I have recently registered with ETMOOC (#etmooc for you twitter users).  It is a Massive Open Online Course on Education Technology and Media.  Early this week, I was feeling a little intimidate about become an open learner.  However, after watching two archived presentations, I do not think that I can get enough of this type of learning.  It is so accessible, respectful and collaborative.

Before I let my excitement get the best of me, I should slow down to describe the sessions that I watched.  The two presentations that I watched were the Welcome & Orientation and the Introduction to Twitter.  I did not watch them in that order though.  I watched the Twitter presentation after I had already signed up to Twitter which was a great way to do it.  I could watch and experiment with the suggestions on my Twitter account.  I am very much of a kinetic learner and must participate in order to learn.  What really surprised me about Twitter is its similarities to other platforms I already use such as Facebook.  The only thing that I could compare this type of relationship to is learning French and being able to pick up Spanish or Italian as another language.  What I really enjoyed about the presentation was the collaborative nature of asking participants .  if there were other suggestions.  I felt like I was in a real classroom but I could direct my learning if I was participating in it live.  What I also appreciate is that I could go back to watch the video again as I become more comfortable with Twitter and want to learn more in depth.  In this respect, I am control of the pace at which I learn when I am ready.

I watched the archived presentation of the Welcome & Orientation after the Twitter presentation.  I realize that was backwards but at the moment I needed to know how Twitter worked first.  Where else can you have the welcome class after the first day?  Alex Curos briefly explained how ETMOOC is different from using such platforms as moodle.  On moodle, your learning is being controlled by someone else whereas MOOCs allow the learner to be in control of their learning.  This is very exciting!  I was watching an archive so I have no idea how exciting it would have to watch it live with everyone posting questions and writing on the whiteboard at the same time.

Alex asked participants to consider two questions.  How are you making your learning visible?  I must say that until now that I have not made my learning visible unless the opportunity arose to share something with a student.  Now, I am going be sharing my learning on this blog and with other colleagues.  My colleagues have so much to share with me but I often feel like I cannot reciprocate.  My learning can also be made visible in the interactions I have with my students.  How are you contributing to the learning of others?  Hopefully I will be able to contribute to others learning by commenting on their blogs or sending them to interesting sites and conversations on Twitter.

I believe that I am ready to be an open learner.  I feel this has only happened because I am being forced out of my comfort zone into the bigger world of a Massive Open Online Course.  And I am excited and thrilled to begin this adventure into determining my own path of learning.