Rapid Fire Learning - July

Chris Owen takes us on a scandalous look inside her learning this month to get the JJL group kicked off with Rapid Fire Learning (RFL). If you are not familiar with RFL, briefly we take some time at the end of the month (usually the 25th, but I am late) and reflect on what has occurred to come up with 5 things we have learned.

1 - Travel is a great learning environment
Dolores and I took the train from the northwest suburbs into downtown Chicago on our recent trip there. The conductors ticket collection routine is different from here in MA. Here, they usualy gruffly demand to see the ticket or pass, leave a ticket on your seat so they will know for the next stop. The conductors in IL walked pleasently long the car, calling out "Who needs a ticket?"

2 - Go into the woods
Hiking in the woods is a great get away. No cell phone service, no internet (ah, can I do it but what if I miss something). Yes, the world is different in the woods. You get reminded of what really matters. And with all due respect, it is not the internet.

3 - Lincoln lost
I recall learning about the Lincoln-Douglas Debates while in school (now many years ago). 150 years ago, the two gentlemen met in 7 towns from Auust through October; whistle stop travel, the crowds, the actual face to face debate. Completely different from the TV stuff we see today. One thing I had forgotten from those days was that Douglas won the election. The debates established Lincoln and his line of thought so that he was able to move directly from his role as an attorney to the Presidency. Quite a move.

4 - Pictures tell more than one story
The wonderful theme at JJL shows that every picture does tell a story but they are not limited to tell just one.

5 - When folks gather around a common interest, great things can happen
The recent PodCamp Boston 3 (PCB3) with 370 individuals attending over two days has spawned over 2,000 Flickr photos, hours of podcast and video shows, and the learning continues. If there is a PodCamp near you, I recommend participating. If there isn't one go ahead and start one, I'll be glad to provide some help.

What did you learn this month?