Image credit: HJ.DeWaard

Welcome to Make Cycle #2 in CLMOOC 2016! In this second week of CLMOOC 2016 (Making Learning Connected Massive Open Online Collaboration), we are grateful to Scott Glass for phrasing the title for this week’s make. Let’s connect by reciprocating with gratitude and generosity.

If you have just arrived … welcome. You are not late. You are right on time. Finding ways to reciprocate generosity in our community is a key way for all of us to grow together even as we learn together. For Make Cycle 2, consider this idea of reaching out into conversation, of moving behind the “+1” or “like” or heart button into something deeper and richer, to be the very heartbeat of CLMOOC.

In a recent blog post, Aaron Davis (whose blog ReadWriteRespond is a must-read) dives into the concept of his own writing life. Entitled “A Village Takes Many Things,” Aaron celebrated his own 300th blog post by reaching out to all of the people who have left comments at his blog site. He invited them through personal communication to write on the theme of the Village in a single blog post. And they did. Aaron’s project shows the ways in which connections ebb and flow, and he honored his readers as a reciprocal act of trust and connection.

Make Cycle #2 includes two activities to connect learners:

1. Reciprocation – Dip in, Swim in or Dive in
2. Connection

1. Reciprocate and Reiterate 

Connected Learning principles pull us together through our shared interests. We share within this community and springboard our own making by sharing as a group, by crafting and creating in ways that capture our interests and passions, not just within our roles as educators and learners.

Everyone wants an encouraging audience for their work! How do we actively “listen” to others in digital spaces? How can we invite more connections? How can you honor the work of another? How can you show that you closely read and absorbed what someone else wrote? Kevin Hodgson does a beautiful job of this in his recent blog post. Check it out.

There’s a feeling you get when someone truly pays attention to your thoughts and ideas by explicitly remixing, re-mashing, reflecting, or reciprocating your work that is validating. The same can be said of the other end — of “closely reading” what someone else has shared, and validating it with a response that honors the voice and words and intentions of the writer.

Dip in – Do something quick and easy. Use what you’re familiar with, like this quote with an image, honoring another’s ideas.

• Ask a question as a comment on a blog post, a G+ post, or a #CLMOOC tweet.
• Add a link to someone’s blog post into your next tweet or post as a way to honor their creation.
• Write an in-depth comment on someone’s blog post and continue that interaction as a conversation — maybe on Deanna Mascle’s post Exploring Identity in/with #CLMOOC.
• Take a screen capture image from a Make from Cycle 1 (or somewhere else) and comment on it, e.g. the way Scott Glass reciprocated Kim Douillard’s photo.
• Create an analog image from a blog post or introduction. Christina Hendrick’s introduction shows an example.
• Invite people to interact with you. Create a poll or survey and send it out to to the CLMOOC community (use the #clmooc tag on Twitter). Respond to invitations like Helen DeWaard’s Reciprocate with Gratitude survey.

Swim in – Try something slightly more time-consuming and detailed.

• Remix an Intro.
  • Susan Watson’s remix of Jeffrey Keefer’s poem
  • Using a meme generator like Super – examples from Kevin Hodgson’s blog post
• Add someone else’s words to the “Found Poetry” collaborative slideshow introduced in Make Cycle 1.
• Create a game or collaboration and invite people to play (Marco Polo style). See Jennifer Denslow’s Poem Generator blog post and comments with Kevin Hodgson’s Twitter response.
• Change the mode/format of someone’s Make in a way that shows appreciation for the original (comic, drawing, video, audio, letter…). See Jill Dawson’s cow remix.
• Meet in person or online and create something together.

Dive in – Create something in a new way. Learn a process or app while creating. Synthesize the thoughts of others in a more detailed way.

