Let's play HipBone
Posted February 11th, 2008 by Charles -hipbon...
Okay, a while back we played a game of Magical chairs, and in fact so many of you swarmed the place that I could hardly set up chairs fast enough for new people to sit down, and you wound up perched on the arms of each others’ chairs — which, come to think of it, wasn’t such a bad thing.
This game is different.
*
In this game, each "move" is an idea, and you can place your idea in any space that’s still empty on the board .
Let me give you an example: you might play "Pascal" in position 2 on the board, because he’s the guy who said "I have only made this letter rather long because I have not had time to make it shorter" — and you know the feeling! So you post the name "Pascal" as your move title, and the quote (if you google it, you can also say it’s from his Lettres provinciales and was written in 1656. And "Pascal" is what I then put in the little circle numbered 2 when I read your post, so other people can glance at the board and think, oh yes, that Pascal quote about how difficult it is to write the short version of anything.
The thing is, you also have to explain how your idea connects with the other ideas which are on the board — not all of them, but the ones which are linked with your idea by the lines on the board:
So if you "play" that Pascal quote in position 2 and someone posts "haiku" in position 7, they won’t need to link the two ideas, as you can see by a glance at the board — there’s no line going directly from the 2 circle to the 7 circle. But if someone had played "haiku" in 6, and quoted Basho’s famous poem:
still pond:
in jumps a frog —
ripple sound
they would need to claim a link to your Pascal quote. They’d want to say something like "Just think how long is must have taken Basho to write a poem as short as that!
- Login to post comments
You can start with an idea that has to do with what we’ve been discussing here these last weeks, or you can start with a quote or anecdote that’s from way outside this particular sandbox — it doesn’t matter, the game will find its own level the way a conversation does.
Give it a whirl. Think of an idea or quote that means a lot to you, name it, and post it here. I’ll put it up on the board, and we’ll be in play…
Ok, Charles, will you write Pink Floyd for me, please?
Hi Gabriela:
Sure, I’d be delighted to — but first I must ask you to pick a numbered position on the board, and to tell us more about Pink Floyd, or quote a song of theirs, or give us a better idea of what makes you think of them…
I choose number seven.
The song I thought about was "Another a Brick in the Wall".
I think all the teachers participating in this workshop are fighting (and
probable have always fought) so as not to become another brick in our students’
walls. Moreover, I guess most of us have even pulled down some bricks in
the wall surrounding us.
And finally, I will add that Pink Floyd(not "The Wall" but "the dark side of the moon") was the first group I
ever listened to (I guess I was about thirteen) which really moved me.
I started listening to a different kind of music and started listening
to music in a different way after I first listened to "Money". Quite a
discovery. As memorable as the discovery of the Web 2.0
Which stanza or quote from this song have you chosen, Gabriella?
"We don’t need no thought control"
Okay, if someone wants to play in 3, 5, 9 or 10, they’d need to think of a move that has one or more associative links with "Pink Floyd" and what Gabriela has told us about it.
Or if someone wants to start us off on a completely different tangent, they can post an idea in 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8, and it doesn’t have to link with Gabriela’s move at all… it’ll just send us into an elliptical orbit around two (perhaps) very different ideas…
I think I got my numbers right.
Not to be added to the board, but just a link that came to my mind triggered by Gabriela’s quote and social media.
The issue of mind control reminded me of a 2002 BBC documentary series of four episodes called The Century of the Self by Adam Curtis.
Although a bit repetitive when you watch it in a sequence (the repetition is used to provide context for those viewers who missed the previous episode on TV), it gives you a historical overview of how media has been used to influence the masses by giving them an illusion of empowerment. It is a wonderful discussion. topic and a resource to keep in your media literacy shelf.
I have recently downloaded it from Google Videos using Miro.
OK- I like position 4 .
My word is "DIFFERENT" and I’ve just chosen it for a number of reasons:
-Because after all my latest reading related to social media in elt , that’s the way I feel: different
-Because that’s the way I will plan my online activities with students from now on : differently
-Because that’s how a lot of colleagues have seen me (in relation to ELT practice) : different
-Because it’s associated with the word "prejudices" (*) and there certainly are a lot of prejudices related to the use of online tools with students
- Because it’s associated with "changes" (**) and changes are related to being in motion / alive…
—- (*) negative connotation ; (**) positive connotation —-
and because "different" has both positive and negative connotations , like the approaches to Web 2.0 tools in ELT
can I put http://beyond-school.org/ in position 5 becuase it is about taking down the bricks in the wall and an inspiring read?
