After reaching the half way point on the calender for ETMOOC, I thought I would try some different Moocs.

However, before I discuss the new Moocs I have signed up for, I wanted to talk a bit about the ETMOOC experience.  The very first one was overwhelming, especially with all the new information coming at me in the form of side chats, screen writings, and the lecture itself. Most of the ETMOOC sessions offered useful information that I can use in my current teaching role and a few of the sessions challenged the ways I view education.  One of the last ones I watched was with Will Richardson who shared a new term he coined “ed-entity crisis”, his way to describe the challenging, yet amazing times we are experiencing as educators and learners.  As the picture above depicts, we are starting to redefine education, teaching and schooling and we have a lot of work to do, if we are to be freed from the chains of the past.  Thanks to ETMOOC for providing such valuable information in the past few weeks.

Now on to Classroom 2.0.  I have spent a few Saturday mornings taking part in the Moocs that occur on this website.  They tend to follow the same format as ETMOOC.  I noticed that if a Mooc session is scripted like the Evernote session, the speaking is way too rushed and it sounds like an auctioneer trying to sell something.  In addition, one of the moderators advertised technology conferences for five minutes before introducing the main speaker.   I would prefer to save time and and read about the conferences, if I’m interested, on a document link.  I do think introductions to the speakers are a great idea, but they should be kept short.  I have also been thinking that,in the case of all Moocs, there should be a brief written abstract somewhere that we could read and then decide to participate, if the information is pertinent to our needs.  My favorite  session on Classroom 2.0 was with Ryan Houng.  He had a whole session devoted to technology tools that help students learn how to learn.

The best Mooc I have found so far is the Aboriginal Worldviews from Coursera at the University of Toronto.  The pace of sessions are good because they are divided into 2-30 minute time slots.  Each session is listed with its relevant themes.  The background is relaxing, not frantic or constantly changing like so many discussions on other Moocs. This Mooc has been unbeatable in its presentation of Aboriginal issues and education; it was perfect timing for our forum discussion this week in EDCI 591.  I have been wondering for some time now about the proper terms for First Nations and this Mooc provided  a few pertinent lessons on this. The most salient feature I have encountered so far in a Mooc is the screen side chat that occurs a couple of days after the presentation.  This is where the moderator can answer questions or reflect on the lesson after the fact.

All in all, Moocing is offering new ways to learn.  I look forward to the future when there are more options other than the Blackboard Collaborate format which is a bit choppy.  If I have any advice, it would be for people who know they are struggling with speaking online, to take a Toast Masters course. After attending Toast Masters for a year, I saw many examples of speakers, including myself, becoming more confident and eloquent and using less repetitive speech patterns such as the overuse of “ok” or “um”.

I’ll finish by saying that I am enjoying the mini online community that we have during our Saturday 515 sessions.  I have found lots of  useful information.  These include: privacy and the internet, blogging, tweeting, and links to many tech savvy educational websites.