Young people often tell us how important their online lives and identities are, so the ability to immediately link participation in a real world event to the online world only adds value to the experience. Additionally, expect physical spaces to increasingly include virtual components, creating a mash-up hybrid environment.
What are they talking about?
- Some razzle-dazzle new school hybrid that will be all the rage at the next edu-conference you visit?
- Some ultra-funky school of the future already drawing together the world's great architects?
- Some light-leaning towards an understanding that schools might be better served by vibrant real-time collaboration with the real world that is repositioning what we mean by learning and academic ventures of all shapes and sizes?
Nope.
Although one can dream. Or see a small pebble create a concentric circle of conversation towards such an end. Perhaps.
Nothing that dramatic. Just something they call a "Blog Bar":
As a way to create a more engaging, interactive and creative way for consumers to experience brands, stores and events, expect to see more “blog bars” (computer terminals which give the public the ability to post in real time and on location) to pop up in such settings. Consumers will have the opportunity to post fresh thoughts and reactions, pose questions, and receive immediate response.
Art Basel recently featured a blog bar, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently hosting a blog bar, with eight computer terminals, at their current blog.mode: addressing fashion exhibition. The public can post their reactions to the show and ask questions which curators will respond to; in short, the blog bar is meant to “provoke commentary.” Excerpts of the blog will be included in the post-show book in order to document the impact of the exhibit and attendees’ participation.
Something wonderful about that "provoke commentary" element alone.
What the IG "Trendcentral" description is pointing to is one of those so-obvious-its-obvious next steps that seem ripe for the picking if one were thinking futuristically about school as a larger system or a launching pad for new just-one-classroom ideas, at least.
They call it a "Blog Bar". I'd like for someone to just call it a de facto, kinda-obvious classroom assignment that just integrates itself into the day-to-day business we call learning. Everywhere we go.
But I'm wacky that way.
Thanks for this post! Though this is the first I heard the term "blog-bar", you are so right on about simply calling it de facto. This is a wonderful concept for creating enhanced conversation.
Posted by: Joe Miller | December 20, 2007 at 09:46 PM