The people joining the group share the same enthusiasm as those of us already engaged, and many are commenting that previous activities and discussions are useful in terms of both content and creating a buzz for the course start in 2 weeks. It's great. New conversations, new perspectives, new talents.
Google+ has taken on new meaning giving it the much needed boost by creating the critical mass required to get it going. Fantastic.
In one respect it's very exciting, it's what MOOCs are all about, lots and lots of us connecting, sharing, inspiring, learning. But as I have articulated in earlier posts in this blog, my comfort zone lies really in a SMOOC, a SMALL MOOC, oxymoron though that may be. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the sudden enormity of our group and wondering how that might impact on my ability to function in the online social context of edcMOOC.
The safety of our little bubble has gone, and our very encouraging frainger group, as Ary has christened us, will integrated into the larger whole. Or maybe not. Perhaps it's the creative element of the course that has me feeling a bit tentative. Will we still be able to find Chris's suggestions which encourage us to take baby steps towards something new and challenging? As adults, we can feel very exposed when we have to create something for others, especially when one is not so creative....
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| Image Courtesy Dr S Seay, Licensed Psychologist....... |
However, I can't retreat to a corner and do quizzes, only one way to participate in this course, and that's together. So I think I've just got to let go of whatever I'm snagged on and go along for the ride, after all, that's what I signed up for!
There. Done it. Heart on the sleeve and got it out. Serious journalling going on in this post. I might make a new video,"On Second Thoughts", that transforms us of the "32000" into "real people", and not just a MOOC statistic! All part of the MOOC learning curve.
"First Throw" http://youtu.be/9j-zuCy2NrY
You are echoing my thoughts exactly Angela. I was feeling quite comfortable with the pre-edcmoocer group, but extending my comfort zone was one of my objectives for this course so I guess it is time to hop to it.
ReplyDeleteShould we put this post out there Helen, not sure if it is hopeful or dismal? I thought I might be the only one feeling this way but if it is encouraging to others that some are a bit unnerved at times, then maybe it is helpful....
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the experience of edcmooc will be rich and rewarding for us all.
My thoughts too Angela. But I believe everyone would be having some anxieties about it all specially if it is their first MOOC. I am hoping our will and eagerness to learn will help us overcome the fear of exposure as you put it :)
ReplyDeleteAngela, I'm freaking out too! Here we were all chummy chummy with each other(that's not slang for anything in Australian is it?) and along comes this tidal wave of people! Noooo, I thought yesterday! I felt so lost wandering the halls of the cyberschool Chris created. Where were all my "fraingers" I'd come to know? All these new names and faces...introductions all over again! Ahhh! Will more people make our MOOC more impersonal and isolating? This is my first MOOC, and I'm with ya...I'm a SMOOC girl too! Helen Crump, a frainger in my quad wrote about hospitality within a MOOC. Wonder how hospitality thrives in a MOOC with 32K? Just like face to face environments, what makes one more inviting than another? I do hope to get to know as many newcomers as I can, but it's like November all over again. Time to put ourselves out there again and build trust so we can learn together. :)
ReplyDeleteI think we have to be realistic about the number of connections we can make. In my last MOOC, it was possible to get to know a few people, but once the course starts, you get busy with the weekly tasks, and with edcmooc, there are only 5 weeks. So I think we have done the hard yards (easy ones really) and made meaningful connections and perhaps our energies are now best spent getting the most out of the course with the group we know and whatever new connections that happen naturally. This has been good to explore!
DeleteI agree, Angela, and feel overwhelmed as well. But please don't sell yourself short on your ability to create. I loved your videoscribe on what is a MOOC. The elevator ride to the cloud was a great visual. I'm hoping that as this group expands, we won't lose the connections that we made in late November.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, our videos were fun to make Willa. I dont think we will lose the connections we have made, blogging too has been good for cementing them and now we're all on each others blog rolls. They are a good way to stay in touch.
DeleteAngela, Thanks for writing what I've been feeling the past day or so. I've enjoyed the SMOOC and have appreciated getting to 'know' some of you through your posts. It's like we've just left the shallow end of the pool and started swimming.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insights.
Riding the tsunami might be a more apt description Rick!
DeleteHi Angela. Me too. I see it like a ship that loads of people have suddenly jumped on board. It's rocking about all over the place, but soon it will level out. I keep going on about creating stuff because personally I think it's the best way to learn and remember things. I know it'll be different for others, so once the boat is steady I'm sure we'll start forming new & wider groups. No need for lifeboats yet anyway..!
ReplyDeleteChris
I had to do a lot of work on PS yesterday, so kept my fb open, click add click add click add all day and replied on too many posts. Need to get away from it, I need a lifeboat Chris!
DeleteOh yes, I feel that next video coming on, all these lovely metaphors, waves, ships, cyberschool! The great disruption!
ReplyDeleteI guess this is where we could be creative and form our own node of sorts, a wiki or a shared blog or something that allows us to maintain the connections we have already made yet still lets us interact with the rest. Although its not humanly possible to interact with 32000 other people in any kind of intimate way (chummy indeed, means the same thing everywhere as far as I know).
