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January 2019

Agency and perspective

For the final week of #el30 I would like to consider some of what Stephen Downes presents in his intro to the topic of Agency (below in blue). These initial words sparked so much in me, that they were catalyst enough for a post. My thoughts are interspersed with bits from Stephen’s intro (in blue) and ideas presented by Sylvia Baldiris and Jutta Triveranus, his guests for the week’s hour-long video chat.

In Stephen’s intro he asks:

How do we ensure that what we project to the world is what we want to project, both as teachers and learners? 

I’d like to turn this on its head. How do we ensure what we project is receivable? Just as there is no one way to teach or learn, when we project, can this be received? Let’s think literally. Humour me with a metaphor: A projection, of a film can be seen. Can be seen by all seated in a theatre. Can be seen by those in the theatre if the lights are off. You can’t see it from the street. Seeing requires certain conditions and the same is true of any projection. Receiving is one step further along the line of engagement.

For me, the ‘what’ of the projection is the basics, and in considering agency, there is a need to not only project but to also consider (and I mean actively) the conditions that facilitate and enable people to receive and act upon what is projected. Read More »Agency and perspective

Create, share, and learn #el30 with Amy Burvall

This hour was my first in depth experience with Amy Burvall, and with aspects of her backstory. It was Stephen Downes 8th topic, Experience, in his #el30 course, broadcast on 16 December. (I’m catching up) I was aware of Amy’s art, but without the personal, without the moments of detail, I had never looked deeper. As she says – we don’t just want stuff to consume. One of the biggest things I took away from this video was that it took me beyond the externality of Amy’s art and gave me a reason to engage.

At the beginning of the conversation Stephen asks Amy about a few of her core tenants. They talk about her premise of creating something every day. Amy says, ‘It doesn’t have to be big, but do something creative every day.’ Stephen mentions that he does these 1 para posts, and none of them is a work of art, but you develop the sills… It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking something is nothing, when actually something is something. As a musician I know that the value someone else ascribes to my creation is up to them, personal, and very often completely unknown to me. Creation has value, and just because it is not immediately quantifiable or visible does not belittle or negate that value.

‘Beauty in the broken, marvellous in the mundane, wow in the now’

Amy uses an example of having a phone and seeing rust on a fence and using the camera to capture that aesthetically pleasing moment right now, the wow in the now, and then maybe writing a poem about it later.

I loved that.

She goes on to say Read More »Create, share, and learn #el30 with Amy Burvall