Learning Community-the Critical Ingredient

an #etmooc participant blog post published on
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During the Dave Cormier session last week, Alec Couros used these words to describe etmooc:  “we all decided to walk through the same door on the Internet so we could think together.”  And think we do.  And chat. And share. And blog.  And tweet.  Many of us think about learning; how to define it, how to recognize it, how does it happen?  And because we are educators, how to support and cultivate it in our students.

thinkerI’ve been reflecting on my own learning in etmooc and wondering what elements of this learning experience have lead to a “learning explosion” for me and I have connected with a few other bloggers who are asking themselves the same question.  Thomas Okon  wrote: ” no other class has ever pushed me to do this kind of personal upgrade”.  See his blog here.My experience with etmooc has been equally stimulating.  In my comment to his post I suggested that several elements contributed to my learning:  learner-centered, culture of sharing, tools to support skill development.  Later that week I read a post from Lorraine Boulos, who said, “I have met wonderful and inspiring educators that I have connected with”.  She went on to say,  “I am not just learning HOW to connect, but WHY connect.  I never anticipated how much thinking I would be doing in this MOOC!”

Another key element became clear.  The social connection!   Whether we work in a large urban school or a widely dispersed College in the wilds of Northern Canada, as I do, educators can and often do work in isolation.  By walking through the etmooc door we suddenly find that we are no longer alone and that there are many people out there who care about the things we care about and who want to work together to reform education at all levels.
What actions do you take to build connections with colleagues both near and far?

Tagged: #ETMOOC, adult learning, connected learning, online community, student-centred learning