I can’t believe how far into this course I am now. It seems like yesterday that I was watching my first ever live MOOC session. So much has happened since that day….I’m sooooo connected! I began with the ETMOOC, suggested by my prof, at the beginning of our tech course. After finding and looking into some other MOOC sessions, I decided to continue with ETMOOC. I looked into a number of other CEET’s, and am fairly confident that I will be participating in those once my Master’s courses are finished next month, I , however decided not to participate in those at this time. I decided to continue with ETMOOC because as I had watched a number of sessions already, I decided it was in my best interest to just continue with this one. Within a week of beginning the ETMOOC my hours at work change just enough to make it impossible for me to be able to log on and watch the live sessions. I’ve watched quite a few archived session and am amazed at the amount of information each one contained.
What I’ve liked…
I like the flexibility of being able to watch and re-watch the archived sessions as needed. I’ve watched a few of the session a couple of times simply because I found them so interesting and so much information was shared.
I appreciate the amount of information all the presenters are willing to share with complete strangers. This certainly gives me a good feeling in being a part of something that is so giving. I believe in sharing knowledge so this part of the ETMOOC experience resonates with me a lot.
The chat room is bursting with information over and above the presenters information! Wow, there are so many knowledgeable people sharing!
The reflections I’m having about the sessions and pondering about the discussed topics and how I can either relate them to my teaching and/or myself. I’ve done a lot of really good self-reflecting; some of the presenters have made an impact on me!
What I’m not so fond of…
The speed the information is shot out at me. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights!
Each session is chock-full of links, details and juicy tidbits of information. I’ve never been so glued to my monitor as when I watch these sessions. I need at least another 10 hours a day that I would love to devote to immersing myself in this ETMOOC. There is just not enough time in the day to do all the learning I want to do from these sessions. I would love to be able to follow all the links given and really sink my teeth into them. So maybe, it is not the speed the information is coming to me at that is the issue, rather, it is not having enough time to spend on really sinking myself into the topic. I guess I have to find that balance between, work, kids, Master’s coursework and the ETMOOC.
What I’ve learned…
Where to begin?? I’ve learned so much in these past few months! I’ve certainly increased my personal learning network (PLN) through making connections in Twitter with people I’ve been introduced to in the sessions. I’ve followed a number of really interesting people and have gained a better understanding of technology through their ‘voice’. Ah yes, I’m working on ‘finding my voice’ with my blogging. It was a revelation to me with blogging in that I’m learning to ‘write for me’ and in doing so, my ‘voice’ will become part of my online identity. This has taken a lot of pressure off me when blogging, because I had always thought I was writing for others when I blogged. Community…yes, I’m starting to feel like I’m part of this new community. I kind of like that because it makes me feel like I belong here and when I feel I belong here, I am more happy to share my knowledge with others. I do feel connected with my online community! I’ve also noticed the more I am online, the more I like being a part of this community. I can see how the connections I make now will continue to support me once these tech courses are over next month. I’m rather excited that I’ll have this support! I’ve also learned that MOOC – Massive Online Open Learning – not only means massive in that a lot of people can participate, but rather, massive in the amounts of information that is shared!
Cheers!