Learning Opportunities

potential place mat warps....

When I finally made it to the loom progress went clipping along.  Of course it doesn't hurt that the mats weave up at around 12 picks per inch - really helps grow that cloth!

Once my feet re-learned the choreography (broken twill, not straight twill) I had time to think. 

Of course the internet is not ideal because not everyone has high speed connectivity.  I know this all too well as I joined the internet in 1994 with a dial up Free-net account with a maximum of one hour at a time.  I only recently got high speed when we changed over to fibre optics for telephone/tv and of course, the internet.  I well remember not having high speed and waiting and waiting for websites to download and oftentimes just plain giving up.

So as I thought about learning opportunities I itemized them and examined them for feasibility.

The best option is to learn directly from someone, person to person.  (People can come here, one at a time, for 3-5 days to study with me.  The rate is $100/day if they stay elsewhere, $125/day if they stay in our modest home - shared bathroom facilities.  Meals are provided although I only cook dinner - student fends for themselves for breakfast/lunch.)

Another person to person option is to take a class at a facility like John C. Campbel Folk School or other 'schools' or shops that have classroom areas.

Guilds can sponsor workshops (usually 2-3 days) for another person to person option.  That means only the teacher travels (generally).

But not everyone can travel - students work full time or have family obligations or they just plain can't afford it.

Books are another way of learning.  Frankly if I'd had to learn from a book I'd never have managed it, but I know plenty of people for whom this is the only option.  In the 21st century we also have DVD's, (and/or video tapes although they are obsolete now).

Many people urged me to make a video tape (or DVD) but I'd done just enough video to understand how difficult it is to make a really good video and opted for CD Weaver instead.  This format combined the best (in my opinion) of books and video/DVD's.  There was text for people who can learn by reading.  There were lots of colour photos to enhance the text.  And there were video clips for people who need to really see what's happening.

I'm not sure why this format never took off and eventually I gave up.  (That said, I have 8 CD Weaver's left - I'll sell them at the bargain basement price of $30 including shipping.)

And now we have the internet and on-line classes.  Again not ideal because of the isolation of many and the difficulty of participating in on line events.

But Heidi asked a pertinent question.  Would I advise people if they sent video clips of themselves.  After mulling this over I realized that this need not happen on the internet at all.  People could make a video of themselves weaving, burn it to a cd or put it on a flash drive, mail it to me and I could observe and make comments, either via email or return mail.  Obviously if the person has internet connectivity difficulties, snail mail might be the best option. 

Lastly there are the chat groups and blogs.  People with slow internet connections can usually manage to participate in these but they are primarily a text based medium and not everyone learns by reading.  Also, there is You Tube but a slow internet connection makes this a problem, too.

Anything else I've missed?