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TelEd Reflections Date: Mon, 4 Dec 1995 Hi Folks, For all of us who were at TelEd as well as those who couldn't be physically present, I'd like you to know that OII seems to capture and develop the ideas and imagination required to tackle the challenges that pervaded discussions throughout the conference. We form the most incredible group of people I've ever witnessed, and we are right on target. Some of us have a higher degree of tolerance for uncertainty and confusion than others; some of us have been at this for longer than others; many of us feel we're not quite ready for prime time: my observation is that when you take all of us together, we have exactly what we need to move ahead. There is no time to wait until we are ready, we will get ready as we go, and we will have daily course corrections along the way. There will follow a polished version(s) of what I observed at the conference, for this and other lists, but I want to share a personal one that will remain here "between us": this was the first time I've ever been away from my family on my birthday. Thanks to Frank, I got my first card by email, and thanks to dozens of OII folks, I realized it was the first birthday I've spent with my cyberfamily, and the warmth and support provided (including some hot chiles from NM that almost set off the airport alarms!) touched me deeply. Yesterday, when I arrived in Kingston and was reunited with my "real" family, the circle was complete, and we all agreed it had been worth it. There are many exciting developments for us on the immediate, near term horizon, on which I'll elaborate over the next few days. The gist of what I've learned confirms much of what I suspected: our power comes from the unique way in which we focus on what is needed at the local level by small, workable groups of people, and then support these activities by blending the global riches of our learning community. This model will be needed by hundreds of thousands of teachers who will be coming online in the next year. They will be even less ready than we are. We will only be able to support these folks by working closely with other groups. OII is able to help, in part, because we are not a "project" or even an "organization" in the way that many of our partners are. Rather, we are like the Iroquois Confederacy, a gathering of sovereign nations who come together to pursue common aims, and agree not to make war on one another. The individuals and partners who met in the halls, lunch tables and repeatedly in my hotel room on Thursday, Friday and Saturday seem to "get it" immediately; others are having a harder time making the mental shift to this mode of operation. This message is getting longer than it should, I have classes and quite a bit of catch-up, but wanted to thank everyone who was there, and also encourage everyone else to stay tuned, and prepare for take off! Ferdi |
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