Let's wait a little bit before posting other suggestions for the board so that Charles has time to respond to the suggestions of the two previous players, and place them accordingly. This does not mean you cannot try to find the connections you want to express in the meantime. Thank you.
@Ann: I believe you would have to be more specific in the quote or idea you want to transmit and explain how it connects to the others. But then, let's wait for Charles - he is the Magister Ludi :-)
Nice moves, both of you — and thanks, Barbara, I do need a moment to catch up.
*
The ideal way to present a move, to make the game as rich and enjoyable as possible, is as follows:
Move title: this can be a single word, a name
Move content: this can be a quote or short story, even an image or song if you can post a link to it, with or without some comment on your part saying what it means to you — enough, one way or another, to provide plenty for other players to get their teeth into and chew on.
Links claimed: If your move is connected to a move already in play directly along one of the board lines, you should claim a link to that other move, saying something like "link to ‘Pink Floyd’ in position 7" and then describing the link — "Pink Floyd has an album about The Wall, my move is about tearing the wall down" in Ann’s case.
*
Okay, I’m off to bring the board up to date — Ann, can you post your move again, using the format I’ve suggested here? You only need to link to "Pink Floyd" since you’re in position 5.
Here is Alicia’s move, using that format, as an example:
*
Move title:
Alicia plays "different" in position 6.
Move Content:
Different — for a number of reasons:
Links claimed:
None, since this move does not link directly to any other move in play.
I will post the board again after Ann posts her move again — as you can see, playing in 5 she only links with "Pink Floyd", though others will quite soon find themselves needing to link to both the "Floyd" and "difference" sides of the game…
"Alicia plays "different" in position 6."
Is this a slip??? Shall we say 4? It is on 4 and I meant 4- Just to make it clearer for the rest… :(
And there is another thing I like about that move if Ann really places that on 5- That site suggested by Ann
( http://beyond-school.org/)
really promotes a different perspective -just from the blog headings and sub-headings - There is the idea of learning taking place beyond school and the blog author claiming that he " hates schooliness but loves learning."…
Is there anything more different from our present view of education? Learning without schools…
The two opposite points (4 and 5) from the diagram might show -provided Ann goes for it, an interesting connection without actually being so much linked. What could 8 say?- I wonder- good for keeping my curiosity high and checking this site often…I’m really looking forward to the outcomes, believe me !
Okay, I posted a board, and now i can’t see it. In fact, I can only see one board, and I’ve posted three (empty, with one move, with two). I don’t know what’s going on here, but without the boards there’s not much I can do…
And now I can see the boards again.
Yes, Alicia’s move is in 4, as she intended, and as I portrayed it on the board, not in 6 which was a typo on my part (but I don’t have the edit privs to correct it).
*
Moves in symmetrical but unlinked positions are a sort of bonus in game terms, they can often add to the aesthetic interest of the game, as you’ve already noticed, Alicia.
Okay, I’m confident Ann would like her move in position 5 as she requested, and as Alicia points out it makes for a nice symmetry with 4, so here’s the board with Ann’s move in place:
— which allows me now to let my own enthusiasm free, as I play a move in position 9..
Move title:
And in position 9 I play "outside"
Move content:
Outside is various things, it’s the world outside us which nonetheless impinges on us, it’s (coming closer in, now) the way the world outside impinges on us which so often seems outside our control — and it’s what we do ourselves that’s outside our conscious control, because it’s spontaneous, it’s creative, it’s coloring outside the lines, it’s thinking outside the box.
