In surveying blogs, RSS feeds, #edchat, and other educational sources a common phrase I keep coming upon is technology being referred to as a tool. Which made me think of the following:
Thirty spokes meet at a nave;
Because of the hole we may use the wheel.
Clay is moulded into a vessel;
Because of the hollow we may use the cup.
Walls are built around a hearth;
Because of the doors we may use the house.
Thus tools come from what exists,
But use from what does not.
via TaoTeChing.org
As the month of August is nearly upon us, learners and students alike, I start to think about how I'll begin the year. The questions of what my students will be like, reviewing last year's reflections, the dreams about being unprepared, it all starts to come back. But so do the words of my friend and mentor Don Hovland on the one thing I needed to learn about education:
Give the power, take the blame.
So in order to keep my process transparent I'm going to give the tool Wallwisher a try at mapping out the first weeks. But I also think that I'll create an open 'wall' to let other educators chime in, give push-back, and generally test the bounds of Wallwisher as a tool. So look for the #1stweekplans tag or this link to access the wall. Give knowledge from what does not exist, at least not yet.
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