I read a blog entry by a fellow course participant and I realised just how inportant it is to share your thoughts and feelings online. I'm of the generation where it was socially unacceptable to "air your dirty laundry in public" (that's a British expression meaning to share your trials and tribulations with other people). I realise that this practice is both out of date and culture-centric. I can't help it though. I am just not accustomed, or comfortable with, excessive amounts of sharing online with people I've never met and am likely never to meet.
Nonetheless, I do appreciate those who can so I want to thank Brittany Chan for her blog posting "There are 40,000 people in my class… My strategy to avoid becoming overwhelmed #edcmooc"
Below are my reflections on her posting...
Your first MOOC is overwhelming but it is also a brave new world. We may well be at the cutting edge of a paradym shift in mass education.
When I went to University there were several hundred people on some of my courses. That was overwhelming too. So many people in one lecture hall. I felt so small and alone. Very quickly though I began striking up conversations with people and found myself slipping into a habit of sitting next to the same people, sharing opinions with like-minded people and seeking out those who challenged my ideas.
Isn’t it just the same thing here? Will we pick our network, or will they pick us, or both? Will we stay with the same group all the way through or will people come and go?
The issue is that the learning community is only as strong as the individuals in it. Or is it? Is the best learning community the one where everyone thinks alike or everyone thinks differently? Hummm… so much to consider.
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