It feels so GOOD to be connected!

[Jonathon Richter / Wainbrave Bernal]

I'm so happy to be connected to this SL Connectivism experience.
Sharing wealth often seems to create that atmosphere of abundance -
that there's plenty to go around - that I can't possibly consume, own,
or in any way hoard my coconuts, my happiness. To be truly happy, it
must be shared... right? - right? :) To know is to communicate and
connect, resonating with others. Thoughts may exist independently
inside my head, but for true emotional resonance and that feeling of
the Joy of Knowing... it's best to connect, see how others relate,
take their contributions to my thought and mold it, shape it, refine
it through dialogue. People are like brains.... the magic often
happens at the synapse, the chemistry that occurs at the connection
between two "entities".

I'm looking forward to:

a) connecting with you as a human being, a source of wisdom, and a
fellow resident of Chilbo!
b) learning from Downes and Siemens about Connectivism
c) finding ways to improve my work in virtual learning experience
design

~ Jonathon / Wainbrave

[Rudi]

Hello Jonathon Richter / Wainbrave Bernal...I too look forward to
learning new things ;-) Your philosophy follows some of my own...In
order to receive, you must give. Honor to meet you. Rudi Rieko

On Aug 21, 9:57 am, "Jonathon Richter / Wainbrave Bernal"

[Mariis Mills]

Hi Jonathon and Rudi,

I'm also looking forward to meeting and discussing Connectivism -
especially in a SL context :-)

/Mariis

[Mark Childs]

Ah Wainbrave - good to get to know the RL person behind the SL person.
I wonder how many of the other people we'll be connecting with are
people who are already part of our connected lives, but in a different
form. I also wonder if a virtual connection is a different form of
connection from a RL one. I think with most of the people I know in SL
and RL, my relationship with them is different depending on which
world I'm in. Anyway - for anyone who may have met me in SL and not
realised it - I'm Gann McGann there.

That thought also triggers another one. I joined up with this course
to explore a very specific area, which is how does community influence
a person's learning? I'm using an activity theory model to evaluate
learning (I'm a doctoral student at the University of Warwick, UK),
and realise that the influence of community is an undeveloped part of
my understanding of what's going on. Already, though, I'm having other
avenues of exploration opening up. I guess connectivism is also about
the connectedness of concepts as well as people. In fact, I guess
bringing people together inevitably brings new concepts together and
then creates blends of those concepts. I know from my own research,
the biggest breakthroughs have been as a result of conversations.

[Rah Rehula]

Hello Mariis ;-)

[Rah Rehula]

Mark. Very interesting research...I've been looking at the whole virtual environment as it relates to education. Bringing a small "community" into the picture is really breaking it down...Wouldn't the whole Second Life World be just one big community? Rudi

[Azwaldo Villota]

What a pleasant change to be greeted by such an inspired introduction
on joining a group. Kudos, Jonothan, for opening the dialog on that
note!

As a first contribution, I have posted a "Start" page in this group
space. Where we have the option to upload individual "Files," it
seems that a "Page" might become something like a wiki. "Start" is my
own attempt to explore this idea: How can we use that particular
feature of a Google Group to collaborate?

Also, while attempting to stream this web content into SL, I
discovered that this group's access is set to "Only members can view
group content." I wonder if there is some advantage in this, and
invite others to share their perspective on site access. After all,
to resonate Wainbrave's call to Connectivism...

"The miracle is this--the more we share, the more we have." -
Leonard Nimoy

Cheers.

On Aug 21, 11:57 am, "Jonathon Richter / Wainbrave Bernal"

[Kyllikki]

Some food for thought when waiting for the course to begin:

Homo Contextus, Connected Human and the Futue of Education
http://media.dicole.com/presentations/070605-FOE.pdf

(Source: http://tarina.blogging.fi/2007/06/06/homo-contextus-connected-man-and-the-future-of-education/)

Best wishes
Kyllikki
Homo Contextus, feeling GOOD as well

[Birdie Newborn]

I am absolutely not able to make this first meeting -- please, someone, keep a transcript for me.

--
..oooO.........
...(....)...........
....)../...Oooo
...(_/.....(....)..
.............)../....
............(_/.....

If we're facing in the right direction,
all we have to do is keep on walking.

Birdie Newborn
SL: Birdie Newcomb on Belle Isle
www.beachcollege.net

[Blanche Maynard]

It feels so good to be connected...but it can also feel overwhelming.
I'm still trying to figure out what my "connective" limits are. I find
virtual worlds fascinating - and addictive - and I feel excited about
the prospect of sharing with others, but I worry about the impact it
will have on my personal life. I need to find time to connect with my
RL family too. My brief exploration of virtual worlds and 2.0 tools
has already had an impact on my relationships, and not necessarily a
positive one. I need to find a balance and until I find it, I'll
remain insecure about the whole connectivism thing.

Looking forward to sharing nevertheless, and meeting people with
similar interests and desire to make the world better (my idealist
side talking here...).

Au plaisir!

Louise/Blanche

On Aug 21, 12:57 pm, "Jonathon Richter / Wainbrave Bernal"