The Merits of Commenting

I’ve just had a refreshing break, two weeks of R and R and I’m now feeling ready to embrace the second half of the year.  I’ve enjoyed the latest newsletter posted by Clarrie from the FarNet HarbourNet Ning and I am reminded how insightful posting reflective comments can promote new ways of thinking which I can use in my teaching practice.  Till now I’ve often felt too busy to comment preferring instead to be a ‘lurker’ because commenting takes time and thought.  I’ve also worried at times about what my comments might read like to others.  I feel more comfortable putting across my ideas in a face to face context where I can interpret my listeners body language and receptivity.  Whereas we don’t have that with online conversations.  With the advent of the internet and online communities writing in a public place is something many of us are having to get used to, after all a collaborative information era depends on it’s community to engage

Still, there are many times when I enjoy being able to blob in front of the television, where someone else does the work.  Equally I enjoy being a student or an observer in someone else’s class.  However I do recognised the value in commenting, it develops connections to my own experiences and establishes   links which form as the conduits to the development of new knowledge.  Had I just sat back and observed I might miss those inner ‘eureka’ moments.  Those moments when I feel I’m the first to stumble upon some insightful understanding, the buzz and the self motivation that arises and inspires me to learn more.