My dad said that he learned to swim when my grandfather threw him in the Cape Fear River.  No life jacket. No walking in a little at the time.  Sink or swim.  That’s certainly the opposite of how I learned to swim.  I remember clinging to my dad in the pool, screaming at him not to let me go.  I wanted to swim so I could play with my friends, but I was also very afraid.  Finally, my mom enrolled me in lessons at the Y.  I didn’t dare scream.  I methodically learned to swim–at least well enough to pass the required swim test at UNC.

There’s something to be said for the sink or swim method.  Cautious tip-toeing can consume a lot of time that could be spent on the deep end.  It also allows more time for you to consider all the things that could go wrong.  Being thrown into the water puts survival in your control–certainly terrifying at first, but empowering when you realize you control the speed and direction.  When you get tired, float.

I’ve joined the #etmooc, a massive open online course about educational technology.  I feel like I’ve been thrown in the middle of a lake, basically treading water.  I feel pretty comfortable in the webinars and following along on Twitter.  But connecting with others is proving to be the challenge.  For example, at the time of this writing, there are 1,469 blog entries on the #etmooc blog hub.  But I’m starting to swim.

Here’s what I hope to learn from participating in this MOOC:

• Tools to empower students to take charge of their learning
• How technology can be an effective tool for personalized learning
• How to address/teach digital citizenship

Here’s to staying afloat!