In preparing for my first ever experience with a MOOC, I found myself feeling very similar to my first day of teaching nine years ago. I was so excited to begin the new journey, eager to ‘share’ my expertise and knowledge and intrigued by the scope of what was going to be learned. But, what I did not expect was the sense of awe, wonderment and fear that came along after a couple of minutes of viewing the ETMOOC introductions and reading the blogs from the wide scope of participants. I quickly began to give in to the feelings of inadequacy, resorting to thoughts of “what can I bring to the table” or “I am in over my head – what was I thinking”.
Getting beyond the initial reaction took some self-reflection and more importantly encouragement from members of my PLN and colleagues to “ride the wave and go with it”. My initial reaction became the platform for a conversation with a couple of my colleagues who I was trying to encourage registering for ETMOOC. The common reply from my reluctant colleagues focused on the fear of the unknown or a lack of self – assessed skill level that they felt needed to be in place prior to joining. This self-doubt had become a serious stumbling block for many and easily could have been one for me.
As a teacher who is somewhat tech savvy and gets excited about discovering new digital tools to incorporate into my teaching, I found myself thinking and feeling the same emotions as those who are trying to fit into today’s digital education model. I began to contemplate how an experienced teacher who still turns in year plans written in pen, uses hand-written notes to communicate and relies largely on worksheets as a measure of growth and development would have felt if they were asked to join ETMOOC? The same teacher who so desperately is still trying to find a way to be relevant and fit into a digital niche when they are not sure of where to even start to bridge the gap between a ‘typical teacher’ to a ‘networked teacher’.
I realized that in my capacity as a Learning Coach and a colleague, the greater question I should have been asking was “How do I take this ‘typical Teacher’ and help lead, share or show them the benefits of become a ‘networked teacher’?
I believe that the way in which to do this is to lead by example and share my experience in ETMOOC including the joys and fears. The first week of ETMOOC is complete and I not only survived but was able to walk away with a much deeper connectedness to what it means to learn! With the second week soon underway – the anticipation continues to build as does the encouragement from my expanding PLN to continue to grow, develop, learn and collaborate.
Getting beyond the initial reaction took some self-reflection and more importantly encouragement from members of my PLN and colleagues to “ride the wave and go with it”. My initial reaction became the platform for a conversation with a couple of my colleagues who I was trying to encourage registering for ETMOOC. The common reply from my reluctant colleagues focused on the fear of the unknown or a lack of self – assessed skill level that they felt needed to be in place prior to joining. This self-doubt had become a serious stumbling block for many and easily could have been one for me.
As a teacher who is somewhat tech savvy and gets excited about discovering new digital tools to incorporate into my teaching, I found myself thinking and feeling the same emotions as those who are trying to fit into today’s digital education model. I began to contemplate how an experienced teacher who still turns in year plans written in pen, uses hand-written notes to communicate and relies largely on worksheets as a measure of growth and development would have felt if they were asked to join ETMOOC? The same teacher who so desperately is still trying to find a way to be relevant and fit into a digital niche when they are not sure of where to even start to bridge the gap between a ‘typical teacher’ to a ‘networked teacher’.
I realized that in my capacity as a Learning Coach and a colleague, the greater question I should have been asking was “How do I take this ‘typical Teacher’ and help lead, share or show them the benefits of become a ‘networked teacher’?
I believe that the way in which to do this is to lead by example and share my experience in ETMOOC including the joys and fears. The first week of ETMOOC is complete and I not only survived but was able to walk away with a much deeper connectedness to what it means to learn! With the second week soon underway – the anticipation continues to build as does the encouragement from my expanding PLN to continue to grow, develop, learn and collaborate.