Back to School
I haven’t been in school in ten years (almost to the day in fact - I graduated from uni in June 1998), and a whole lot has happened since then - personally, professionally, and indeed to learning and education as we know it.
In 1998 I was in a completely different space, both figuratively, educationally, and geographically. I studied economics at California State University, Fullerton, and lived in in a tiny studio apartment in Long Beach across the street from the VA Hospital. At my uni in those days online learning was not something I ever ran across. In fact I recall my amazement the one and only time an instructor announced they had made their lecture materials available online. “What a gimmick” I thought - and promptly never visited the site. (Perhaps not coincidentally I don’t recall doing very well in the course.)
Now I live in another country 10,000 kilometres away, in a village surrounded by a national park; I research educational and emerging technology at the University of New South Wales and spend virtually every waking moment interacting with technology. A whole lot of change, growth, personal and professional development have taken place since then; however one thing has remained unchanged, and that’s my thirst for learning - and if anything, this has intensified, not diminished.
I’ve definitely grown to thrive in a world of self-directed learning (much of what I do today is in fact a direct result of inquisitive exploration and self-directed investigation); however I’ve also looked for the opportunity to sink my teeth into something (slightly) more formalised. Recently I’ve run across two very unique and fascinating courses - Connectivism and Connective Knowledge out of the Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba, and Facilitating Online Communities out of Otago Polytechnic.
From their respective sites:
Connectivism and Connective Knowledge
“Connectivism and Connective Knowledge is a twelve week course that will explore the concepts of connectivism and connective knowledge and explore their application as a framework for theories of teaching and learning. It will outline a connectivist understanding of educational systems of the future. George Siemens and Stephen Downes – the two leading figures on connectivism and connective knowledge - will co-facilitate this innovative and timely course.”
Facilitating Online Communities
“This course has been developed by staff in the Educational Development Centre of Otago Polytechnic and is designed to help both formal and informal learners access and interpret models, research and professional dialog in the facilitation of online communities. After completing this course people should be confident in facilitating online and/or be able to critique and offer advice to other people in the facilitation of online communities.”
In keeping with the theme of cultural or generational change, both courses are fully online, open for informal participants and cover the use of emerging technologies. Interestingly, their perspectives on the use of emerging technology to support learning and teaching are quite different (one highly theoretical, one much more practical), so I’m anticipating some very valuable contrasts and equally thought-provoking conversations. From personal, academic, and career perspectives, I’m really looking forward to what lay ahead.
As far as what this means here, both courses contain writing elements and I will be using this blog to present my thoughts/assignments. It will be fascinating to participate in an online course as a learner for a change - not just from the standpoint of the main learning experience, but also in the opportunity to observe how the course is facilitated (or perhaps unfacilitated as the case may be), how the technologies are actually used, and what the results are (both positive and otherwise). Overall I’m expecting to walk away with some very valuable insight. So you can expect a much different vein of discussion here up through December - and hopefully after that as well.
