are just
ahead of the swarm that will soon be using the wonderful tools that they
have embraced and manipulated into a viable instructional intruments in
their own classroom. I understand how frustrating this can be, and I
also understand how comforting it can be to find this community of like
early adapters to discuss that frustration with. But as I stated in an
earlier Email to Hala, we must persevere. We cannot let those that do
not yet understand it, refuse to allow it in the classroom. So many of
us plod away at new techniques to make the technology more and more
accessible to the next level that Rogers so aptly described, the "Early
Majority" (people who are moderately open to change, who have numerous
social contacts, and work with deliberate vigor to spread their beliefs)
which make up about 34% of the population, and to the "Late Majority"
(people who are slightly more skeptical and more traditional in their
thinking) which comprise another 34%. These two groups comprise the top
of the "bell curve". They are the great majority. By the time they
embrace the technology we are now so fond of, we will have moved on to
some newer technology. The "Early Majority" are your colleagues who are
interested in what you do, and would like to know more, but find it
difficult to let go of ways they are more familiar with. The "Late
Majority" are the ones we get most frustrated with because so often the
represent the middle-of-the-road "safe" approach to technology. It is
not unusual to find that this group often contains the administrators
and supervisors that keep us from doing the things we want most to do.
Finally, there is indeed, a group on the other side of the "bell curve",
the "Laggards". The are folks without a lot of contact with the more
modern world. They tend to stay in their own small communities of like
minded "laggards", just like the Webheads have their own communities of
"Innovators" and "Early Adapters". They are the least likely group to
change. They comprise a mere 16% of the bell curve or population of the
world. They are the "It will never work" and "I tried that but I could
never understand it" folks. One would think that they would stay out of
the system altogether, but they are also a part of the system, and in
some ways help to balance out the those of us on the other end of the
spectrum.
I am struck by this recent quote by Eric Hoffer, "In times of change,
the learners will inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves
beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists". We
are all learners here.
And another quote, which is making the rounds in the some educational
systems in the states where science is being spotlighted by more
conservative groups...."If evolution were outlawed, then only outlaws
would evolve."
Michael and Rita, and so many more of you, there is not one sliver of
doubt in my mind that you are in the right place. You are in that small
group of technological pioneers that will lead us to new times. You are
in the right place. Don't ever let the frustration of being on one edge
of the "bell curve" diminish what you do. If we do not persevere, then
the entire structure of the curve changes and the tipping point falls
back to more conservative backwards looking agenda.
We all have to keep on keeping on, and when the tough times arise, know
that this small community is your home. Here, you are safe. Here, you
are among the like-minded. Here, you are among friends.
elderbob
PS. Ok, I am off the soapbox now.
posted by Rita Zeinstejer at 5/31/2005 10:12:00 AM
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