On that animated MOOC video, it describes forming sub groups within MOOCs, nothing wrong with continuing our November subgroup, others will form their own clusters quite naturally. Our group formed as a function of both timing and our willingness to learn and participate at that level (and over Christmas). Why should it not continue as is? It is still a sizeable subgroup of a MOOC. Or is that being the turtle in my picture?
I have been active on edcmooc FB since its start but I don't identify with your sentiments, I understand them, I just don't feel it.
ReplyDeleteI read what I want to read. I never read intros any more, they are pointless at this volume. It is like attending a 1500 delegate conference and getting an intro from everyone. Why? It would serve no purpose. This only happens in digital cultures and that is what we will be learning about (we already have). It is already very telling how some feel that their pre-mooc groups have been invaded. That can only happen if you feel any sort of ownership. I don’t see how that is possible; you can participate in but not own this type of connectivity.
I think the turtle is a good representation of those that feel invaded, I am not being critical here just observing. Many have spoken about choice in the various debates about what platforms and applications they should and should not use. It is exactly the same about how much you read and respond to.
Like I mentioned before, the sudden growth of our FB group made me feel like it was in my best interest to get to know as many of these new people as I could, like I did in the beginning, to determine whose posts intrigue me, challenge my thinking or simply teach me about topics I knew nothing about before. So, yes, I also read what I want with that goal in mind. We all know it is impossible to interact with 32K people and be able to read everyone's posts. Much like in a face to face class, we tend to form small groups and stick with those connections...at least I do anyway...I think it's just human nature to form groups. But, I don't completely ignore all the intros, but "kinda skim" over them and see what posts catch my eye. Again, I'm looking for quality in the knowledge that I gain from others. I joined a MOOC in the first place, not for the massiveness, but hopefully for the quality of the knowledge being shared. I want to interact with people who can teach me something. For me, ownership in a MOOC is ownership of my own learning and who I choose to interact with. I have absolute ownership of my connectivity because I search for those people whose posts will contribute to my learning experience, and I, in turn, try to teach others for altruistic reasons and selfish ones, to build my own digital brand and identity... and as it's being stated in other MOOCs, to make my own learning visible...reciprocal teaching and learning. The FB page and other platforms are simply the means to an end, but I don't feel like any of us own any of these even if one person or another initiated the space; there are many purposes in a MOOC: to make contributions for the greater good, the masses...every last person in that 32K can benefit from others' contributions if they choose, and also to discover quality content for one's own intellectual gain. We may not own the learning spaces, but we do own the connections we are making, and whether or not we choose to continue our interactions/conversations long after EDCMOOC is over. So that's why, for me, it was a bit overwhelming when more people joined because I felt ownership over my present connections, and felt like I needed to make more and hold on to the ones I had. It's that ownership over our posts, tweets, hangouts, IMs, DMs, etc that make this whole MOOC experience worthwhile. On second thought, since I've joined another MOOC I may just stick to getting to know my current EDC MOOC peeps more...you know who you are! :)
ReplyDeleteAry, don't limit yourself in edcmooc, who knows what will happen. People might "drop out", evaporate, go off the radar. In either course! That was a very valuable comment, thanks it has helped me understand something about the way we connect.
ReplyDeleteThe turtle might represent many things, although invasion or ownership was not on my mind and after some thought, still isn't. I'm actually quite an introvert, big crowds scare me, regardless of where I encounter them. Shells are handy. That aside, I've posted at least 3 times on twitter, "calling all edcmooc life out there, come join us on facebook"! And here are a whole lot of people, not invading in my mind, but joining. Not "our space", but a small space in which I had grown comfortable. And I, and apparently others, need to adjust to find where new comfort lies.
As I said, we will naturally form small groups, however I really think we need to find our place in the MASSIVE group. It's a MOOC! Although we can form clusters, when the forums start, there will be thousands of people posting, upvoting, downvoting, writing with insight, writing nonsense. We will have to participate along with the thousands not only in the forums, but also in the peer review process where we will have to connect with the work of people from other countries, cultures and circumstances. So the need to connect goes well beyond our own learning experience, it is vital for the learning experience of everyone. We are all teachers and learners, connecting in whatever way we know how in this "connectivist" experiment.
My MOOC experience thus far has not been like a conference as Nigel described. More like a throng. I'm still trying to understand that experience, and enjoy it as it unfolds.
I believe the whole concept of how we connect and learn through MOOCs is too important to future directions of education to pass over as being purely possessive or territorial in nature. It is far deeper and more complex than that. For me as a teacher (and a learner) it is valid and necessary to consider the potential extent of our connectivity and how that will facilitate or constrain the learning experience. The transition from small to massive therefore, is very interesting. Just as joining etmooc today, as a latecomer is also an unnerving, yet interesting experience. Here I'm the joiner, invader, latecomer, outsider, fringe person, whatever. Just as unsettling. I must be an anxious person!