Andes Mountains
Hi. I’m thinking, or better said, reflecting on #CCK11. Now, I’m actually alone in the house (incredible but true), it’s late afternoon, a nice cool breeze is blowing gently through my window, and my gaze has come to rest on the Andes Mountains in the distance.
Now, if that sounds really cool, idyllic, then I’m glad you enjoyed it, but I’ve got to let you in on a secret.
A secret?
Yes. The fact is, if you live in Santiago, Chile, and you look out of any window, of any house, in the city, well, guess what you will see? 🙂
Right, you guessed it. You will see the Andes Mountains.
The city is surrounded by the Andes Mountains. We call it simply, “La Cordillera”, or translated to English, “the Range”.
I know, forgive me. What’s my point? What am I getting at?
Just this: In Santiago, we all see the same thing, the same mountain. Nevertheless, we all will describe it differently. You see, we are all “seeing” this mountain from 8 million different places, 8 million different spaces, 8 million different experiences of life.
Connectivism and connected knowledge is also like this.
It is reasonable to anticipate that 8 million people, for example, all with access to the same knowledge, would likely produce a huge variety of outcomes after interacting with that knowledge, whether interacting in groups or individually.
This makes the case for Stephen Downes, when he says, “Feed it Forward.” Share.
Why should I share my work, my innovation, with you? You’re lazy, and you just want to steal my intellectual creation and call it yours after you change the color or do something else superficial, right? Tell the truth, don’t be afraid. After all, we’re only human.
Well, history teaches us, time and again, that when the minds of mankind have been allowed to connect, to collaborate, to cooperate, to communicate: to share a connection of knowledge – in such cases the results have been spectacular, transformational even, for the lives of every one of us on the planet, whether for good or evil.
That’s a payoff, a payday, an outcome that justifies the risk of me stealing your intellectual ideas, if you share with me, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you agree?
Nowadays, the world is changing rapidly. We live in a day, in an age, in a time when the problems that confront us, daily, require us, all of humanity, to be embracing the underlying spirit of connectivism.
This is because there is no escaping the fact that our destiny, on planet Earth, is, has been, and always will be, a connected one…
Looking forward to connecting with your responses. Here’s the question: Why do most people NOT share their work?
Here in Chile, if you find someone sharing their work, well, how can i say this: it is rare. Is it the same in your country?
Again, why do most people NOT share their work?
I look forward to reading your comments. Let’s interact and engage on the issue of sharing knowledge, freely, in the spirit of “Aggregate – Remix – Repurpose – Feed it Forward”… (Downes, 2011, #CCK11)
Regards,
Thomas
Profesorbaker's Worldwide Bilingual Blog 
Hi ProfesorBaker!
What a beautiful , poetic blogpost. I am Linn from Stockholm Sweden, one of your classmates in cck11. I work as a teacher. Some teachers in Sweden share their work with the world and some do not. I think the main reason for not sharing is bad self confidence. You think you have to be very successful, to show to others what you do at work. But that is not true I think. You need to share when something went well but you also need to share trivial things and things that didn´t go well at all. We have a popular teacher (noone knows who it is) who is sharing, in a funny way her/his “misery”at work. People want to read about that it seems (me to), it gives you a feeling you are not alone, not the only one struggling with the less positive everday problems at work.
Nice to read your thoughts Profesorbaker, keep blogging.
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Hi Linn,
It’s a pleasure for me to make your acquaintance. Somehow, I never get over the simple “awesomeness” of a teacher in Santiago, Chile (Thomas) being able to connect with another teacher in Stockholm, Sweden (Linn). The #CCK11 course brings us together (otherwise the one is not aware of the existence of the other) and allows us to share common interests, in a networked fashion. I find that simply amazing.
Thank you Linn, for your generous words. I’m glad you liked the way I write, because I try to integrate what I’m feeling into what I’m doing. I’ve always been a holistic learner in that respect. Simply put, it works for me, the experiential approach to autonomous learning.
I agree fully with what you say about teachers needing to share not only the beautiful, positive experiences and resources, but also the “un-beautiful”, the “un-positive” aspects of our teaching experiences as well. You are correct: both provides avenues for personal enrichment and growth as a teacher.
Your anecdote about the “anonymous” teacher is quite amusing. I suppose the anonymity provides the license one needs to share the negatives of our existence as teachers. And of course, with the obstacles of personal responsibility for our words removed, one is able to share the things that are common knowledge to all, yet in a creative way, thereby turning a negative into a positive. 🙂
I thank you again for your kind words, and am pleased that you stopped by, took the time to read, and left something of yourself behind, your thoughts, as a souvenir for me on my long journey in the never ending quest to become a better teacher.
It’s like the poem, “Ithica”. It’s not “getting there”, or arriving at Ithica, that matters, but the journey itself. I recommend the poem Ithica to you Linn, you will most certainly like it…
Yes, I am sure we will have the opportunity to touch bases again as the #CCK11 course moves forward. We are now moving into Week 2, and I remain highly motivated, the same as last week. To be honest, I can hardly wait for more interaction, discussion, aggregation, and “curation”!
Have a wonderful day Linn.
Best regards,
Thomas
#CCK11
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Why don’t people share?, you ask.
Several reasons. Fear as you mentioned, but that fear has to be overcome by looking at the advantages and benefits that result with sharing – i.e. finding and collaborating with others, like yourself, that are not hesitant to share and have loads to offer.
Here’s my excuse – I’ve been teaching 10+ years, but only in the last 1/2 year did I break out of my pitiful shell of “I’m too busy to try new things and learn about technology” to where I am now, spending much of my free time soaking up the endless information and resources available of those sharing what they are doing in their classrooms. I feel like a newbie and a bit intimidated – but I’m working through that (as evidenced in the fact that I’m commenting here).
Found your blog this morning and I’m enjoying reading your posts. THANKS for sharing. 🙂
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Hi Cynthia,
Thank you very much for responding. Your reply is enlightening, because quite often we feel the fear that what we have to offer will be inadequate, or found lacking in some respect. I have myself often felt that way, especially when in the presence of some “guru”.
Then one day it happened. What? 🙂
The thought occurred to me that the only expert on my teaching, my materials, what I did or did not do in my classroom, was me. And the only way I was going to improve, would be to submit my “expertise” to the light of my colleagues criticism.
It has made all the difference in my growth and professional development. I always, 100% of the time, always learn more from interacting with my colleagues than I think would be possible if I had remained in isolation.
So Cynthia, I applaud your efforts to move out into the light, to break out of everything that was holding you back, telling you, “No, you can’t, No, you’re not smart enough, no you don’t have time, no, it’s a waste of energy, no, not today, tomorrow, no, you will be laughed at, no, you have nothing of value to share, no, no, no!”
Welcome Cynthia, because here’s the secret, the exact opposite is true. Yes, your experience, yes, your knowledge, yes, your wisdom, yes, even your very presence, here, on this blog, in this space, at this time, will certainly motivate someone else who may have been experiencing the same thing as you, fear, and now they too, can join you and I, here, in the light of day…
Thanks for stopping by Cynthia, you made my day. Feel free to stop by any time, you are welcome here, always, my friend.
Best regards,
Thomas
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