Make Cycle #3: Reflections

We’re Celebrating Connections!

As CLMOOC 2016 draws to a close, we can all celebrate the connections we have made this summer: connecting with people, connecting with technology and tools, and connecting with emerging ideas. With each person that reaches out, even for a moment, we connect through a dialogue that continues through each week and can continue through the year. Our final week was interactive and playful – two qualities that enhance and support inquiry and dialogue with materials and each other. Whether you observed, tinkered, or jumped right in, everyone’s participation was perfectly in tune with the CLMOOC.

(Image Credit : Karen LaBonte @klbz)

A survey of this week’s projects includes curiosity conversations, a continuing game of art tag, postcards and postcard remixes, poetry, maps, and more. We saw Wendy Taleo and Kevin Hodgson and Bryan Murley spearhead a bit of collaborative composing of music on Soundtrap; the many riffs on Melvina Kurashige’s line art; and plenty of work with poetry from Charlene Doland, Wendy Eiteljorg, and Terry Elliott, among others. We found ourselves made into musical tones and phrases, thanks to Karon’s interpretation of a Twitter Chat, and then Karon took it a step further to create a Star Chart of those conversations.

In the Make Cycle 3 Make With Me Hangout, a number of the participants pinpointed a challenge of working in openly networked learning communities: there is so much happening across different platforms. At times, it is easy to feel guilty about what we miss. Of course, there is no reason to feel this way. We resist FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and embrace JOMO (Joy of Missing Out). However, with the end of the week comes the opportunity to reflect. Not only is this a key step in the learning process, but it can afford you a chance to revisit those quiet corners you might have missed.

A4 #clmooc it helps to encourage people to put themselves out there and take risks. I find self-deprecation helps.

— Moshie (@EatcherVeggies) August 4, 2016

a4 join networks where support is expected, mistakes welcome, and joy comes from working together to understand #clmooc

— Sheri Edwards (@grammasheri) August 4, 2016

A4: more to the question, participants are encouraged to take risks, and efforts are applauded. Also encouraged to take next step. #clmooc

— Charlene Doland (@inspirepassion) August 4, 2016

As you reflect on this week, it is also time to reconsider the entire CLMOOC run. In his post “Reflecting on Connections,” Algot Runeman highlights what is meant to be central to the CLMOOC experience:

(Words by Algot Runeman/Line Drawing by Wendy Taleo)

Perhaps you are also thinking, “CLMOOC has been such a great experience. I wonder if there are ways to stay engaged throughout the year?” Check out this developing list of activities and ideas for keeping the creative energy and connections going beyond the summer.

Remain active on social media (Twitter, G+, Facebook, Instagram).
Curate an eportfolio or a make log of the work you completed this summer.
Join the ongoing postcard project.
Participate in Kim Douillard’s photo challenges and #silentsundays.
Form a group on G+, FB, Slack, Voxer or some other space concerning a shared purpose.
Come back to the Daily Connects.
Engage in curiosity conversations.
Take part in the National Writing Project’s Letters to the Next President project.
Participate in a weekly/monthly hashtag activity, like #Whitmanwednesday, #literacies, or #Thoreauthursday or some other hashtag of your making.

Also, as the distributed facilitation team organizes one final reflection (to arrive sometime next week, along with an extended list of suggestions for staying connected with CLMOOC through the year), we have created an open document as an invitation to all of YOU to contribute your short reflections on your CLMOOC experience this summer.

Please join us in reflection.