Mountains, mountains, more mountains

I don't know what it is about mountains, but I love them. I always have. I remember as a small kid staring at the Appalachain Mountains that I grew up in, just wondering. You know, looking at the ridge lines receeding seemingly forever into the distance and just wondering where they went. Sunsets in the mountains are always so spectacular. Sunrise is even more so; especially when you wake up in a sleeping bag watching the sun come up over your toes.

I became a telemark skier, then racer, then backcountry enthusiast. I guess that happened when I discovered the amazing Wasatch and Rocky Mountains and what backcountry skiing was REALLY about. Telemark racers are notorious for making the race secondary to the free ski in order to just hit the trees (not literally but backcountry wise). Those races were too much fun, and so my love of mountains expanded. Then, there were the Alps that became more familiar during the Telemark World Championships in St. Anton, Austria and San Gervais, France. Jumping with the Norgies (Norwegian Tele Skiers) was certainly eye-opening. I realized you could talk with anyone, anywhere in the world if you could talk about mountains; or better yet, if you were experiencing them together you didn't need to talk at all. Blissful existence and good memories afterwards.

I could go on and on about mountain experiences; the Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt; the backside of Killington, Vermont; spring camping trips up Tuckerman's Ravine in New Hampshire; even an expedition to Mt. Everest as a trekker and student of expedition life. Hiking the mountains, biking the mountains, climbing the mountains, trout fishing in the mountains of Montana, or just staring at the mountain ridges from my kitchen window in Vermont. Many of my most memorable and long-lasting friendships were forged in the mountains.

So what's this got to do with technology and on-line learning? Not much. That's the whole point. Contrast. Having the one makes you appreciate the other. So when it came time to design a course (in Moodle) for on-line study, I chose a topic that took me to the mountains (in terms of content, not actual geography) where I knew the subject matter would keep me going through the frustration of "dissonance in learning". I am learning lot, but I'm still struggling with how to get it all into my moodle course. I did this little widget flickr badge to motivate and inspire students of my Avalanche Safety in the Backcountry on-line course. Seems the only one it's motivated is me, cause I can't get it into moodle (yet).

Check out my new flickr badge, anyway. Most of the photos are not mine. Wish they were.