Links claimed:
To Pink Floyd in 7 because they didn’t play inside the omnipresent drum-beat of the rest of rock music, but went outside it into rhythms that wandered hither and yon, as free as gregorian chant, as free as a bird…
To beyond school in 5, because the freedoms to go beyond educational boundaries and outside the classroom via the net fits my creative critreria for "going outside"…
To different in 4 because this is a very different approach for me, I’m far more frequently to be found praising skills at staying within formal constraints than hopping outside them, I love sonnets and fugues and all manner of tight forms…
Comments:
And the truth is, I think constraints and tight forms can actually increase creativity and spontaneity, by making so many demands on us that we’re like a player in a fives court, rushing to meet a ball that’s coming at us from an unexpected direction after bouncing all over the place, very fast…
That’s really quite a kind move on my part, I have to say, because the truth is that position 9 in any game can be very commanding and overbearing — if someone plays it too early, or makes it too detailed and specific — and almost impossible to make, if it’s left till late in the game and needs to link up with six or seven other moves…
So I’ve been kind, and filled it in with something general enough that you shouldn’t find it too difficult to link with…
Nice, aren’t I?
Your turn…
thanks for putting me in position 5 - for all the reasons above.
Thanks, Ann — would you be willing to write up your move using (roughly) the format I proposed above? When this game is over, I would like to be able to post a board from which people can click through to each move in turn, and "see" move title and posiition, content, links claimed, comment, displayed in roughly the same way in each case.
*
Meanwhile, the game is open for play. If you want to connect with alll four current moves, you can’t, there’s no position that ,links with all four of them.
If you would like to link with 4, 9 and 5, you can do that in 8.
7, 9 and 5 all link to 3.
10 links to 9 and 7.
6 and 2 each link with 4 and 9.
1, almost unbelievably, doesn’t yet link to anything, so you can really throw the game into a new ballpark by posting acompletelt different idea there…
What do you want to link to? Where do you want to play?
Will someone make a "social media" move in position 1?
Excellent — thanks, Ann!
*
Who’s next?
Move title:
position 5 - Beyond school
Move
content:
It cites Clay Burrel’s ("I hate schooliness. I love learning") inspiring blog Beyond School.
Beyond school is where using social media with our students can take us. It questions whether common practices of schooling are really the best forms of learning. It reminds us that learning is a lifelong experience and that our duty as teachers is to make the experience of learning that our students share with us, as positive as we can.
Links
claimed:
To Pink Floyd in 7 because they pointed out how school walls too often appear to be prison walls
Comments:
Beyond is a good word becuase it makes us aware of potential and future possibilities beyond the present grind and Beyond school is where we start to build on and realise what we really want to do..
Charles, you are tempting me. You know I just love this game and have been refraining myself from posting so as to let others savour it. I will wait a little bit more and see if there are more daring volunteers who will bring in their voices and connections.
Hi, Bee!
I’m going to give in to temptation myself, because a friend just posted a quote from Robert Frost on another web conference which just begs to go into the current game… to wit:
Move title:
Move content:
Links claimed:Comments:
Bee — go for it!
Ok, Charles…you have drawn me in and here I go.
Move title:
Move content:
Links claimed:
Haha!
In position 8, which is wonderful, Bee, you can’t claim a link to Pink Floyd in 7 cos there’s no line between them! And if you say, Oh, I’ll just link to everything under the sunb, then the links get less precious. Haha!
Tricks of the Games!
Never mind, though, it’s a wonderful move, and I’m so thrilled you’ve joined in. Lots to think about and enjoy there.
I’ll put up a link to the new board soon.
Okay, if you look at that board, and remember, your move should link to whatever moves are in positions linked to your move along the board lines, and *not* to any moves that are not connected to your move in that way, you’ll see…
My strong advice would be for someone to try position 2, before a move in 1 or 6 makes it even more challenging.
In fact, I’ve got a move in 2, I’ll play "Taize"
You can find out more about Taize at http://www.taize.fr/en . I’ll post my own move content and links claimed tonight or tomorrow.
Move title:
Move content:
Links claimed:
Comments:
Board now:
Oops..I am sorry for including the Pink Floyd link, Charles. I was completing it late at night and must have tangled the lines. Wonderful move with Taize and walking the talk. I hope others will join the walk now that the path is clearer.
Besides being a fantastic reading/writing exercise for ELT, the hipbone game engages participants in a very personalized search for multiple meanings, connections and metaphors to wire them strategically to the board, forces them to express their thoughts in a logical way so as to convey their meaning and continue the conversation.
BTW - I equated learning and our attitude to it to T. G’s illumination or enlightement.
