The park was brought up in the video from Rosi Braidotti in Week 6. Braidotti discusses the relationship her institute (Utrecht University) has with the rest of the city, and the role the park plays in this as a public space.
I thought about this further and discussed how the park bench could be considered, in IDEL terms, as the blog. It’s an area for reflection, for discussion, and had the blogs been open and accessible by all, a chance to have deep insights into the thinking of our peers on the course.
As part of this week’s activity, we were encouraged to consider what kind of space IDEL has been for us, and how we interpret this. I took the ‘park’ idea and ran with it, specifically focussing on a playground, within a park, as having many elements linked to IDEL.
Here’s the interactive video outlining this:
It’s quite stark how many links there could potentially between the two. Play is intrinsically linked to learning, so perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising. I’m sure there are plenty other similarities I’ve not spotted but could easily be made.
It did actually make me reflect on my role, as a parent, as the facilitator of play in the playground. I’m there to encourage, but also to ensure no-one ‘gets hurt’. I need to make sure we do it regularly to get good exercise, but also choose when the weather is ok for a trip out. I have to select what equipment is suitable given their age and development, there are numerous links with the role as a teacher!