Kathleen Jensen's blog

Blogs and Bughouse Square

lakeviewreading — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:31:13 +0000

So, we just finished watching Pixar’s Ratatouille last weekend, and in reflection about blogging, I’m reminded of the famous chef’s philosophy, “Anyone can cook.” Similarly and snidely in a blog,, “Anyone can have an audience.” This can be wonderful, and it can be weird. When I was a girl growing up in Chicago, my dad’s office at one point was right next to Bughouse Square, across from the Newberry Library, where, before it was gentrified and cleaned up, the park was home to any manner of speaker. The speakers would stand up in various parts of the park and create as much noise and as wide a circle of audience as possible. I remember being particularly interested in a man who was dressed in a cocktail dress with a flamboyant feather boa and admirers trailing behind. Anyway, blogs remind me of Bughouse Square.

What I do like about reading blogs is the hyper text. I find myself clicking here and there and reading more and more in a dizzying fashion about a wide variety of things. (By the way, I couldn’t get the video to work on how to link in a blog, so I gave up trying to do that in tonight’s blog.) I do think that the hypertext in blogs does make it different than reading black and white text. The reading becomes less focused and linear, in a way, but also rather tantalizingly like peeling an onion and finding more layers and layers of things to read.

I’m not certain about the uses of blogs in learning, or the business of meaning making. The only thing I know for sure is that blogs have given anyone, anywhere, the possibility of an audience, for better or for worse.

Lifelong learning babbling

lakeviewreading — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:52:52 +0000

1. View problems as challenges:

This may be the most challenging for me as it’s a habit of attitude more than discipline or experience. Past experience with glitches in technology that have been frustrating (why won’t the cursor move . . . why doesn’t my post show up . . . why won’t this record???) and time consuming. There is nothing more irritating to me than wasting time.

2. Teach and mentor others

I like sharing what I love with others. It didn’t take me long as new teacher to know that you really must know a subject to teach it well. That’s one reason why I signed up to teach igoogle and google calendar this summer. I know I’ll have to know both those tools well, and I want to!

3. Create your own learning toolbox

This is the most important to me as I look around and see that the shift has happened. I think the course will introduce me to some tools I’ll like and some that I won’t. Either way, I’ll have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

My Blogdom begins

lakeviewreading — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:28:11 +0000

I’m intrigued by the fact that I’ve been drawn to 19th century stuff lately via the internet . . . who knew? I discovered Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (read Cranford in grad school, but had never heard of North and South) until I discovered Youtube. Now the book and film are at the top of my blog–for now anyway!What you see at the top of the webpage is a wallpaper from a fansite of Gaskell’s—imagine!