OK- I’ll play again if I may- I feel like moving another piece:
Move title:
Move content:
Links claimed:
To Different in 4, because wikis , following Lamb’s words on the paper mentioned above "unlike weblogs, are rarely organized by chronology but by context".They contast with the traditional practice of groupwork and collaborative productions which set up access restrictions, for example-and the more limited the access , the less workflow -therefore the less successful the outcome.
To Outside in 9 because a wiki context is built with external links . Moreover it is the the outside that provides content . For this reason contents are unpredicatable. Again, paraphrasing Lamb, a wiki is like a house with its front door open. Wikis are open to the outside (for "gossiping" and participation)
And all in all I wanted to include sth about wikis in the game because that’s the tool I’m not so used to using, because I’m somewhat resistant to it simply because I find it that it’s rather difficult to control. I tend to feel a little bit uncomfortable with the unexpected and this is another reason why I like the prayer. I may even change it a little bit by saying : ...give me serenity not to feel afraid of the input from the outside, courage to learn from "the unknown" and wisdom to be proud of that.
A completely different thought if I take my own educational background into account -as a child and teen I was part of the controlled generation of learners- sth which the outside has been changing lately -setting up a new (and better / more comfy) being.
I know I should be waiting for Charles to complete the chart. But i’ll make my move anyway (Ihave to go to the dentist)
Move tittle: Ersilia
Move content:
Ersilia is one of Calvino’s invisible cities, he described (in the early seventies) social networks.
sustain the city’s life, the inhabitants stretch strings from the
corners of the houses, white or black or gray or black-and-white
according to whether they mark a relationship of blood, of trade,
authority, agency. When the strings become so numerous that you can no
longer pass among them, the inhabitants leave: the houses are
dismantled; only the strings and their supports remain.
household goods, Ersilia’s refugees look at the labyrinth of taut
strings and poles that rise in the plain. That is the city of Ersilia
still, and they are nothing.
similar pattern of strings which they would like to be more complex and
at the same time more regular than the other. Then they abandon it and
take themselves and their houses still farther away.
Ersilia, you come upon the ruins of abandoned cities, without the walls
which do not last, without the bones of the dead which the wind rolls
away: spiderwebs of intricate relationships seeking a form.
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/citysum.htm
I don’t know if this is a good translation.
My choices are in bold.
Links claimed:
2-Taize
The monks in Taize certainly promote and build relationships. Their
idea of a monastery seems to be based on that and not the classical one
of closed walls, closed to the world.
8- Thaddeus Golas
"We are equal beings and the Universe is our relations with each other", which is what Ersilia is about
3 "Mending Walls"
Particularly to
"Something there is that doesn’t love a wall". Walls are doomed to disappear in Ersilia.
Comments:
I fell I could link to the whole board.
Two comments before I finally take my teeth to the dentist (I’d love to wall him out)
1. I forgot to link to Italo Calvino- There’re some writers I like and
others I fall in love with; Italo Calvino is one of them, another one is R
Frost.
2. Isn’t this board one of those Ersilias?
Note: I meant "feel" not "fell" in the previous comment.
So I deduce Ersilia is placed in number one on the board :-) It’s a very picturesque and stimulating addition to the board.
Alicia:
Your "Wiki Prayer" move also links with Taize in 2, but the link is pretty clear — your move is a prayer (based on one penned by the shall we say somewhat eccentric St Francis if I’m not mistaken) and prayer is the life blood and central practice of Taize (founded by a similarly unorthodox person, Brother Roger).
Thank you for another fascinating contribution to the game — and don’t ever be shy about making moves!
And Gabriela! Really!
I have to say, I’m blown away. The passage from Calvino is wonderful, your links are great, and Ersilia is a terrific analogy for the internet, for the group here at SMiELT, and as you point out, for the HipBone gameboards and games.
If you love Calvino and haven’t read Hesse’s Glass Bead Game / Magister Ludi, I recommend it — it’s slower and denser than Calvino by far, and many people think it’s tiresome — but the game at the heart of the novel is the same kind of construct of imaginative ideation as Calvino’s city, or Borges Garden of Forking Paths.
