Surfing

Nights like tonight, I'm reminded that you really do surf the web. This wave leads to that wave and the next thing you know, you're watching JAM videos on YouTube. Perhaps that's just me. . . in any event, as often happens, Theresa and I were both working on our computers tonight. This typically involves an e-mail or two and an open Skype chat. A series of waves and recommendations from her led me to this blog: ELA Deep Curriculum Alignment. I worked for the same organization as Angela, the author, though never had a chance to work with her in-depth. She did though, cite some of my work as an influence on her personal blog (that was a very cool thing for me to read - Thanks, Angela!). What's compelling about the Deep Curriculum blog is that each entry is written by a different author as a means of setting the foundation for a face-to-face conversation. Each piece presents a sound summary of the article but I struggled to infer the author's opinions on the piece they read. Like? Didn't like? Agreed with? Disagreed? I'm sure the ensuing conversation was very powerful and provocative. I'm curious now - is it possible to have a deep conversation about a text without that face to face interaction? What might we be sacrificing in the learning experience by engaging via a keyboard? What is gained?

I'm looking forward to exploring Diigo with Theresa and seeing what possibility that holds. In the meantime, check out this video. I laughed so hard I fell off my surfboard.