As you probably know, I have been teaching graduate school for a long time – since 1977, long before desktop computers, let alone laptops, tablets, or mobile computing. It was all f2f. Actually, it was face-to face; f2f hadn’t been invented yet. Then, in 2003, I made the leap, first to a very clumsy form of hybrid education then in 2004 to a fully online learning environment. Now, I’m bi-lingual: I can do f2f, hybrid, or fully online, although even in a f2f environment I make heavy use of online tools.
At this point, I can say my teaching has fully transitioned to online. At the same time, I am still transitioning into what feels like a new frontier: the rich and amazing format of web 2.0. Just when I think I have mastered the skills of online instruction, some new web 2.0 tool comes along, and the possibilities for communication and online instruction seem endless. With each new Web 2.0 tool, I gain expertise, a new way to reach my students, and with that ability, I acquire more confidence not only as a teacher but as a citizen of the Web 2.0 world in which I now live and teach.
I could never leave Web 2.0 world. It is too interesting, and offers too many opportunities not only to do new instructional things, but to do very old instructional things better with greater outreach , more lasting impact and more fun for my students – and yes, for me. Consider, for example, my newest Web 2.0 tool: BlogTalk radio. I have so much to learn! Yet in the 3 weeks I’ve been using it, I already see that it is a powerful tool for Socratic learning and amazingly, although I have a class of 12 students nearly 2000 people have downloaded our BlogTalk radio discussions, and the papers I receive from the students after one of our discussions shows a level of critical thinking that is remarkably higher than I have seen in other classes of the same course. WOW! This Web 2.0 tool is pretty powerful stuff! Then, I set up a special Twitter account (another Web 2,0 tool) just for the BlogTalk show, and link the show and the Twitter account. The Twitter account was picked up by an international news service which is now directing people to the discussion site. So now I need to set up a Facebook page and link everything to my blog, which I have renamed. So much to do, so much to learn!
It would be a mistake to think that I have the necessary skills to be an online instructor and stop experimenting and searching. I have the skills to be an online learner and share with others what and how I learn in the amazing Yellow Brick Road of Web 2.0 as it leads to…….Web 3.0? What do I want to learn? Whatever I can and as much as I can.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
It's a new day, new blog, new approach
Things have changed on my blog! My thought process has evolved, and my and with it, my inner blogger has blossomed and expanded into internet radio. I've combined by blogs and and linked the resulting single blog to my new BlogTalk Radio show All Things Education. I invite you to visit the show page, where you can listen to archived shows online, download shows as podcasts for listening later, and follow the show to be notified of future shows. Currently, shows are scheduled for Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM Eastern Time, but additional shows will be added at a later date.
Why the change? Previously, I had two blogs, each with a different and specific focus. I was finding myself interested in topics outside of the areas covered by those blogs - with my background and experience in education, I am naturally interested in All Things Education. Thus, it made sense to have a blog with a focus that reflected that broad interest and also connected a number of media.
Please let me know what you think of this new, broader format. Please visit the the BlogTalk Radio show All things Education. Also, I invite you to follow me on Twitter.
Join me in the great adventure of exploring All Things Education.
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