Google Docs!

I was very proud of myself the other day because I created my very first Google Doc. I have used them before in class but I have never created one. I remember the first day that I opened a Google Doc and I thought it was the coolest invention. I was so enthralled by how you could actually see what someone else was writing while they were typing it! Now that I have a Google account I decided to create a Google Doc for my art history class (we have an exam today). I was very disappointed that no one had added anything almost 24 hours after posting it. I added a few more things and then closed it in disappointment. However, when I returned a few hours later it was almost entirely filled up. I was joyous. I guess I felt that it was my creation even though it was a compilation of everyone's thoughts.

After that I started thinking about sharing knowledge. That is exactly what we are supposed to be doing in college. Learning is not a solitary process. Although we might think that it is, its not. We can glean knowledge from the best of books but we really wouldn't have learned. Learning comes from others, from sharing. As we are sharing and connecting with others and the world around us our eyes are opened to a whole world of knowledge that books can't really contain. Sure they can try to capture what others can teach us but it just isn't the same. I think about the blog experiences that I have had in just the past week and I have learned more about a variety of topics that I don't think I would have learned from a book. Part of the creating process is being able to connect.