"Every metaphor does four things:
It creates
something new; it obsoletes something old;
it
rekindles something from the past, and it sets the
stage for its own reversal."
Marshall McLuhan
This morning I received an email. This led to a twitter search for one of the people included in the email chain, someone new to my networks who has similar interests (@sam_bruzzese). This lead to looking at the twitter stream from this other individual to examine interests and activities. Which led me to an insightful tweet with a link. This link was to a document written by Marshall McLuhan in 1957 titled Classrooms Without Walls.
After reading this, I immediately returned to twitter and re-tweeted to send it out to others, tagging some individuals who may find it interesting, along with hashtags to extend the conversation. In the world of open, connected learning, this is how ideas and knowledge is built and disseminated. Over time, one share or one conversation at a time. The importance is to tag people in your network who may be interested in seeing the document or information. AND THAT is the challenge! Knowing your 'audience' in media terms. Knowing your network in connected learning terms. Responsive PLNing in digital circles.
With this one event, it heightens my awareness of the responsibility I have to share to people, not just circles or networks, but to individuals in my particular spheres of influence. This takes time, but it also requires me to dig a little deeper to find the connections when algorithms fail to find them. I rechecked twitter handles and hashtags, revisited email links, and even back checked the original site where the document was found in order to verify it's source. This led me to the Thornburg Center and a collection of other handouts from David Thornburg's collection of notes and presentations.
The 'feedback' from sharing the tweet continued, with some people sharing a quote that was meaningful (making meaning).
