Thursday 17 January 2013

My "Ravenous Demand" - #etmooc

My husband is away in Texas tonight.  My kids are at a concert.  I have the house to myself, and that is a really good thing, because it meant I could spend the night at the computer reading, absorbing, collaborating, learning, reflecting.

Week #1 of my first-ever MOOC is not even over yet and I feel as though I have been pushed and pulled and stretched in every which direction.  I no longer remember who shared, posted, linked what; BUT, I remember all of the new things that I learned.  And I had a small epiphany this week that I shared with my students.

One of the themes this week was "How do you make your learning visible?" And it came to me today that learning = change.  If I haven't changed the way I think, feel, understand, then I haven't learned anything.  Tony Stead says it all the time, "I used to think.... But now I think...."  If you can fill in this statement you have made your learning visible. I explained to my students how important mistakes are because they help us to make our learning visible - they help us to see how we have changed.

In the past week, every time someone in the etmooc community posted a reflection or a question about making learning visible it left me wondering "How DO I make my learning visible to OTHERS?"  But tonight I participated in Sue Waters' Blackboard Discussion on Blogging and we talked about why we blog.  Many of the participants said they blog to reflect.  One brilliant person (wish I could remember the name) said "I write to create myself" (sorry if I misquoted).  I reflected on that a long time.

Tonight I realize that I don't need to make my learning visible to anyone else other than myself.  I need to look at myself and think - How have I changed? And if I can answer that question I will have made my learning visible to ME.

One of the things that impacted me most deeply this week was a shared youtube video of David Wiley on Openness in Education.  He talks about how we can give away knowledge freely without losing it; in this information age, "Digital expressions of expertise is nonrivalrous".  I am so thankful that all of my fellow-etmoocers are so willing to share their knowledge and expertise with me without rivalry  because I have a "ravenous demand" to learn and change and grow.

7 comments:

  1. "How have I changed?" -- I love that way of looking at learning! Thanks for making your learning visible, it has impacted me.
    Cheers

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  2. I really enjoyed your post Lorraine. It reminded me that the primary purpose we make our learning visible is to help us reflect on what we have learned as well as help others in their learning journey. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Hi Lorraine

    I honestly couldn't imagine how I might have coped with the #etmooc if I was new to lots of these tools. Pretty sure I would feel stretched, pulled and pushed. But I can say it is all worth it because you will look back and realise the impact it made; and how much you learnt.

    Thanks for taking the time to reflect on my blogging session. Very pleased it helped you realise making your learning visible to yourself is the most important aspect.

    Sue

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  4. Hi Lorraine.
    That is a great way to reflect on learning - I used to think ... and now I think... We had to ponder this after a year of PD in a network of leader's last year and it really enabled me to focus on what I had learnt and how my ideas, knowledge and understandings had changed. That reflection then lead to a blog post - probably would not have been written without that prompt for reflection first.
    Look forward to sharing the learning with you!
    Mary

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  5. Lorraine: I'm thinking you were one of the people who thought they might be intimidated about blogging. You just shared some great reflections - and I think it's key that you're thinking about how this learning is changing you. As your learning evolves, so will what you show to your students and colleagues. thanks so much for the ideas. Keep reflecting!

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  6. Interesting post. You will be able to model what it means to be a learner by making your learning visible and then setting new goals. Thanks for sharing the video.

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