Perspectance

My back yard is full of birds! It always has been, but I have given the backyard bird society minimal attention over the years. As my vocational mind has evolved in virtual worlds with virtual tools, my treasured relationship with the natural world has suffered. I only know the names of a few birds who visit my feeder, and fewer of their voices. This is one reason I finally chose to take a birding class at Antioch University (alumni have lifetime audit privileges!).

Professor Sue Woerhlin’s “Birding in the Imagination and the Field” is a combination of face to face meetings where we discuss lots of readings, take several day-long, guided group field trips, and work on really cool personal birdwatching and field journalling assignments. Sue is also great model of constructivist teaching and was one of the first people to help me assemble a vocabulary of participatory design – another of her subjects.

Always one to dovetail my experiences (no pun intended) and make a learning adventure out of everything, I’m planning to blog about this experience. Why? Because I need a creative outlet and the possibility of connection with others interested in ideas. I am still new to blogging, new to an online identity, and insatiable in my appetite for learning, technology, ideas, and the natural world. Playing with all of it in a blog will help integrate the pieces of me.