Ana Cristina Pratas - E-Portfolio

Connecting with Nepal began months before I actually landed.

As I look down at Katmandu from my window seat, the eyes of the Stupa lock into mine, reminding me to keep the promise of return. There are voices to find, voices to listen to, voices to unleash.

And so begins the re-tracing of my involvement with Nepal. An educational journey, an adventure into the realities of developing countries, an experience of castes, ethnic groups, plains and hills.

My finger traces the map.

My mind traces the territories which I encountered along the way.

Voices echo through the mist.

Voices define the territories.

Nameste! – Welcome to traces of Nepal. Welcome to a digital territory of change, social complexity and Himalayan seduction.

Minds, mirrors and reflections. All come together in weaving digital strands when crossing borders, melting boundaries, connecting minds; so it is only appropriate that this blog will hopefully reflect the inspirational, eclectic and sometimes electrifying consequences which vivid minds can initiate. Join me here in the unravelling of minds which inspire us to go further in our quest for knowledge and understandings.

Mirrors are not for looking at. Mirrors are for looking into.

What is your reflection like?

Digital storytelling: using new technology to unleash our student’s creativity
– The topic of tomorrow’s TeachingEnglish online chat with Ana Cristina Pratas
Ana Cristina recently won our TeachingEnglish blog award for her thought-provoking post: The power of quiet http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/top-stories/featured-blog-month-october
She’s passionately interested in how we can use new technology to help students to express themselves and find their voice, so I do hope you can join us tomorrow.
– The time 16.00 - 17.00 CET (Madrid time zone) Thursday, 22 November
Check the World Clock to find out what the time of the chat is where you are http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

http://screencast.com/t/7V1wdiUP

by Ana Cristina Pratas Ships in harbour are safe, but that is not the what ships were built for.  John Shedd Throughout 2011, anyone who spends time online will have witnessed the increased focus o...

The current MOOC – Education, Learning and Technology – #change11 – began some weeks ago. Having known about it since George Siemens first announced the current MOOC in the summer, only now am I crossing the boundary of lingering, loitering and visibly participating on the course. I have attended some live sessions, and naturally enjoyed reading the many contributions by participants in their #change11 blogs.

Stepping from the shadows into the light takes time. Time to make sense, time to question, time to connect.

All connections are crops. Fragmentary beads of light and life, of knowledge and knowing, learning and sharing. As crops connect, so too is awareness raised, contributing to the dynamic collective consciousness which impulses one forward. New fields of knowing, new energies to share and pass on to others.

This blog is about crops – connections between windows of questions, reflections, and being an active participant on a MOOC.

As I begin my process of planting, cropping, reaping connections, my sincerest thanks to all current participants who have shared and taught me so much so far.

Before knowledge, there is imagination.

Imagination is the power behind the learning process – the desire of expanding horizons and one’s mind.

Hence the dream, the desire to learn. For learning to occur, there needs to be a weave of understanding between imagination and knowledge. Only then can there be a sense of knowing.

Learning is also a journey of exploration – the exploration (exploitation?) of ideals and ideas, the crossing of boundaries, mapping out new territories, all linking past and present.

This blog will be my tapestry of learning and weaving a sense of clearer understanding. It is my journey of questioning and knowing throughout this course.

What threads will unwind?