[Xmca-l] Re: The Problem with ListServs

[Greg Mcverry]

Thanks. I never really explored the archives going to check it out.

In the past I used XMCA as a novel and meant it. I don't have the
pre-requisite background knowledge for many threads and their is a strong
expectation for well sourced responses.

So in many ways it has served as a secondary source that allows me to
return to primary sources with some clarity.

So I thank all, regardless of age. As I said the problem with listservs is
they work.

On Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 12:13 PM mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:

> When an idea is hard to find again, Greg, I use the google search on the
> lchc web page.
> Perhaps we need another one just for the xmca archive?
>
> Can xmca be done better? Without a doubt. All it requires is the labor of
> those who lead the way. Applicants over the age of 75 should be eyed with
> great suspicion.
>
> mike
>
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 28, 2015 at 6:28 PM, Greg Mcverry <jgregmcverry@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I have been reflecting on XMCA since a recent hiatus..........
> >
> > This is a repost of my thoughts
> >
> > from:
> >
> > http://quickthoughts.jgregorymcverry.com/2015/the-
> problem-with-list-servs-and-connectedlearning
> >
> > List servs work, and work well. That's there major drawback. It is hard
> to
> > move academics off of a tool that has functioned long before the Web.
> >
> >  Yes it comes with the baggage of bad email practices we suffer through
> at
> > work: Unecessary reply-alls, threads being hijacked, threads getting too
> > long and complex, people replying to older threads with totally new
> topics,
> > and different formatting.
> >
> > This is all before we consider the complexity of different levels of
> > learners steeped within varying discourses and even languages.
> >
> > Even with these major drawbacks learning gets done.
> > List servs work because distribution discourse works better than
> > destination discourse.
> >
> > Instead of trying to get people to come to your site or join your network
> > the content just comes to you. You decide to reply. As Gina Tripani notes
> > email is truly one of the original federated systems.
> >
> > I want to help move folks off of list servs and on to other more open
> > distribution channels. While it is hard to move people off of tools that
> > work I would like to see groups try new methods.
> >
> > *LRA*
> >
> > As e-editor of the Literacy Research Association we are trying to
> encourage
> > people to publsih their own content and push through our new websites.
> > Mainly by using the forums. These can be set up just like list servs,
> your
> > inbox can be flooded as much as you want. So could your RSS feed.
> >
> > *XMCA*
> >
> > The Extended Mind Culture and Activity theory was a MOOC long before that
> > was even a thing. There have been people arguing and seeking consensus
> over
> >  Russian and German translations of words for over a decade. It is the
> home
> > of Open scholarship on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Vygotsky,
> > Hegel, Marx and a wonderful group of scholars.
> >
> > It is ripe for a tool like Discourse or Known.
> >
> > I fall in and out of XMCA. It is a list serv that works too well. So I
> have
> > to hide it in my email client if inbox zero were ever to be reached. I
> > recently bundled XMCA in Google's new inbox tool which means I can see
> the
> > messages and quickly dismiss them.
> >
> > Its when I need to find an idea again that XMCA gets difficult.
> >
> > It also reads like a Novel. The brilliant thought, often outside of my
> > wheelhouse, makes casual reading impossible. The problem of course is it
> is
> > email. Searching through email for threads of logic gets hard quick.
> > Discourse
> >
> > I have been playing a bit in discourse with #ccourses and with Mozilla's
> > webmaker (now Mozilla Learning...I think). At first I was hesitant. Not a
> > fan of stackable forums. I like threaded discussions. Showing my age
> here.
> >
> > But the social, the tagging, and the categories make it ideal for a
> complex
> > learning space like XMCA. This would be a little more of a closed off
> space
> > but would resemble the list serv without all of the baggage (until we
> > discover the new luggage that folks travel with in new spaces).
> >
> > I threw together a quick example
> > <
> > http://forum.networkedlearningcollaborative.com/t/winns-exploring-the-
> literate-trajectories-of-youth-across-time-and-space/18
> > >(using
> > recent emails as an example) on my own site (not sure if log-in
> required).
> >
> > http://forum.networkedlearningcollaborative.com/t/winns-exploring-the-
> literate-trajectories-of-youth-across-time-and-space/18
> >
> > XMCA is already installed on a university server. Discourse would be no
> > different. Except better.
> > Known
> >
> > I am just starting to play with Known but I could easily see it be used
> for
> > distributed discourse. You can quickly push it out to everywhere.
> >
> > If Wordpress is chess, than Known is Othello. Both allow for endless
> > learning but one can begin playing Othello almsot immediately.
> >
> > Basically as community of academics, in places like XMCA and Listserv, we
> > should encourage people to publish on their own sites and syndicate
> > everything to a common hub or space.
> >
> > Known would be just one example. This can be done with any blogging
> > platform. The goal should be to own you own content in a federated web.
> >
>
>
>
> --
> "Each new level of development is a new relevant context." C.H. Waddington
>