Community is something I've spent a great deal of time thinking about and trying to engage with over the last year. Working in SA, the creation of an intellectual community, the engagement with disadvantaged communities, the relationship with student community and community building. And then, slowly but surely, being part of an online community, which basically meant getting addicted to twitter...
The one thing I think that matters most in the building of community is the necessity of intergenerational mentorship. That resource of lived experience, well, I just can't prize it highly enough. I'm a better scholar, teacher, researcher and administrator when I can ask my peers who have forty years practice at what I've only been doing for four or five years. Their lessons and their experience is priceless - even as practice and pedagogy change.
I attended a conference today where one presenter talked about how he'd never learned to use powerpoint, he went straight from overhead projector work to tablet pcs! Some of the other presenters also argued that the pen and paper (or stylus tablet) is far more effective as a teaching tool than powerpoint or any other specky computing solution. And I understand their arguments and can see how they're right!
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