Can a person have kind of an epiphany? Or part of an epiphany? I’m speaking of the definition:
"A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization"
From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
I’ve been struggling over how to “upgrade my website” and having a hard time wrapping my wits around how I would incorporate Web 2.0 tools and realized that I was still thinking “inside the box.” I had this interesting and only-partly-realized-so-far epiphany while I was reading the book that is required reading for this course, The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
Okay, so what was the epiphany? I realized that I needed to have a sort of web network for teaching art, not just a site. I’m not totally there with all that it needs to be yet (partial epiphany?) but here’s what I’m thinking so far:
1. Retain my original site, but change it over to Dreamweaver rather than the FrontPage that it currently is.
2. I should start a “group” on Facebook and invite my approximately 300 web users to it, then have several UDUTU courses set up in the group for the users to have access to.
3. Open a Ning site (or something similar) where I can include a library of videos and slideshows as visuals to go with art lessons and also a blog with suggestions and commentaries on how to incorporate various specific and every changing Web 2.0 tools into various lessons already on the site. I could also include a discussion board on the Ning site.
4. Some portions of this need to be open for students to use; other parts need to be password protected for teacher information.
Now, I need to work out and coordinate how I am going to get all of this up and running before I go to bed tonight! Wonder if I can force a complete epiphany . . . ?
Image from TeachPottery.net website by Kerry Marquis
Image from TeachPottery.net website by Kerry Marquis
Beckie Response to Kerry Marquis- It looks like your eyes have been opened to a new reality that includes an expansive room full of web tools and networking possibilities. Way to open the doors to new ideas, and I hope you can connect the dots so everything comes together.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how reading about possibilities turns your brain into an ocean of thoughts. But then trying to organize those thoughts and bringing them together almost feels like trying to collect the ocean of thoughts in a sand bucket. I hope you can get everything up and running by bedtime. You might sleep on it however, and let the epiphany have a night to solidify. Good luck and I'll be interested to join your group on Facebook once you have it up and running.
Kerry, Yes you can have an epiphany part or whole, and it does seem as though you have had one. I know you have been struggling with this for a while. My grandmother always said that if you needed an answer right away to something, to let that be the last thing you think of before you fall asleep at night. I have done it many times and awakened the next morning with an answer. Mind you, it doesn't always work, OR, maybe it was that I didn't want to accept the answer I was given.
ReplyDeleteYou have a wonderful creative mind and wherever you take your site, it will be perfect. Have you looked at Moodle? I was informed today by our district tech that they are going to host Moodle and I can host my courses on Moodle for my students! Things do work out sometimes.
I am proud of the work you are doing and staying with your project until you resolve all issues. You have my support and you will do just fine. I'm looking forward to seeing and using it.
Kerry,
ReplyDeleteI regret that you have had so much trouble with this project. It's times like those that lead a person to quit, but I commend you for having the courage and determination to keep going with it!
The Facebook group idea is a far more applicable frame of reference~in my research on social networks, I discovered that Facebook far surpasses Ning or MySpace. Even in your target demographic, Facebook is a leader.
Using UDUTU is also a great idea. Almost anything that you want to do with your ceramics site can be delivered across those two platforms.
I also want to say that Benjamin Zander's TED video on FSO is worth taking a look at. It basically restates part of the first chapter of the book. He has a singular sense of humor and a way with words.
Almost forgot~
ReplyDeleteNing is changing all of their free social networks over in July to paid plans. The lowest level of paid plan is around $3.00 monthly.
With all of the other options you have selected, I'm not so sure Ning is in the running.