Nancy White and online communities

Last night I went to most satisfying performance of The Winter's Tale put on by the Eleventh Hour in a converted church in Fitzroy. The actors made the most of the space which was very unusually arranged. It was the first time I had seen this play and I was rivetted all the way through. The themes were so well presented, redemption and resurrection as well as destruction and jealousy, so thought provoking. I would recommend it if you're in Melbourne and can get to it. It is on till 7th October.

Also yesterday I participated in a live conversation with Nancy White in Seattle on Blogs and Community: launching a new paradigm for online community, which was hosted by the Knowledge Tree. It was the first time I had participated in an Elluminate event and it was interesting, although because it was the first time, the technology takes the foreground and not the experience itself. I think you have to get more familiar with the technology to allow it to be a totally transparent tool. The recording of the event can be found here and the article and a podcast with Nancy White can be found here. One of the interesting facets of the discussion that the 22 participants became, in effect, a community for the time we were in the discussion which felt very unusual when I asked a question in the text chat thinking that someone else would answer and Nancy herself stopped and commented on my question. And I was trying to be unobtrusive. One of the best things about blogging that I have experienced is the sense of inclusion I have felt since I joined the edublogosphere. I am glad that, in the words of the cliche, "you learn something new everyday", and if you're lucky it can be two things.