(photo given to me with permission from Steve Fines’ photography)

This picture depicts the way I feel: being blown away by hurricane force winds into a new realm of being.  I have been lifted up and away by strong winds into places I have never before contemplated.  From etmoocing, to blogging, tweeting, scooping, and curating (one of my favorite tech. activities now), I have been catapulted into the world of ICTs, Web 2.0 and online connections.

What elements of my new learning environment have had gale force impacts on me?

1.  The content curation session

Jeff Heil’s (@jheil65) ETMOOC session on content curation led me in so many directions.  I love the idea of curating information for language classes and thanks to this session, I came away with numerous tools to do just that.  My favorites are Scoopit and Symbaloo.  Around the same time, I had part of my first ETMOOC blog entry “scooped” by Dennis Richards (@dennisar).  This was reassuring as a newbie to technology.  Now I have three topics running on Scoopit and find interesting relevant information everyday.

2.  The blogging advice

Being new to the world of blogging, I was looking for helpful hints and found them during Sue Walters‘ session.  She shared the following quote from Jan Smith:  “Reading and connecting have to be at the core, or else a blog is just a digital bulletin board”.  I have realized from my own inchoate blogging experience that the comments are even more important than the posts.  Comments lead to connections and further conversations, which in turn lead to a deeper learning.

3.  Just the right words about assessment

Dave Cormier stated, “measure effort, engagement, and connection.  Allow learners to be responsible for and measure their own learning journey.  Let robots count what they can”.  This resonated with me, as I have always taught with this idea in mind, but hadn’t put it into words.  I don’t doubt that learning and achievement are occurring when students are engaged and connected.

4.  Connections

Through the many tools we have been introduced to in ETMOOC and my two UVIC Tech. Ed. courses with Valerie Irvine and Deborah Begoray, I have made many connections that have contributed to my teaching practice and research.

5.  Doug Belshaw’s Ted Talk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8yQPoTcZ78

After missing Doug’s ETMOOC session, I found and watched Belshaw’s talk about digital “literacies“. I had just finished writing a paper about ways to increase teacher and student integration of technology, when I came across this quote, similar to one of my recommendations:

“Focus on peoples interests and try and get them to get this intrinsic motivation to want to develop these digital skills for themselves”.  It is so much more fun and interesting to try new technologies when we tie them into our passions.

So, now what?  We are half way through the ETMOOC schedule and I wonder where the great winds will take me next?