Here is where I tend to work when at home with a few details in the form of a Thinklink (inspired by an intro activity @bonstewart used in one of her online courses).
I recently participated in #DigiWriMo, which I would consider the first MOOC I actively participated in. I’ve started quite a few MOOCS and have always had the best of intentions that seemed to quickly fade with each passing week (never wanting to admit that my excitement in the beginning was so weak as to disappear so quickly). As I start a new learning path, I just want to reflect on what worked for me with #DigiWriMo.
- There were several spaces to communicate with others in the course, but there wasn’t a closed space that felt crowded. I didn’t get that initial feeling of “wow, there are 700 people in this course introducing themselves”. Instead, there was a group of people using Twitter, and they were the ones that I read and listened to because that is the space I liked (kind of like the kitchen at a party).
- The activities were intriguing and open enough to shape into something that was meaningful to me.
- Facilitators Maha, Kevin, and Sarah, did a great job taking on different roles and engaging people throughout the course. It didn’t feel as if I was missing something that was happening somewhere else.
- It fit into the context of what I was doing both personally (moving to a new place and job and having few social attachments) and professionally (as I started to work on some faculty development for teaching and learning online).
- I was able to more actively participate in different live Twitter chats and really found them to be fun and beneficial.
Here I am, very happy to have caught the beginning of #humanMOOC because I already follow some of the folks involved and it aligns wonderfully with a course I am working on for faculty at my institution. I am excited to work through this month using my blog as a space to contribute and have the opportunity to interact with the great line-up of guest hangouts (@KateMfD and conversation about mindfulness was a great start) and other participants.
Laura Gibbs says
Hi Sundi! It’s nice to meet you! I caught a bit of the DigiWriMo vibe (I subscribed to a great padlet; I think it was Kevin’s…? anyway: it was fun!), and I am hoping for good things in #HumanMOOC. I was too busy with end of semester for any of the WriMo fun, but HumanMooc coincides with winter break for me. I’m glad there is a blog hub so we can start running into each other, virtually speaking, at the blogosphere. Happy blogging!
sundilu says
Hi Laura. Thanks for the comment and hello. There was A LOT of stuff that came of digiwrimo. I think that is part of what made it interesting, and yet it never felt overwhelming. This is a great time of year for me as well to participate. I look forward to “speaking” with you more both in the blogosphere and twittersphere.
Vanessa Vaile says
MOOC participation or lack thereof, I’ve noticed, resolves itself. No matter how well intentioned the conscious mind, the unconscious decides. Is it engaged — having fun — or not? Are we meeting people and have good conversations? How clunky, confusing or time consuming is the course interface? Is is easy and inviting to get around, use? Are there options? Do you have a voice? Is anyone listening?
Not so different, really, than what any student might consider…except for not being so free to walk away without consequences
sundilu says
Nicely said Vanessa. I think it really was just getting used to my “participation” being clunky, confusing, and not what I had necessarily experienced in previous learning environments. Letting go of the idea of completing.