The thing about average experiences is– well– they are supposed to happen most of the time. Perhaps in addition to learning to use blogs, making sense of the public vs private, understanding self-construction, and all the other cognitive and curricular issues, we are seeing a fair amount of outsized expectations about what can (and should) happen.

From this outsider’s perspective the news is overwhelmingly good even if the normal end-of-term vagaries still exist…

I’m still out there and reading along even though my posts have died out. The minutiae of launching a new school is all-consuming these days. As I think about the role of technology in my new school, I have a unique opportunity to set priorities without having to change a pre-existing school culture. I see lots of opportunity for innovation here and will try to exploit it as best as possible. In my new role, I’ve also become hyperaware of the myriad obstacles that will make this a difficult task. Besides the ones you recall from my earlier post, there’s a larger cultural roadblock that goes beyond a few teachers and one school. I’ve yet to deal with it specifically regarding weblogs but it’s part of every decision I deal with. Expanded centralized authority makes it increasingly difficult to implement something so decentralized. The bureaucratic culture is risk adverse and shuns “innovation” that didn’t trickle down from the top (top down “innovation”?; absurd, yes). On a more political note, I wonder about the broader cultural context in which we live these days where thinking differently is considered by many to be unwelcome. In the meantime, I take away valuable ideas from you, Pat, Anne, Tim, and many others. Some of these ideas will emerge elsewhere eventually. In the meantime, I say screw the “tipping point” question and keep innovating.

You say, “And I think on some level our collective experience is translating into greater learning for our students.” I love the fact that adults are very publicly learning along side their students. To me, that’s one of the strongest arguments for what you’re trying to do.