During the Dave Cormier session last week, Alec Couros used these words to describe etmooc: “we all decided to walk through the same door on the Internet so we could think together.” And think we do. And chat. And share. And blog. And tweet. Many of us think about learning; how to define it, how to recognize it, how does it happen? And because we are educators, how to support and cultivate it in our students.
I’ve been reflecting on my own learning in etmooc and wondering what elements of this learning experience have lead to a “learning explosion” for me and I have connected with a few other bloggers who are asking themselves the same question. Thomas Okon wrote: ” no other class has ever pushed me to do this kind of personal upgrade”. See his blog here.My experience with etmooc has been equally stimulating. In my comment to his post I suggested that several elements contributed to my learning: learner-centered, culture of sharing, tools to support skill development. Later that week I read a post from Lorraine Boulos, who said, “I have met wonderful and inspiring educators that I have connected with”. She went on to say, “I am not just learning HOW to connect, but WHY connect. I never anticipated how much thinking I would be doing in this MOOC!”
Tagged: #ETMOOC, adult learning, connected learning, online community, student-centred learning