UStream TV -learning is so much fun

UStream TV -learning is so much fun
Yesterday evening was a huge learning curve for me. I did not attend any conference, but still. You could say I have already acquired some 21st century skills to run my blogs and wikis, then I should not be so surprised, but last night I was amazed again. Technology leaves me like a child at play sometimes.

There is always an element of unexpectedness that makes it all so powerful. I certainly did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen yesterday after my day of lessons was done. Back home, computer, eat something and open up to learn with the whole edublogosphere at a tweet's distance. This is quite an ordinary thing these days for me.

It was certainly not in my plans to change TV or my night reading for UStream TV, and end up receiving a Skype call from David Jakes at a pub in Chicago to say hello to Steve and be introduced to Will Richardson. Pity the bar was so noisy and I did not know how to mute the sound from the website to hear only David's voice on Skype. Anyway, thank you guys. Pleasure waving to you (you did not see me, but I was waving to my screen!).

I was probably the only one from South America, yet I was not alone with other teachers (up to 40 towards the end of the show). You are never alone online, how could I with such a powerful network posting endlessly.

I lost most of the first part of the interview because I had to create an account to take part in the chat associated to the live streaming. It is far from fun to simply sit and watch or have a one-way conversation these days. It's a read-watch/write-talk web. Call it the result of my self-teaching of new literacies. I do not know. It does not make sense any other way. Nope.

Today I am catching up with the postings and the video to see and read what actually happened while I was frantically busy opening a UStream TV account. Here's what I found:

Dean Shareski's said,
Have you heard the one about the bloggers who go into a bar?

Will Richardson said,
The UStream Experiment (Con't)

So, what would I have said to Will Richardson last night if I had had the chance?
Hi Will. My name is Claudia Ceraso -of fceblog fame. I teach and learn from (not 'in') Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am incorporating more tools to my daily life and learning than I have actually tried to use in my classroom. I adopt quickly. For my colleagues I am a true pioneer (fancy that!). So why am I taking so long to use them in the classroom? Because I need to go beyond the hype to see the purpose. I refuse to assign a single blog post as homework. Because if it cannot be as much fun for them to learn with the tools as it is for me, or you there at the pub learning to live stream, I fear we have missed the point.

Yes, I guess this could have been pretty much it. An imaginary dialogue between Will and I. Maybe next time. Maybe some post sometime.



Source

It has to be like these three guys enjoying a beer together in a pub and naturally interacting with their network. A blend of f2f and distance interaction is, perhaps the most natural 21st century experience.They are supposed to be 'experts' in new literacies and they are still surprised. They are experts because they have not forgotten the fundamental rule of enthusiasm at the simplest discoveries when learning.

Pure enthusiasm underpinning it all. That's the state of mind a teacher needs to plan a lesson. It can be contagious, viral enthusiasm. Plain fun. Let it be so. Amen.