Networking

I spent the day noodling around with networks--computer networks in the morning, human networks in the afternoon--and the experience, while frustrating at times, turned out satisfying in the end.

This morning I stayed home recovering from chemotherapy, but that doesn't mean my students had the day off. My two morning classes had different types of online assignments to complete, and I needed to be available to respond to questions and trouble-shoot technical problems, so I was online pretty much all morning. Yesterday I monitored an online discussion at the cancer center, which has an ultra-fast wireless network; today, though, I was working in slow motion (thanks to the anti-nausea drugs) and so was my computer (thanks to a dial-up connection so slow it appears to be sedated).

My students did great work: nearly 100 percent participation, thought-provoking and insightful comments, playful but respectful responses to one another's ideas. Meanwhile, back in Slowsville, I spent a lot of time going click, wait, type, click, wait, repeat until I wanted to tear the keys right off the computer keyboard and toss them out the window. On the other hand, I didn't really have the strength to do much more than click, wait, type, click, wait, repeat, so it was a fairly harmless way to pass what could have been a miserable morning.

Finally I turned off the computer, got in the car, and drove to town for my daily radiation treatment--but first, I stopped at the grocery store for some of that wonderful Reed's extra-strong ginger ale (except this time I promise not to spill any on my computer!) and a few other necessities. But when I came out of the grocery store, my car wouldn't start.

Time to rely on a different kind of network: first, call AAA...except I don't have a cell phone and the only pay phone in the grocery store is being monopolized by a store employee. I stand around waiting for a while, but then I notice a familiar face--one of my colleagues is just leaving the store. I beg for a ride to the cancer center and he gladly provides one. Score one for human networks.

While waiting for my treatment, I borrow the phone and make a few calls, so that by the time I'm done being irradiated, my secretary is on hand to drive me back to my car and AAA is on the way. It's a simple fix--the AAA guy jumps the battery and then points out that the alternator belt is loose--and I'm soon on my way back home.

Which worked better, the online networks or the human ones? My students certainly excelled at using online networks to engage in learning, so the only fault lay in my snoozing dial-up connection. Human networks worked swiftly and smoothly. Both networks fulfilled requirements, but I'll always prefer the human kind--especially when well lubricated by kindness and care.