austraLasia #2318

Hacking the Way to Heaven

ROME: 1st January 2009 -- Happy New Year!  I note that 2008 started with #2018, so that makes a neat round 300 issues in 2008.  You can find and search all of them on SDL, as you know. The 2009 'thread' * has just been opened.
    Now, here is an offer, and to some extent a trial process for the Congregation following GC26, with a question behind it: can co-authorship work? Co-authorship using the Information and Communication Technologies we have on hand, in this case Bosconet, which is really built as a wiki these days.  Would some readers like to help in co-authoring a book which has as its title 'Hacking the Way to Heaven: evangelisation and education in a digital culture'?
    The first four chapters of this book are available on Bosconet (www.bosconet.aust.com) - you will find the main title in left-hand sidebar. You might want to flick through some of the 'pages' to understand the intent of this work. It is meant to pick up on some of the issues raised concerning evangelisation and education in a digital era by GC26, but saying what GC26 did not (could not, was not ready to, did not need to at that point...) say.  You will note, as you go through GC26, that there are any number of references to the role that communications plays in the Salesian mission (ICTS, Social Communication, personal media, convergent media, Free and Open Source Software, educational, formation challenges of media and so forth). Essentially this is what the book is about.  The choice of the 'hacker' expression is deliberate, but you need to read at least Chapter 1 to know why.  If it is mildly shocking to some, all the better. To others it will be almost obvious. You might also want to read Chapter 4 to better understand what I believe is the crux of the entire issue - that there has not just been incremental change over the years in our cultural situation, but that the digital era has reached the point of creating an entirely new one needing new paradigms. I believe there is strong evidence for that, and it is being said in so many ways. The Rector major said it again last night in his 'Strenna' presentation.
    How can you co-author?  If you are a digital native (30 or under?) or a well enculturated digital immigrant (30-100?!) you will have no difficulty simply using the wiki options: you are quite free to alter, add, cut. Up to you. The wiki will retain it all and leave me equally free! You may want to work in the 'comment on Chapter x' page instead - another option.  If you are less happy about working that way then that is no problem. You can request a copy of the entire text in doc or odt format and I'll send it to you.
    Chapters 5, 6 and 7 do not exist yet! The blank pages are there - feel free.  Possibly Chapter 5, if I write it, will tackle the question of 'personal and convergent media' (GC26) and formation.  If you write it, then it may be different!
    You do not have to write whole chapters - after reading something already there, do you have an experience to add?  Have you done any reflection on the educational implications of our digital era?  Are there key ideas that do not look as if they are going to get touched in what is represented so far, and should be?
    Depending on the level of contribution and the wish of the contributor, I will be happy to acknowledge your contribution, obviously. If there is a high level of contribution, it will be a book 'edited' by me. If there's just a few ideas from here and there I'll incorporate them and acknowledge them.
    Time frame? January!
    jbf

* Thread: here is an interesting and amusing 'howler'. Somone today brought me a programme for an event 'translated' into English. One of the opening addresses is called, at one point 'The red threat'. Thought that went out years ago, but checking the Italian, it seems that 'filo rosso' (sometimes used like 'filo conduttore' to mean 'key idea') got translated initially as 'red thread', which is its literal meaning, then came the inevitable typo!

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Title: australasia 2318
Subject and key words: SDB General Co-authoring Hacking the Way to Heaven
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2318