North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Tom Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hi all,

If it is all already in books why does NAFEX exist at all?
(tongue firmly
planted in cheek)

Let me state my online course idea another way.

To a novice, grafting can seem a little intimidating.  The
NAFEX group has
answered many of my questions, just as they have answered
the same
questions a thousand times before.  To the point where some
members of the
list don't even want to see posts regarding certain
subjects.

Why not put together a web page that briefly covers a single
topic, ask beginners
to read the web page, and then schedule an online chat where
their
questions could be answered.

These reviews on various subjects could be done just prior
to the
appropriate season, on a regular basis, or as needed.
Beginners as well as experienced members would all be
invited to the online chat.  This would give old and new
NAFEX'ers a chance to meet, socialize, and focus on a
beginner topic online.

The problem with being a novice at anything, is that you do
not know the
right questions to ask, and this could serve as a great
vehicle to ground
the novice in the basics, and clarify points they do not
understand.

Take this web page for instance...

http://www.egroups.com/files/nafex/Grafting/Splice.htm

Say Gordon (not picking on Gordon, this page is just a good
example) invited people to review his web page, and then
chat online about it on Friday, December 5th, from 8:00 to
9:00 PM (EST) using  http://www.egroups.com/chat/nafex  as
the chat vehicle. (this is only an hypothetical example at
this point)

It would answer a lot of questions for the novice, and
Gordon would be able to fine tune his web page based on the
questions he was asked about its content.

What I particularly like about Gordon's page is that the
images are close ups and you can actually see what he is
talking about.  Most web page images are much to distant to
be of any educational use.

If you don't want to write a web page, find one that
interests you, invite others to review it and schedule an
online chat about it.  If regional questions arise they can
be answered in the chat, and really should be brought up to
novices anyway.

NAFEX has come a long way over the years, starting as
nothing more than some friends sharing letters.  Over time
it has grown and evolved with technology and its own
resources to where it is today.  I am just offering another
idea for further evolution, learning and sharing.  We would
not be sharing this email now, or Pomona quarterly, if
someone had said it was all in books, why bother

We could at least give it a try.  Isn't NAFEX all about the
novice, and answering their questions?  This is just another
use of currently available learning/sharing tools.

Regards,
Tom

--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Hardiness Zone 6a

On Thu, 30 Nov 2000, Kieran or Donna wrote:

> I agree with Don, the basic stuff is already in books.
Why reinvent
the
> wheel, unless someone just happens to have a hankering to
get in
practice
> for writing a book of their own.  Anything general put out
over the
Net is
> going to suffer the same weakness that a book does: One
size does
not fit
> all regions.  That's what's so wonderful about NAFEX, we
don't just
learn
> what works in the NE or the PNW, but we also learn what
works
(and doesn't
> work) in the SE too.  I don't know if it dates back to
hookworm or
the Civil
> war or Southern Baptists or what, but the SE in general
just does
not seem
> to be inclined toward the literary arts.  I have yet to
see a book on
fruit
> growing in TN or KY.     Donna  TN z6

--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Canada
Hardiness Zone 6a



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