I have a special decoration that I award to moves which not only link to the other moves but to the board itself, the HipBone Games or the idea of the Glass Bead Game. If you look carefully at position 1 on the board, you’ll see it has a little link to a tiny little two-move board added on just underneath the main circle…
*
I always enjoy the unexpected delights that arise during HipBone Games, and this move was one of the best. I love adding that little decoration to the board, and it doesn’t often happen.
I’d be interested to know, if Alicia or Gabriela would be willing to tell us, how making a later move, once the game has quite a few ideas in play, differs from making an early move, when there’s not so much pressure to make multiple linkages.
I have the sense that the game is very easy to begin, and gets more difficult as we go…
Our board: http://hipbonegames.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/wb09.gif
Now, who’ll finish the game? There’s one last surprise in store.
Well, I guess I will end the game then by literally and musically playing Keith Jarrett, the renowned jazz pianist in position number 10.
Wait a minute in suspense - I will continue this post in a minute :-)
ah!
UPDATE:
Claiming the links and connections and rounding up the ideas!
Keith Jarrett grew up with a significant exposure to music, which links to Charles’ outside link number 9 - an exploration of learning from as many different perspectives as possible. Jarrett played not only classical composers like Bach but also free jazz.
We definitely learn more and make more connections when we are open to stimuli from the others, which links me to the wiki prayer in position number 6.
Part One from the Koln Concert (1975) is one of the most compelling examples of musical improvisation of our time and has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics, "flowing with human warmth".
Improvisation means that when in action we use our background, experience and confront ourselves with our own individual creativity, which links me to Gabriella’s Pink Floyd quote "no need for thought control".
Many teachers in the classroom (like in the Wall video snippet) usually stick to the known and controlable: rules and notation (grammar/vocabulary and practice) and do not let emergent creative ideas to manifest themselves. Many need a detailed plan or recipe so as to do it right.
Transcribing a performance/lesson plan and/or re-playing it note by note in a controlled way in order to "learn" how to do it may remove the lively and vital presence of improvisation. Merely being technically proficient, does not mean you have found your voice, which can only be found by experimentation, trial and error and embracing the mystery of the unknown - the emergent and unpredictable moments when you accept true dialogue.
Alicia in the wiki prayer says give me serenity not to feel afraid of the input from the outside, courage to learn from "the unknown" and wisdom to be proud of that.
Brian Alger, in his beautiful post Mystery: Learning To Walk In The Unknown, discusses Jarrett’s performance, learning, fear and motivation and says:
"Our sense of motivation can also be controlled or imposed upon, and we are made to believe we want to do something whether that is true or not. The spark that lies at the heart of a person refers to a pure sense of passion for life. It is unchanging. Each of us has a spark in our heart, a source of energy that defines who we are and what we do."
Thank you, Charles for this round. I hope there will be more and that more people will jump in with their perspectives.
In the meantime, delight in Part I of the Koln Concert. Here is the link to the mp3 file (59.6Mb I temporarily share with you).
Thanks a lot for the decoration, Charles.
As for Hesse, I don’t know what happened to me with him when I was a
teen -that age in which you’re supposed to discover Hesse, I only read
"Narciso and Goldmundo" (I don’t think that’s the tittle in English), I
didn’t get engaged then and I have never again since then tried to read
one of his books. People who know me and who know what moves me are
often surprised at my prejudice against Hesse. I think Glass Bead Game might
be a good book to start to pull down the wall I’ve built against him. I
don’t care about it being slow and dense, I belong to the slow and
dense generation, grew up watching Russian movies. I only hope I can
get a copy in English, Spanish translations from German are often not
very engaging.
I’ll answer your question later on, after I’ve changed my clothes. It’s a hot summer day in Buenos Aires.
Bee, clap, clap. Waiting for the link.
I admit it was really easy to start.But far more interesting to
continue.Each move evoked some kind of memory, which in turn could also
be linked to at least another move.
Now I’m listening to the last move: Jarret. The last time I listened to
him I was in a class based on a movement technique developed by Fedora
Aberastury, a pianist. Movement is performed using energy, not muscular
force. You start by melting the centre of consciousness, (located
between the eyes) getting rid of your thoughts, without fighting
against them, checking your body to see if you’re not blocking the
energy, letting your energy flow. Another centre is located at the base
of your tongue, difficult to relax, always tense. When you manage to
relax your tongue and go even deeper I can assure you your energy curls
just as Jarret’s music is curling now.
