WARNING! This website is no longer actively maintained. It is an archive of 2 years work by Doug Belshaw who now blogs at dougbelshaw.com...
Sometimes things somehow become clearer when more simply put; that’s the beauty of equations such as E=mc2 after all. Some simplifications can be dangerous, which is usually a breeding ground for bigotry. Some, however, lie somewhere in between the two - looking helpful until further analysis. 
Take for example this ‘graph’ from Indexed (via Dangerously Irrelevant):
At first, it would seem to be simply a visual representation of something which many in the edublogosphere take as read. But let’s look a little more closely. Yes, lectures can be boring but what about when I was at university when lectures would often devolve into seminars? What about feedback being given, orally or through a web-based interface?
TV isn’t a good way of learning things if you’re passively watching just anything, but what about if you’ve chosen to watch something and it’s really well presented? And what if it’s you making the TV - uStream, YouTube anyone?
And finally: ‘conversation’. It seems to be a given in the edublogosphere that conversation is necessarily a good thing. For the most part, I think it is. However, sometimes there’s a need for action, a time to stop talking and start doing. Otherwise we end up with the same 11 Familiar Conversations. And that’s not a good thing… 
Popularity: 5% [?]
I like this post. I think what so many of us struggle with is “How do we move from conversation to action”? and also, “What are the consequences of taking action”?
If I am someone who believes that we should completely change schools, what do I do? If I try changing things in my own classroom or school, there will probably be resistance and I might get fired.
This is where I see the hangup lies…what actions to take? how to take them? and are we prepared for the consequences.
pete
Well, that’s what I try to deal with on this blog - how to put theory into practice. A lot of the time one has to not be career-minded and focus on student learning. That’s what most of us came into the profession wanting to do, after all, wasn’t it?
“Otherwise we end up with the same 11 Familiar Conversations. And that’s not a good thing…”
I can’t see what is wrong with number 9 (The blogger has totally abandoned ed tech philosophizing and showcases practical ideas and examples of how to use technology in classrooms.) - surely that is the “stop talking and start doing” you refer to?
You might be right, Tom. I took it as being that the blogger had completely stopped trying to marry theory with practice and was just trying to justify the latest and greatest Web 2.0 in the classroom.
What I was trying to point out is that we need to have informed action and then share it with others. Perhaps I didn’t make that point very well!