Talk:Outdoor education

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any thoughts on why this space is unused? I think its a pretty interesting subject. Are people in the industry all technophobes? Any ideas on why most of the papers i read on outdoor ed fail to mention fun? I agree (That Guy;1997) when he said something about the gap between 'academic types' and 'field types'. <<(wow look i just created two new words for things that have existed a long time i must deserve a wiki:office;) One theory i have about why this page is 'dead' is because of a lack of 'community'. Users will be reluctant to contribute to a page that doesnt feel 'alive'. Outdoor education does some interesting and i feel important reaserch and many people are passionate about it I am amazed at the lack of online discussion about the topic. Am i looking in the wrong place for free useful info?Takeelos 10:05, 5 October 2010 (UTC)Reply

My sense is that people in the outdoor education field are quite disparate; there isn't much central organisation. Even the outdoor education discussion lists are pretty quiet these days, but you can find activity on some. It is also difficult to work in outdoor field settings and also have some tech skills and confidence to contribute to social media. And there is some selfishness (not wanting to share openly). But, hey, there's you and me! Let's start. I put most of my content initially up at http://wilderdom.com but am now gradually converting to wiki format. Sincerely, James. -- Jtneill - Talk - c 11:30, 5 October 2010 (UTC)Reply

Thanks for the advice, sorry about the sarcastic tone in my messages so far its hard for my generation to communicate online without it (bad habit i know.. i am working on it).. Im just getting started in the industry and was just a little frustrated about the lack quantity and quality of info online. Ive been using/viewing social meadia since early to mid 90's (BBS 9600 modems etc) my tech skills are pretty rusty at the moment but they will come back with practice. I totally agree with your point that people are unwilling to share information these days (i don't classify this action as the same as selfishness ed.) (applies especially on a online forums!). Im sure there is plenty of evidence out there to support this theory, some examples of lack of sharing are; this site, me using a gaming alt (common practice in most online realms), Colleges and Universitys not collaborating. On the other hand I can quickly think of a few billion examples of people sharing information (sometimes too much according to the law/social norms!) eg, P2P file sharing, flitter, flacebook, a large percentage of blogs and <most> content that can be found (easily) in the major search engines (drowned with advertising ;(). So i think the spirit of sharing is alive and well on the net it just has no focus (<this is inevitable is probably a good thing). To summarize if I were asked the question (love how easy it is to answer my own questions!); What are the 3 primary 'negative motivations' behind the lack of contribution to this page among outdoor educators (supporters and critics, field, office and everyone in between)? Id answer 1. Lack of knowledge/awareness about tech and social media and potential benefits 2. Lack of trust in technology, people and organizations. I think these two points are probably the cause of the lack of confidence you have observed in the social media. Id like to think selfishness is somewhere further down on the list of peoples motavations (I hope). Thanks again for the information Id love to do some editing someday I am just too busy with my current task of procrastination. Takeelos 00:24, 6 October 2010 (UTC)Reply