Making my Garden Grow….. | ETMOOC Blog Hub

When I learned that Dave Cormier was going to be lecturing on Rhizomes, MOOCs, and Making Sense of Complexity I have to admit that the first thought that popped into my mind was..

“What do rhizomes have to do with learning?”

Then I did the next thing that many inquiring minds do in high and I checked Wikipedia and found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome … but using my critical eye explored further to find http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhizome_(philosophy)

Hmmm I thought… let the learning begin.

Rhizomes are how plants spread. A little piece can create more. Resilient, messy, keeps going. (reminds me of my understanding during the #etmooc process)

Although the learning is messy, what distinguishes a MOOC from a social gathering is ones ability to set personal goals for learning based on interactions in the process. Student responsibility it CRITICAL to the processes.

We all decided to walk through the same door in the Internet so we could think together @alec

http://etmooc.org/guide-for-participants/

OPEN SYLLABUS= Social Contract…..
Make the COMMUNITY THE COMMITMENT

This could be done through a Social Network Analysis (used as part of assessment)- How are you supporting other people. http://www.academia.edu/779650/Measuring_Engagement_Learning_Analytics_in_Online_Learning

I related David’s description of the modern teacher’s role as being similar to my current role as a counsellor. Encouraging students to push past their limits but also letting them know that you are there to catch them if they fall. In my counsellor training I was constantly taught that the difference between a counselling session and a chat is purpose…and we learned skills for developing and collaborating with our clients to create client centered goals.

Throughout the presentation it was clear that the learning processes in this system could not be teacher outcome based (as this stifles creativity). Therefore, as I wouldn’t randomly jump into a conversation I also can’t start teaching until I’ve asked my student developed a student contract. The following links provided some ideas around contracts:

http://hastac.org/forums/forum-bill-rights-and-principles-learning-digital-age

http://davecormier.com/edblog/

As well as ideas on facilitating an open classroom