Padlet Poetry and Boundaries

I started a collaborative activity in our NetNarr repose week(s). This came about from a Twitter DM conversation amongst a few of the open participants. I threw it out into the wild and the response has been fantastic, moving and multi-dimensional. The challenge for any learning activity is how much structure to put around it and how much structure is put upon us because of the tech/app used. This has continues to surface in the Network Narratives course/event/LOOM as people become aware of how much structure they are used to and comfortable with and looking for in learning.

While trying to sort out another activity (which is currently stalled) there was this quote: 
" I will say that the more boundaries we give ourselves, the better it will be." Sandy Brown Jensen.


I don't like boundaries, I don't. I don't like fences, I don't.
I watch with trepidation as a fence is built at work, where before it was open space, free for desire paths to be created. Now our paths are directed by steel, cement and straight lines.

However I can see Sandra's point in trying to divert this from a totally random, useless activity. A comment from Terry Elliot (on Kevin's post What a Folded Story Sounds Like) around the Folded Story activity:
" A thing generated by a network, but not driven by anything other than the rules of the game and the website. A human driven bot?" Terry Elliott
Life is playing by the rules of the game. You choose the game. Sometimes I think that any collaborative experience amongst open educators and players is pure luck. Is this synchronicity? How do the ducks get aligned to even get some sort of participation out of the black, murky waters of the web.
"In the struggle every creator of expressions goes through, the re- strictions of the media being used are there, to be obeyed or to be questioned. " Øyvind Eide
What sort of boundaries or rules exist for this activity?

1. The app - Padlet - an easy tool that does not require sign-up to participate, just a link to share
2. Create a heading that is generic and easy to understand - loose boundary
3. Start it off with a short poem - suggesting a theme
4. Invite people in - using Twitter and G+ posts

Wow, look what happens. There are no instructions here, no guidelines, no right-wrong. We haven't been trolled (yet). Shared with #NetNarr tag. Putting your name is optional and most people have not. One bonus of this app is that there is no "like/heart" option on each post. If any of this material speaks to you, the best way to reciprocate is by participating! Join in now!

Comments

  1. Wendy,
    I really enjoyed reading this summary and especially reading the completed Journey Story, which I hadn't seen, I think the final effect is super cool!
    So...there is a difference between creative constraints and steel and concrete fences and strait jackets. The creative constraints we had here were the app itself and a theme word "Journey," which turned out to be very evocative and just the right amount of focus for people who don't know each other.

    Thanks for writing this up in such an attractive way.
    Sandy ( which can be short for Cassandra, Alexandra, or Sandra--none of which is actually my name🌈)

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  2. Hi Wendy
    I'm enjoying playing with Networked Narratives, although I don't quite believe in networks ever since I heard Oyvind Eide explain there are no networks; it's a metaphor for multiple relationships. I met him at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. I'll be there again this summer. http://www.dhsi.org
    My interest is in developing authentic digital relationships, if that's possible.
    Best Regards
    Mark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mark, I've now added a quote from Oyvind and continue to read his thesis.

      Delete
  3. Check the margins via hypothes.is for more commentary on this post.

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