Come to think of it, energy connects different (4) parts of your body: parts which were disconnected (2); the outside (9)-the air which surrounds you becomes thinner and at the same time holds you; energy flows until it meets a barrier,
(7) sometimes painfully but always gently manages to get through (3)
(that’s when Jarret says:aaah!10). You change the way you perceive your
inside (8) and go beyond (5)your everyday limits. Energy creating the same pattern (1)as the one in the board.
When a part has the same structure as the whole… there’s a name for that. Do you remember?
(Couldn’t find a better link to Fedora, not even in Spanish)
Gabriela:
Self-similar is the technical term, or fractal.
Gabriela —
If you like Tarkovsky, Hesse won’t be too slow, he will be contemplative enough.
About playing abnother round — I’d be delighted to start one, but I wonder if there’s someone else who could make the board graphics and post them — I’m having a little touble with the software here, and I also don’t know whether I’ll be moving about a week from now, so I’m not sure how my time will flow.
If someone would be willing to do the boards, it requires the starting board, which is already up at the top of this game item and can be downloaded, a graphics program like Paint (or if you’re top of the line, Photoshop), and a place to put the boards up on the "open" web (on a blog or website) so you can link to them here, either with the "straight" URL or via an "img src=" tag.
I can describe the process in more detail if needed.
If someone volunteers to update the board after each move, I’ll open a new game item.
I am also hoping, if time permits, to put together a single-page form of our game here, so people can download it and keep it.
I wrote a comment saying that "fractal" was the word I couldn’t remember. I must have forgotten to publish it.
Yes, I love Tarkovsky. I used to be addicted to a movie, El Espejo, in Spanish, (The Mirror), but I don’t know the tittle in English. The "contemplativiest" movie ever.
I really loved the game - Great for reflection . I felt it small at the beginning and big at the end. ie. it grew from isolated , concrete stuff to enormous beliefs and philosophical perspectives, triggering endless concepts worth expressing.
I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot when there were only a few blank circles left.
Even though I may have thought it would be more complicated to find connections at the end -as there apparently are more limitations- it turned out just the opposite. Ideas started flowing as soon as the last moves were made. I couldn’t believe my mind flying so high in seconds. Really inspiring. And a great feeling of fulfillment at noticing that so many ideas were generated.
Thank you for helping me through this wonderful path that leads to "never ending learning".
Conversations worth having :-)
I would be happy to update a new board over the next three days at least. I am not sure about a place to save them online, though. I am sure that I can figure out a place to do it, though, if you give me a little guidance, Charles.
Nancy
Fantastic: thanks, Nancy.
1. Download the board from the top of this game.
2. Using Paint or similar spftware, type in Player Name and Move Title. I use Ariel Narrow 10 pt bold, but it just needs to be small enough to fit and large enough to read. Save to disk.
3. Open a free blog with http://www.wordpress.com.
4. Post the board as an image. Give the blog post a title, such as Move 1 then go down to Upload section and click Click "browse" to find it, and when found click Upload and then the radio buttons for show fullsize and links none, then click send to editor, then go up towards the top of the same blog area and click Publish.
5. Then go to View Page, which shows you the blog entry you’ve just made, and click on the board image and drag it into the box you type messages here at MiELT into,, and voila:
ANd now I’ll go set up a new game item…
You may need to use "disable rich-text" and "Full HTML" settings when you’ve dragged in a board image, Nancy.
Not sure, the software here does strange things.
Thanks, Charles. I started playing with it last night, so I have a vague idea. The problem will be posting here — if there is a problem. I’ll holler if I run into trouble!
Nancy
I can help you, Nancy…no pb.
Thanks for that final board, Charles!
In order top make the image appear here you need to add the link to your image inside this code (disable rich text first, paste your code and check that the input format is set to full html)
<img src="http://hipbonegames.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/wb10.gif" alt="board with 10 moves" width="496" height="500" />
So you will have the final board appearing like this:Bee:
Believe me, I’ve done that and had it work, done that and not had it work, done
that and found the software translated it as though it wasn’t HTML and
wanted to be translated into HTML, changed from rich-text setting to
HTML to Filtered HTML setting, and you did it, you’re
WONDERFUL
its that simple.