Networked Stories

Golden Silk Orb-weaver spider Image: Wendy Taleo, 2017 Somewhere between the campus and the cloud my stories lie hidden until shared.  Clear and loud. This is a continuation of my poem "Somewhere between" that you can read here . This week in Network Narratives we are thinking about the Storied Places . What stories lie within the campus and how can you understand the student experience from these stories? There are 2 physical campuses and 1 virtual 'cloud' campus that are relevant to my learning journeys at the moment. The first campus is where I work. The second physical place is in Milton Keynes, UK which is just up the road from London. That is where the Open University, UK, is based and I'm an online student there again this year. The third space/location/cloud is the Internet. Various Learning Management Systems, social media platforms, shared blogging, synchronous connections and discussions boards. These spaces also impact my stories.

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

I wonder what you did on the bus tour today Did the kids fight up the back row Or tell naughty jokes? I wonder what you did on the bus tour today Did the shy kids sit behind the driver Or crowd together on row 2? I wonder what you did on the bus tour today Was there food flung from scungy lunchboxes Or cards played out of sight? I wonder what you did on the bus tour today Did your big sister ignore you Or protect you from the word barbs? I wonder what you did on the bus tour today Did you fall asleep half way home Or sing until your voice cracked? I wonder what you did on the bus tour today Did the driver have to wake you up Or were you first off the bus? I wonder what you did on the bus tour today. Wendy Taleo CC BY (memories of catching the bus to school)