Sliced Bread

CLICK IMAGE TO READ (and avoid the dreaded WALLY)

Everyones getting into the warm fuzzies what with Crunchies and Eddies and way too much Christmas cheer me thinks, so I say jump on the band wagon and get myself a piece of it. Award fever that is.

My mush (sic) awaited, eagerly anticipated, long heralded (all lies) “Ta Muchly” Awards have been fascistitly (sic too) nominated and decided on by an esteemed selection panel of one, me.

To collect your Ta Muchly08 you simply recognise yourself on my Netvibes PLN screenshot above, give yourself a pay rise, leave a PF irreverent (or just fun knee) comment below and you’re a winner. Simple hey?

Viral it and spread the word through your channels because there is a catch.

Last blogger to comment gets the Wally Gong, the Most Disconnected Tortoose (sic again) award 2008. No one wants to be last weeks news in the esteemed eyes of the blogeratti. Comments accepted up to and including last mail on 31st December 2008 so get working boys and girls.

If you’re a friendly compassionate type of blogger you’ll tip off your friends, if not lets wait and see who will be last person in. I always did like the movie It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, now we have an Aussie equivalent in a race to claim a non existent silly prize, just for the heck of it. Lets see who is game to play. 

A happy and safe Christmas to all

and very very seriously Ta Muchly.

Now for the slightly less silly disclaimer.

The above list are the bloggers (read real, dedicated teachers & learners, not just some online chat show) who have helped me grow professionally, both willingly on a regular basis or from afar without consciously knowing it, these last 6 months.

I jumped in blindly, wildly into the great mudpit that is the semantic/read/write web2.0 world of learning last May, almost drowned a few times, got down and dirty with the fellow mud chuckers and generally had an all round blast learning new stuff.

For the great unwashed, this place is a fantastic place to reflect, share, connect and learn. I’ve learnt plenty with heaps to go in 2009. Bring on SL and Jokaydia, I think I’m ready, Thank God You’re Here style.

Now schools out, for the Aussies at least, lets finish the year with some fun.

Pleased to read in todays ZDNet feed that Federal Ministers Stephen Conroy and Lindsay Tanner have dipped their toes into the blogosphere. Not all are happy however and their first somewhat awkward blog does reek of ‘try hardness’.

If I was more optimistic about their efforts, I would say it is heartening indeed that ‘good cop’ Tanner’s welcome post says;

instead of simply copying overseas models we are keen to gather as much evidence as we possibly can about how Australians want to engage online.

Gathering evidence is one thing but listening and learning from the feedback will be a whole new government ballpark.

Lets hope governments aren’t dishing up ’same old same old’ rhetoric in slightly new clothes, the voices are strong, and on the clean feed issue, universally opposed.

We are also genuine about wanting to use online consultation to improve government-citizen relationships around public policy. We want real outcomes from online consultation…

The potential “new openess” and permanent digital record of online democracy will be interesting to watch unfold. A pity the government currently has a heavy handed approach, draconian springs readily to mind.

In its first 3 days Tanner’s welcome post garnered 289 comments, the vast majority, if not all, strongly opposed the clean feed proposal.

Please add your voice or sign GetUp’s petition below if this issue also concerns you.

Bring on the Julia Gillard Education blog and I’m sure the informed edublogosphere will welcome the ripple effect with their constructive feedback. 

Learners and systems starting from flat fields, often LDC’s, are not hindered by centuries of factory education models, many did not have one.  These systems are not burdened by the baggage of history or “thats how we always did it” attitudes or meaningless “one size little boxes tests scores are king” mantras to hold them back. They do not have to have the seemingly circuitous arguments many more developed systems are still currently wasting time on. It really is well past the time to dive in the deep end.

As ubiquitious technology ‘allows the fish to not see the water’ emerging education systems or those able to address the new dynamic will exponentially prosper and eliminate existing achievement gaps, maybe not in a the immediate short term but certainly more rapidly than at any other stage in history.

Conversely, where entrenched opinions of supposed best edupractice are rife, misguided or antiquated we face stagnation and unacceptable lag times. Who’ll be catching up? we all know the answer. Thats why governments and educational deliverers, particularly large public systems at all levels, must get with it, and do so far more rapidly. I’m optimistic Kev07 federalism has a handle on this, but do other stakeholders?

Openness, no excessive clean feeds, no DET portals or walled gardens, no us and them, no impediments to learning, ubiquitious technology, genuine world wide conversational blogging, here’s hoping it happens before I retire.

I’m not holding my breathe after this first clumsy blog attempt, but hey it’s a baby step start and that’s always encouraging.

photo credit: NSP at flickr cc license

 OMG, Could it be?

Yes the prestigious Eddies are on in earnest and Sliced Bread somehow crashed onto the final noms list.

Now with my extraordinary post to comment ratio (non existent) this loaf is nary a snowballs of gathering more than the extended family vote. Thanks all 6 of you for voting, or at least just tell me you did. Cheers.

Must away, time to frock up for the Eddies red carpet. I’d like to thank………

(foot note: I appreciate the kind words and recognition, to even make the final list in this category, amongst these seasoned bloggers, is a tad freaky. The  edublogosphere is an amazing place to learn. It easily beats the figjamers who sometimes slip through and present TPL and SDD. 

Mini Me tells me if I payola the IANA I can then watch Polldaddy.com spin like a poker machine dial in favour of last weeks bread. Must see if that works.)