Photo courtesy of moonjazz
A noiseless, patient spider by Walt Whitman
A noiseless, patient spider,
I mark’d, where, on a little promontory, it stood, isolated;
Mark’d how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself;
Ever unreeling them—ever tirelessly speeding them. 5
And you, O my Soul, where you stand,
Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing,—seeking the spheres, to connect them;
Till the bridge you will need, be form’d—till the ductile anchor hold;
Till the gossamer thread you fling, catch somewhere, O my Soul.
The Whitefriars Powerful Learning Practice* journey has been one of connections.
As a metaphor for our journey, we’ve chosen a spider’s web. It’s interesting the way Lisa Huff compares the spider’s web-weaving in Walt Whitman’s A Noiseless Patient Spider with our reaching out to connect with others through technology.
Whitman, writing in the 1800’s, observes how a spider ceaselessly launches forth filament to explore his surroundings, to travel from one place to another, to bridge his world. Whitman notes mankind’s similarity to the spider. We too ceaselessly seek to connect, to make sense of the world, to reach out to others.
Technology of the 21st century is connecting us like never before. We blog, we podcast, we collaborate via wikis, webcams, e-mails, discussion boards. We explore endless information easily summoned with a few clicks. We are living in the midst of sweeping technological changes that are reinventing the way we live, learn, laugh. At the heart of this change, however, is the basic spirit of exploration–that same spirit Whitman captured some two hundred years ago.
The spirit of exploration and desire to connect to others has been the crux of the Whitefriars College Powerful Learning Practice team’s learning. We have moved from isolation in our own classrooms, in our faculties, in our school, to becoming part of a personal learning network which supports and nourishes us. Our immersion in Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs, wikis, nings, etc. has connected us to people and to new ways of enhancing learning and teaching.
The challenge is to create a mindshift in the school community. This is simultaneously from the ground up, small steps with individual teachers and classes, and from the top down, trying to bring our understanding of 21st century education to our principal and leaders. We’ve made a start, and the rest is yet to be written.
Here is a short video reflection of our PLP journey so far….
*What is Powerful Learning Practice (PLP)?
(from Powerful Learning Practice wiki)
This International consortium of participating schools with the leaders of Powerful Learning Practice have teamed to create a comprehensive, systemic one-year professional development program that engages educators from participating schools in transformational conversations about 21st Century Learning. Powerful Learning Practice (PLP) uses a blend of face to face and online curriculum to connect small teams from 20-forward thinking, independent schools from around the globe to establish a powerful, ongoing learning community. In addition, it prepares schools to move forward in systemic ways after the one-year commitment ends by laying the groundwork sustanable PLP project plans.