I just took a look at a couple of the blogs linked to the POT site and I came across a member who just found the class last week. He is Norm, from Rochester, NY. He can be found here.
What I like about the post and the comments that go along with it makes me feel like we are doing the right thing here. We are trying to create a community of learners who WANT to be here and are willing to share, reveal, critique, and discover some things about (learning) the planet we live on. Good for us!
Saturday I watched the ever interesting Jim Groom in the video below talk about the use of blogs and the open environments we in this class now find ourselves. I think that the expression of theses “open” “mooc” environments is just in its infancy. It will take a lot of unlearning on our part to get to a place where we, as a whole, feel this is a better version of the walled/secure classrooms we normally find ourselves in. It is not THE right answer for all classes, but it is certainly an option worth looking at for any class.
Part of this class is about owning your own space on these interwebs. Creating and maintaining a place of operation, or as Gardner Campbell so wonderfully describes it, a personal cyberstructure.
Norm, you inspired me and welcome to the class! Thanks for sharing with us and being a part of the group.
If I could add to your list I’d say
…learners who WANT to be here and are willing to share, reveal, critique, discover, and question some things…
Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m likely to be asking a question or ten.
Creating and maintaining a personal cyberstructure is an appealing part of this course. I have been thinking about how I might establish some sort of personal web presence (something more than just twittering about this mornings breakfast), but I’ve been undecided how to start. This course seemed to offer an entry point, with training wheels, at least for me, complete with a captive audience, or at least with someone who would probably look at what I have to say. So I’m here for the online teaching lessons, but more than that too.
So now I’m going to go watch that video you posted.
Thanks for the welcome.
Any questions?
Norm
I agree, “question” shall be included!
The use of blogs has may looks. Here is the University of Mary Washington version of using blogs at the institution: http://umwblogs.org/courses/
Those are the fall courses, there are years worth of course, student, and faculty blogs there.
My one question at this point is how will the Facebook group we have contribute to our sharing and learning and how might it help the “time” element of online communication?
I’m smiling as I read of Gardner Campbell’s term “personal cyberstructure.” Smiling now but was not a happy camper those long hours when I and a “more-techie-than-me” friend were trying to set up my personal cyberstructure with WordPress for DS106 last spring. My Virtually Foolproof blog was born but it was a struggle.
Now I’m thrilled to have my own little space on the Web and I understand Gardner’s message. I do think freshmen in college or ideally high school could stake out their claims.
Stephen Downes insists that learning is not about motivation but about ownership — http://www.slideshare.net/damiana.guedes/boston-presentation-746219 I think owning your public writing/creating space brings more ownership than contributing to a discussion forum.
Nice to see another DS106 fan here.
I see these digital spaces similar to a notebook. But just a wee bit more powerful, and therefor a bit more of a responsibility. But I agree, we should be asking our students to understand and use the environment well. Including owing some of it!
I had this for the Spring 2011 ds106 class: http://paganpiratearchives.wordpress.com/
And this for the Summer of Oblivion. Good grief, what a trip! http://droblivion.wordpress.com/