• Arrange a meeting with someone from #CLMOOC in a Google Hangout or Skype to share or talk about a Make.
• Use someone else’s Make as a model for your own work; explain your thinking and process. Make your learning visible to others. See Sheri Edwards’ Evernote.
• Connect a Make (yours or someone else’s) to others’ ideas and work. Create a “twisted pair” — Connect two posts, tweets, comments or creations together to make something new. (Read more about twisted pairs on Steve Wheeler’s Twisted Pair List)
• Write a prequel or sequel. (Remember: humor is healthy and welcome.)
• Curate several Makes (Check the CLMOOC Make Bank and previous curation Makes) to show appreciation via the curation.
• Build something or make with your hands in analog rather than digital. Recognize where you were inspired by someone’s work. Document and share your process and learning.
• Annotate in collaboration with others in the CLMOOC community. You will need to create a free account with these annotation tools before you join in.
  • Try Hypothes.is (text annotation) to collaboratively annotate Nick Sousanis’ Grid Gestures. Learn about Hypothes.is and about group annotations using Hypothes.is to get you started. Use this link to connect to the CLMOOC group. Collaboratively annotate Grids and Gestures.
  • Try Vialogue (annotation of video) to collaboratively annotate the Kirby Ferguson video Embrace the Remix. You can link to the Vialogue for this video HERE.

We encourage you to seek out participants who are new to you — find and make new connections — as well as to continue the collaborations you already have with folks you know or have worked with in the past.

The results of such reciprocation are beautifully unpredictable. Terry Elliott calls the best of these interactions “quantum entanglements.” As Terry poetically reminds us, “If tech isn’t connected to life it is an inert idea, not even usefully dead like a possum that feeds a vulture or a blade of orchard grass hay from the pasture. I think it is more like setting a luna moth free.”

Here are some examples and resources to spark your reciprocations:

Examples

• Canva – Create an image with text, e.g. Reciprocate by Helen DeWaard.
• Super – Create a poster with image and quote to honor an idea or connection e.g. Kevin Hodgson’s What If – CLMOOC poster.

  

Check Out These Resources

• Kirby Ferguson [Ted Talk] Embrace the Remix
• A wealth of remix Makes in the Make Bank
• Austin Kleon – Steal Like an Artist
• Austin Kleon (video)
• Austin Kleon – Brain Pickings article
• Have You Checked Out Music.ly?
• Stillweb.org and this post titled The Art of Just Watching
• TIDE podcasts with Doug Belshaw and Dai Barnes
• Grids and Gestures by Nick Sousanis
• Grid Gestures Explanation (video) with Nick Sousanis
  • Example of this created by Helen DeWaard – A Flat Day

2. Connections 

Once you’ve completed your remix, remake, reiteration or reciprocation, connect it to the CLMOOC community in a conscious decision to share with generosity.

In the CLMOOC G+ Community, please RECIPROCATE by sharing gratitude for the contributions of other participants. Extend a comment if you +1 another’s contribution.

On Twitter, tag your posts #clmooc and use the “quote this tweet” option to extend the conversation.

If you need help, just ask — the CLMOOC G+ Community, the Twitter #CLMOOC hashtag or the Facebook Group is there to assist.

If you are seeking other daily activities, check out the Daily Connector blog site, which offers a possible way to connect each day. You are free to partake in the ideas or ignore them, as your time and interest allows. You can submit an iteration or reciprocation of a Daily Connect idea for the site. Just use this form.

Choose an option to support our community connections and show your gratitude and support for participant’s makes. Remember to participate at your comfort level. If you know an answer, jump in and share.

Places to Share

• In Google Plus, you can join and post to our CLMOOC Community.
• On Twitter, we encourage you to follow and use the #clmooc hashtag this summer. (You can check this out even if you’re not on Twitter.)
• You can post your blog posts / makes on Twitter, in our CLMOOC G+ Community, and/or in the CLMOOC Facebook group.
• We also encourage you to share your makes in the CLMOOC Make Bank.

Live Events

• Join our Make With Me live broadcast with chat on Tues., July 19 at 7p ET/4p PT/11pm UTC live streamed with a synchronous chat here at CLMOOC. This session will also be recorded so you can watch the archive later.
• We will be hosting a Twitter Chat for Make Cycle #2 on Thurs., July 21 at 7p ET/4p PT/11pm UTC with the #clmooc hashtag.

Need More Information?

• Check out our FAQ page
• Reach out to us with questions or suggestions in the CLMOOC G+ Community, in the Facebook Group, or via #clmooc on twitter.

Finally …

Share your gratitude for the gifts given by others in the CLMOOC community. This collaborative reciprocation of ideas, images and Makes becomes an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Launch into the conversations or listen from safe spaces. Be yourself. Remember we ~ the community ~ are here to support each other as we share in connected places.

Thank you for generously reciprocating and remixing with us!

Susan Watson @eatcherveggies
Helen DeWaard @hj_dewaard
CLMOOC Make Cycle 2 facilitators