More Still Skeptical

[Margaret F]

Thinking about the connectivity angle and the EdTalk conversation Wednesday night, I'm wondering about the issue of e-conversation or e-feedback. In our July tech institute, we barely had time to "finish" our projects and also comment on each others', though that was our dedicated tech-time and we did, and I certainly enjoyed reading others' responses to everyone's creations and to mine though some responses were more thoughtful than others. We even had voices outside our institute group, such as Felicia's, joining us, and I was very amused one day when I commented on something Felicia, wherever she was, had posted, ending with "Felicia, are you out there," and it seemed within minutes (or at least by the next time I checked), she e'd back she was and responded to my question.

But now I'm thinking about the consuming/producing continuum...I still feel compelled to do a lot of consuming...August and my bookshelves and the library along with painting the house etcetera loom large. If I spend that time instead "producing content," it will lack the nourishment of what I might otherwise "consume" with that same time. All of Jane Austen's novels? All of Toni Morrison's? Annie Dillard's memoir of her writing life or any other "books about writing" I haven't read that were recently posted on our listserv? Wouldn't I be a better-informed "producer" after spending time "consuming" those?

I can only assume, as the clock keeps ticking, the consume/produce dilemma (or imperative?) is commonplace...mindless or purposeless producing seems as much a risk as mindless or purposeless consuming.