But what if… what if I can stick it out. What are my goals for the course? What are my subjectives?
My last open course #HumanMOOC was all about building a Community of Inquiry online. We explored methods and tools to enhance teaching, social, and cognitive presence. This gives me the thought that I should explore community further from the learner perspective within Rhizo15. Do I feel that sense of presence from my instructor? Do I feel a connection with my fellow learner? (Yeah, I do Sarah! Thank you) And, do I go deeper down the rabbit hole (cognitive)?
My expectations based upon the “pre-week” or what I like to call Week 0 is that I will experience the presences but the development of the community may be more fragmented since there are not shared objectives, but rather we need to find our own community where we have those shared goals, ideals and interests.
So, I’m lost in this #rhizo15land in search of my own ideas regarding what I hope to learn. But as I write these words, I am reminded that in my PhD coursework, I would often have my own personal objectives that I wished to accomplish. These were not always/typically aligned with the curriculum. Perhaps this is the enlightenment that I have been waiting for… by finally reflecting on this notion of subjectives, I have realized that I have already begun doing this in my own little bubble.
-Thanks Dave, I’m afraid I might just do this!
I think the power of this type of MOOC is the ability to make it fit within what we are already doing – finding an angle on the topic that aligns with what we already need to do – so that our other work is enriched by the community of others who engage in learning with us. So my question for you is, how can the ideas of rhizomatic learning and this community intersect with the work you already need to be doing with your thesis research?
I look forward to participating with you (or not, I guess), in this process/course.
Hey Whitney – I am loving that I am getting to know you better! I have no clue (yet) what my intentions are for rhizo15, but I am sure we’ll have some in common.
I like the way you’ve explored and answered your questions here even if it’s led to more questions. For me it seems that finding personal objectives means taking some time to be quiet with oneself. What is it I want to accomplish? Very different from what do THEY or THE curriculum expect of me.
Whitney, having just come from the #HumanMOOC experience, I have to agree that this #rhizo15 experience is pulling me in. I’m thinking that I am my own instructor in this one and I need to be present or have presence in order for the learning to occur. It’s all about control and purpose. Kevin made reference to that in his post – http://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2015/04/16/rhizo15-annotating-to-understand/.
Patterns and images for communities and groups is a new focus for me. The twitter analytics images fascinate me and link back to something I read about Learning in flocks, hives and swarms, written by a fellow Ontario educator Rodd Lucier http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/thecleversheep/2015/03/3/learning-flocks-hives-and-swarms.
Best wishes for your diss work, Whitney!!! I’m one of those people who literally never even looked at my diss after I turned it in, but the letters after my name have opened doors, and I’m very glad where I’ve ended up! My situation is very similar in that I have a HUGE project I am working on right now… but I excited for the way #rhizo15 can be ENERGIZING for that experience. I participated in Connected Courses last fall (even though during the school year I was so crazy-busy)… and it turned out to be totally worth it, exactly for the good energy. I missed all that energy in the spring semester, and I am so glad to have some energy to jumpstart my summer! Whoo-hoo!
While I’m busy with life, this community is full of rich ideas and experiences that keep me coming back for more! I will see you in between the rhizomes.