Bricolage

My scatter-shot approach, dictated by the fact that I am running into a grant submission deadline, has led me to take the last hour to click on every single link for Week 3, grab a quick visual/audio/video of it and move on. If something did not instantly pull me in, or if I could see quickly that it was already familiar material from some other context, then off I went to the next click-able link. I did not even see these as questions, but clicks!

Now that I have made the rounds of the material, albeit briefly, I do have some comments on Week 3 themes.

I would like to return to one of my old favorites, Edward Hall, who first introduced us to the continuum of high and low context cultures. Note: I always point out to my students that dichotomies are rarely that but, in fact, are most often continua. I could add that as the concept of high and low context cultures is multifaceted, the two-dimensional model does not work either. In any case, I notice that in high context cultures the focus is more on the relationship than the information, while the reverse is the case for low context cultures. This comes into play in teaching and learning on the Internet because we can tap its sources for either purpose equally. I believe that in this course, the tension I have felt is that very tension. I am constantly focusing on the info, while the course is tugging at me to focus on the relationships.

I do believe that our students’ cultures influence their approach to learning and therefore will affect their approach to Internet-based learning. My research has been on the Hmong, and I mentioned that in our round table, at which indigenous cultures in Australia were being examined and their work with our guest speaker presented. If the ecologies article is correct and literacy is now more linked to all intelligences with the options available on the Internet, then high context cultures will embrace this option, counter to what some may think about them as the least likely. As I ramble here, I cannot close without returning to the title of my post. As a French speaker, I appreciated the use of this term, along with the related, bricoleur, which I had not heard before, because I associate this word with a relaxed, take it as it is and see what happens. One of our blogs has this title, I believe (I changed them to the names, so it would take too long to see which — opposite problem now!) So my encounter continues, and yet I have not really responded to the week’s questions, or have I? Not sure.

At any rate, I could not join the exchange; i don’t have language students. My teachers all want their journals/blogs private period, and I cannot share them.

Just a quick note — my son and I keep intersecting via tools on the net — I first told him about Skype when I learned it from Graham/Scott/Nick last year; he first told me about TED Talks, which I see we have just been sent to, etc. So, in fact, in my own family, I see a bit of the bricolage, as we most certainly do totally different things when online!

Back to the darn grant — or maybe my hubby has din for me! Why do we all work so hard?

Laine

Discussion with tons of hidden reading to do!!!!!

• What do all the tools we have used allow learners to do?
• Which teaching style, teaching routine and teaching rhythm would be best adapted to this kind of learning?
• How can I extend, open my classroom to the Web and to the world?
• How can we help learners to improve on their language skills through experiential learning , and networking in these socially and linguistically rich environments ?
• How can I help my learners participate with their own voices?
• How do you imagine learning ecologies in ESL/EFL ?

videos: Sir Ken Robinson and Fatal Beatings
articles
Blogging:two fundamental approaches
P2P AND LEARNING ECOLOGIES IN EFL/ESL

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