Well the new semester is underway.  The subject is called “Theories for Learning Futures”.  I have identified a pattern in the semesters at Uni – at least for me.  I start keen, and feel ok, then panic hits like I have swallowed an electrified anvil and I feel overwhelmed and at a loss.  That hit me tonight.  The thing is that you are not just learning the content when you learn online, you are also learning how the hell to work out what you are supposed to be doing.

It would really help, I think, if the teacher/lecturer held some live discussions so we can clarify things.  I think that there are others feeling quite lost – even more lost!

I am also doing an online course in graphic facilitation.  That is fun and I would like to spend more time on that but I have managed to keep up ok I think.  Some of the people in the course are clearly quite professional already – but I am ok with where I am at – it is all about learning and moving forward from where you are at hey.

I knew this blog would come in handy – for me at least !

This semester I am studying “Online Pedagogies in Practice“, and one of the assessment tasks in to keep a reflective journal.  While this blog might not include all of my journal entries, it will certainly help capture many I hope.  Here are some thoughts about the first couple of weeks…

Building the class community

Shirley Reushle is the USQ facilitator for this course.  She has used a wide range of strategies to encourage class participants to introduce themselves, and get used to working together.  Shirley has used:

• a social forum (this is a usual practice from what I have experienced, where each person can introduce themselves briefly)
• a world map (powered by Google, each person can click on a button so that their location can be indicated by a ‘pin’ – this is the most geographically spread class group that I have been in so far)
• class characteristics wiki (a table shows at a glance where people are and their principal interests)
• “What can you see” wiki – Shirley has invited people to add a photo taken out their window, at 10am Toowoomba time

Then, to link the introductions to content, she has set up a wiki and encouraged everyone to add a link to a resource that represents your understanding of “online pedagogy“.

She has also set up forums for:

• shared resources (some great links here on concept mapping!!)
• news (she is posting weekly updates)
• hints, tips and missing links
• general questions and answers

Shirley also convened a Wimba webinar yesterday.  Unfortunately I missed it:-(  Our PC didn’t want to play with Wimba (although it likes elluminate quite well).  I have since discovered that our laptop is not so choosy and plays well with Wimba, so I am sorted for next time.

Creating a presence

When I couldn’t get into the Wimba webinar, I was able to join in with another webinar via “The Australia Series” within Learn Central hosted by elluminate.  This was really great timing as Carole McCulloch (aka Coach Carole) led a discussion on e-facilitation.  Some outstanding resources were shared during the webinar, including the link to a Google book, “Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to “Be There” for Distance Learners“.

I am reflecting on how Shirley has created a presence in this course already.  Her communications are welcoming and encouraging, but more than that, she has led participation in each of the above activities.  I can see this as a deliberate strategy – usually for instance facilitators set up the social forums, but don’t create comments themselves.  They might respond to comments, but not initiate or share too much about themselves.

Shirley has also created a short audio welcome to the course.

I like the use of multiple modes of communication – text, graphics, audio – synchronous and asynchronous.

Assessment tasks

I also like the requirement for reflection (ie. the journal).  I know that this will help me consolidate my learning along the way.

We also must work in small groups again.  It is a strange process, forming groups online.  I am hoping that the process works as well this semester as it did last semester (we had a great group!).