It seems, perhaps not surprisingly, that many appear to be puzzled and sometimes annoyed by the chaotic structure of the course, even some of my italian classmates of the LTEver community.
Well, let’so go for a walk in a wood and relax …
What does it mean to know a wood?
- to know its name?
- to know the region where it is located?
- to know all the paths in the wood so as to be able to find the way back from any place and in any condition?
- to know the kinds of trees, plants and animals that are populating it?
- to know it so that you can hunt wild animals there?
- to know that in a certain place there is water flowing under the soil?
- to know where and when one can find good mushrooms there?
- to know a relevant historical fact that took place there?
- to know that a famous poet found inspiration there?
- to know it because you felt in love there?
Oh, there are so many ways to know that wood, some of them achieved in an entire life and some in very short times.
However, nobody would assume that in order to know that wood one has to know exactly every tree, one by one, its shape, age and location. Every plant. Every leave of every plant. Every animal and where every animal is and what every animal is doing at any instant. Every stone. Every particle.
Of course not! It is just too much and after all, would this kind of knowledge be desirable? No, this thorough and crazy knowledge appears to be less desirable than one of the previous ones.
No, what we need is to find our own way to know that wood. There are unlimited ways to now it and everyone has a different system (network?) of concepts to connect to it. Even the same person at different times has a different system of concepts to connect to it.
At any rate, which is the best way to achieve that peculiar knowledge? Just enjoing a walk in the wood, one, two, many times and go where you see something you like. With the passing of time you will know that wood in your own way.
So, let’s go far a walk in this course and relax …
Andreas Formiconi 
One of the best metaphor I have ever read about knowledge, about learning. 🙂
It’s a great potrait of what many of us (including me) feel in this course.
We should use this metaphor also with our children
Eleonora
(a future teacher…!)
gracias Andreas
This analogy helped me understand the general concept of this course. I continue to use it whenever someone asks me what connectivism is and they get it instantly.
Hi Andreas,
Nice post, slows down the pace of my heart. On the other hand: you will never know the wood if you just walk the pleasent paths.
/Jorgen C
Nice! Ok I’ll try to cross the gap between me and the wood. 🙂
Nice analogy Andreas
Thanks
… mentre lavoro sul PC appaiono messaggi che mi raggiugono e che io raggiugno con estreme facilità: mi sembra che non sono io a conoscere il bosco, ma il bosco che sta lentamente conoscendo me, riconoscendo la mia presenza, mi incontra ed allunga la sua ombra sul mio lavoro…
Glad to share, thank you guys and thanks to my nice and facetious students, Sara, Veggie and Mafalda …
I agree totally, Michael: we don’t learn when we are stressed …
Thanks Andreas for reminding us all to take a holistic view of events on the massive connectivism course.
.. and to relax! We don’t learn when we’re stressed, do we?
kind regards, michael
Disclaimer:
this professor is property of the Florence school of medicine’ students, he’s just been released on a copyleft basis for the sake of all of you out there.
please, handle with care.
Hello Andreas,
I am very proud to see my Italian friends working and being praised in this course! Plus your English is excellent…! Stephen is right, you have expressed it so perfectly and now we can all relax a little bit…maybe not worry. In my case, I can always read all those papers another day.
Complimenti!
Susan
Great advice! Thanks for starting my day off on such a nice note!
Everything is so true… and it sounds so right to me!!
Very insightful post. The analogy works great.
Oh, very nice…
I agree with you. There are many ways to know a wood, and it doesn’t exist a “correct” way. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t work that way.
In our world, there are limits everywhere. There is ONE WAY to know a wood, and if your way to know that wood is too different from the “good” one, you must be wrong.
Our world would be a better world if every single way to know a wood was accepted and understood.
Much appreciated your post.
We succeed when we recognize that each individual sees the woods in a different way, encourage their exploration, and then ensure that their knowledge is both celebrated & shared.
Thanks for the analogy.