Last Post (not really)…
What a wonderful experience this has been and I know will continue to be! Although there have been so many times when I have felt completely out of my depth and drowning beyond belief, I would never have expected how much I have learnt in such a short period of time and more importantly how completely satisfying it has been. I can’t adequately described the wonderful sense of achievement not for just having completed this semester of study, but for the learning experiences that I have been involved in.
Technology training is my profession yet I am a complete novice in eLearning. When choosing my subjects for this semester of my Masters course, it was pretty obvious to me that elearning is the way of the future and I needed to get on board.
In March I wrote and posted my FIRST ever blog article! OMG! Those of you who are avid blog users may find that a reasonably disconcerting statement as I suspect that task comes very easy to you. Me – I’m still struggling with writing directly online. Even though my first attempt wasn’t terribly long or involved, I was a little anxious and wanted to get it ‘right’ – is there such a thing? Not having ever written online before, I created it in Word and then give myself a chance to read, edit, spell check, etc then paste into my blog – I will confess that I still do this!
Come June, I am tweeting, blogging, writing on wikis, tagging in Delicious, participating in discussions on Ning, back channelling – and I know that these Web 2.0 tools are only the tip of the iceberg! I distinctly remember my first day at uni this semester how much my brain was getting confused in digesting all these terms. I was and am still truly amazed at the opportunities and avenues of learning online that are available to learners and educators.
Now – I’m definitely hooked! Who would believe that now instead of playing games or staring out the window on the bus on the way to work, I am catching up on my latest tweets using Twitterberry, checking out websites and blogs – learning all the while!
In the last 15 weeks, I can’t beginning to describe the range of feelings that I have had – anxiety, excitement, deflation, enjoyment, absolute and complete sense of abandonment, relief, consumed, energised, stressed, out of control……… but by far the most satisfying is ‘ok, now what next?’
To my fellow edutweet team, it was BRILLIANT! That experience I will remember for a very long time. Aside from the good dynamics and the collaboration, for me, the reality of learning in a model designed to learn, was just the way to go!!!! It gave me lots of answers to my questions about online learning communities, the value of Web 2.0 tools and how effective planning and discussion can occur when only those tools are used! I have never been involved in anything like that before and will certainly take up that challenge again with open arms.
To everyone in EMT1, all the best with all your study – you never know, our paths could cross again.
Anne – you have opened my eyes to the wonderful world of eLearning and I truly thank you for that. Your approach and the challenges you set were inspiring! I’m still a bit of a lurker but I’m starting to break out! I don’t remember the last time I have ever been involved in such a high concentration of self-directed learning. What I have realised is how MUCH I enjoy it! If me, why not everyone?
Filed under: EMT and tagged communities, elearning, emt1, emt1ass2
I have to wholeheartedly agree with you – its been a fantastic (in all senses of the word) learning experience. I too have had a HUGE learning curve, and have loved every minute of it. Can’t wait for more. Hope to see you in some other classes.