I had to wait a few days after taking in this weeks lecture to be able to work up enough clarity to make an entire blog post. This is one case where the blog format is really nice. Others' posts on the subject has given me more to think about.
Don's post about motivation definitely got me thinking. I have, as he has referenced, felt a drain in motivation this semester which I have attributed in part to the changes to the Blackboard learning environment. It is as if I feel the rules changed on me, like a certain element of stability had been lost, and the prospect of learning new ways of dealing in the environment exhausted me.
Strangely, as learner in this program, I have developed quite a few habits that are unique to me but are inseparable from understanding of what it is to be a student in this program. The fact that I go to the library every Sat. at 10 and sit in the same spot, or my red 1 GB flash drive that I use for all my work, or my giant to-do list I create at the beginning of every semester are all means I've created for myself in my learning efforts... tangible remnants of my intangible process of constructing new knowledge. Don even gives a followup post letting us know he misses the Bb group discussion... me too Don, but this is growing on me.
Jeff found and shared a link to a virtual commencement ceremony. I thought about this in the context of motivation and those thoughts I was trying to harness after reading the lecture. My impressions of these SRL discussions feel weird to me b/c it is hard for me to feel anything personal about the process. Sure, we know that if you plan well, you can in fact assist a learner in the process of creating knowledge without maintaining a physical presence, but in so many ways that strikes me as cold.
Edgar's post talks about his first online class and how it is a learning experience in and of itself. This process of reconciling one's impressions of how, when and where learning occurs with the reality of a situation can be very disconcerting, and is easier when you are in communication with others in the same boat.
More to my point, something like the discussion board, or even a virtual commencement (a virtual orientation would be even better) can go a long way to creating some of those constants that are both comforting and motivating. These things that exist outside of an individual learning experience are important as well, and having them pointed out by others reminds me that SRL is not necessarily as cold as some of the readings made me feel.
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2 comments:
Erik, All points well taken. I will admit that I have been grappling with the value of discussions in all of our courses. I certainly see the advantage in some (e.g., in our Ed. Hardware class) but for classes such as this one where learning is more open-ended and on students' shoulders, I believe this medium is better. Of course, I could be wrong - and there could be better ways of approaching it (e.g., use of a class blog) - but there's only one way to find out...thru research and trial and error. Unfortunately, there aren't many accounts of using these in distance ed...as always, suggestions, comments are most welcome!
I really do love the blogging, I was just trying to say there is motivation in comfort. Not that there isn't motivation in doing something new. Though I'm not sure which gets more mileage.
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