Better Together

 

            As I was reading the information for the copyrights and fair use assignment, my mind kept thinking about the poem that begins Ernest Hemingway’s novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls.  For those of you who are not familiar with this novel, Hemingway starts the novel with a poem by John Donne, written in an archaic form of English.  The part of the poem that resonates with me is the beginning where Donne writes, “No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine…”(Donne, 1940).  As this relates to creativity and original works, this means that no one who creates, creates alone, in a vacuum, devoid of the influence of other people.

            Practically, creativity is spawned by the people, culture, and ideas of those that we allow into our sphere of attention.  In this way, every person creates their own understanding of the unique experiences of the world that they live in.  These unique experiences would not be possible without the thoughts and experiences of others.  Original thoughts and ideas are born on the thoughts and ideas of others in a sort of human culture amalgam.

            However, ideas are where the law draws the line.  If you go beyond ideas and copy someone else’s work wholesale, and try to pass it off as your own, at the very least it is plagiarism, and at its worst is theft.  Not only is this practice theft, but it is also lying.  Regardless of the law, ethically it is wrong.

            Unfortunately, it is becoming more evident every day that the law is just words when it comes to this subject.  If those words are not enforced, then the words of the law are empty and do not amount to the value of the ink (or electrons) used to portray their meaning.  This seems to be where our culture is heading in the information revolution.  Now, anyone with a computer and mouse can clip, snag, screen capture, and crop any digital representation of anyone’s hard work with a few clicks and taps.

            For these reasons, I liked learning about how creative commons licenses can help keep the balance of protecting creator’s works, yet unleashing the potential tangential ideas that other creators can use to add to the amalgamation of culture.  Creative commons licenses keep creators in control of their works, so they can decide how and what works of theirs will be used.  Even though it is not a one stop fix to intellectual theft, it is a beginning to unleash creativity.  In this way, we are better together.  Again, “No man is an iland, intire of it selfe…” (Donne, 1940).

References

Donne, J. (1940). No Man is an Iland.  In E. Hemmingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls (p. 1). New York, NY:  Quality Paperback Book Club

Community Learning Through Discussion

     Today I was thinking about how people learn from others.  Specifically, in a classroom setting, the discussion on a topic can be a rich resource that contributes to learning.  I came to this realization through the many discussion board posts that I have made throughout my academic career.  Most of my academic career has been online, and I have been able to learn a lot by spending some time reflecting on a question prompt.  After reflecting on the question prompt, I have to formulate and grow the ideas that were planted by the prompt.  Discussion in this way. I believe, is more valuable than in person discussion.

    However, in person discussion has value also.  The organic nature of a discussion, carefully guided, can lead to new ideas or realization of concepts that are being taught.  Probably the most effective discussion is one where there is a natural organic discussion coupled with a period of reflection where ideas can be fully developed.  Once fully developed, the discussion should be revisited to put forth the fully developed ideas.  To me, this would be the ideal circumstance of community learning through discussion.

PLN or PLN??

Recently, I have been introduced to the concept of a Personal Learning Network, also known by the acronym PLN.  At first, just the acronym was introduced with this concept with the possibility of having a dual meaning.  The other meaning that this acronym may embody is that of a Professional Learning Network.  Whatever the acronym you want to use, at its core it is a network.  Like any network, it has different nodes where information intersects with other information.  The ultimate purpose of this network is to facilitate learning.  Essentially, the PLN is a tool used for learning.

            As I have tried to understand this concept, I have come to the realization that I already have a PLN.  However, my PLN is not formal, but rather a loose federation of news websites, search engines, and social networks that I use to gather information and learn.  In this way, my PLN is like a wildflower meadow where I pick and choose what information flowers catch my eye to enhance my way of knowing.  The best part of my PLN is that I choose what resources I want to use to learn what I want to know.

            On the other hand, all that information out there, which in no way is limited to the sources I listed before, can be overwhelming.  Just the resources that are included in search engine results can inundate you with superfluous and redundant information.  To combat this information overload, you need to curate trusted sources of information and seek people that can guide you in your pursuit of knowing.  Formally curating these sources can transform you’re a Personal Learning Network into a Professional Learning Network.

Interesting People Read My Blog!

            Are you an interesting person?  If you think that you are, and most people do, is what you have to share with others as interesting as you are?  Well, if you are like most people, interesting, then of course the answer is a resounding YES!!  The problem lies with converting your awesomeness to the written word in the form of a blog.

            First off, to make a good blog, you must have an interesting subject almost as interesting as you are.  Then, learn as much about that subject as you can.  Next, organize that information into a thoughtful, logical order.  Most interesting people use an outline to accomplish this task.

            With your outline completed, now it is time to move on to the next, and one of the most difficult tasks of blogging, crafting your interesting ideas with the written word.  Using your interesting outline as a guide, craft your ideas using plain language that quickly gets to the point.  Be brief but inform the reader about how interesting your ideas are.  Remember, when the reader is done reading your blog, you want them to understand the most important, interesting idea that you wrote about.  In other words, keep the main thing the main thing.

            Finally, all interesting people who write interesting blog posts need to have an interesting title.  From my own experience, if I am not interested in the title of the blog, I won’t read it.  The blog could have the very best information that was ever written for the subject that the blog was written about but if you cannot grab the reader’s attention right away to get them to read it, then your efforts will be lost.  Condensing the gist of your blog post to the essential information will guide your readers to whether your interesting ideas are worth their time.  With all of that in mind interesting people out there, let’s keep it interesting.

Introduction

Greetings!  Welcome to my blog.  I have started this blog for a class that I am taking at Idaho State University.  The class that I am taking that requires this blog is called Instructional Technology in Human Resource Development, OLP-4407.  During this class, I will be exploring different technology tools that HRD professionals can use in their work.  

Like many people in my generation, my understanding of technology has evolved with technology.  Although I was born before personal computers were common place, I am able to navigate most new technology with ease.  Unfortunately, as technology proliferates through almost every aspect of society and our daily lives, it is not easy to keep up will all of the nuance that these tools can provide.  As a professional training instructor, this is true in my work.  Essentially, I am of the opinion that before technology should be used in training, you should have a good idea of the value that the technology offers to the overall learning experience.  If the benefit of using technology outweighs the detractors of assimilating the skills necessary to use it, and it enhances the learning participants learning experience, then by all means use it.  However, if it doesn't, it may be best not to use it.

Practically, to understand whether or not to use technology in a training session, one needs exposure to different technology that can be used.  This is what I am hoping to get out of the class that I am taking.  I hope to have exposure to different types of technology used in the HRD profession, so I can make decisions on what will benefit a learner at what won't.  Additionally, through this class, with use of this blog, I hope to get over my fear of contribution to the HRD body of knowledge with my unique experiences versus only being a consumer and spectator of others ideas.