Notable Notes: #CLMOOC Reciprocity Remixed

One of the reasons I put so much time and effort into building community with my classes, and the Morehead Writing Project, is because community has so much to offer. This week’s #CLMOOC Make Cycle celebrated the fun and joy and growth that can result from a community built right – with gratitude and generosity. The idea behind this make cycle was to reciprocate, but one of the things that makes CLMOOC so great is that there is an infinite loop of reciprocity and our creations and lessons are so often intertwined it is difficult to trace them to their source. I was inspired to create two different makes this week: Reciprocity Found and (Re)mediating the Meaning of #CLMOOC, but this post is an exploration of the #CLMOOC ideas that inspired me to think, to create, and to grow with the idea of creating a #F5F (although a day late and perhaps off numerically as well but it is the thought that counts, isn’t it) as well as to simply contemplate the ideas of reciprocity and remixing.

via GIPHY

Sarah Honeychurch continues to inspire me in a number of ways. I love the word association game she initiated by asking the simple question: What Does Connecting Mean to You? If I hadn’t already written a poem I am sure this collection of words would inspire me to do so and maybe I will during our break. She also raises (continues/extends?) an important issue – the ethics of the remix – on her blog. I can remember listening to an NPR interview with an artist who remixes music when s/he said that s/he doesn’t ask for permission but just puts it out in the social media world and waits for feedback. It is an interesting question to consider. I think reuse within a community or specific context, such as CLMOOC, is all part of the experience and doesn’t require special permission. The musician in the interview seemed to feel that remixing music to make something new and different should be flattering to the original creator (and apparently the artists chosen to remix felt the same way) but what if someone hijacks your creation for a purpose you don’t agree with (see Trump’s use of music for his campaign)? I know that I often repurpose images although I’m careful to use those offered for such purpose and even when not required I like to give credit (and a link back). I am not OK with corporations using my work to make money, but I do kind of think once you put your work out on the interwebs that you cannot be too upset when someone repurposes it.

Apparently Sheri Edwards is thinking along the same lines and shared this interesting video about sharing created by Creative Commons.

Simon Ensor took this conversation in a different but equally interesting direction when he shared the article: The Story of Your Life. I saved this article for more thinking later because it has a lot of implications for the ways that we share and remix our narratives for different contexts.

Kim Douillard’s remixed photo essay about Making Writers was an interesting exploration on a number of levels and could be a very inspiration project to think more about later.

Susan Watson works really hard to keep us all connected and encouraged so I am recognizing her efforts while sharing some of her shares! She remixed this nifty celebration of Kevin Hodgson and shared this post by Algot Runeman about the science of remixing.

My big takeaway for this week is that I want to concentrate more on remixing in my classes. I think there are many benefits to remixing, but primarily it requires a form of slow reading that we miss out on during our quick skims of so much material. Remixing is also great training for editing because you have to think carefully to the details and make choices about what to keep, change, or drop. I leave you with one final thought about remixing that I encountered outside the CLMOOC conversation.

What Is Original?
When is copying flattery, when is it thievery, and when is it sheer genius? In this hour, TED speakers explore how sampling, borrowing, and riffing make all of us innovators.

What do you think about remixing? Is remixing useful for learning?

Author: Deanna Mascle
#TeachingWriting and leading #NWP site @ Morehead State (KY): Passionate about #AuthenticWriting, #DeeperLearning, #PBL, #Ungrading, and #HyperDocs.

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