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Please! Feel free to talk to me!
Recently I read an excellent blog post by Mark A. McCutcheon discussing his interest in a student’s twitter-reading of a postmodern text. As she read, she posted short messages showing synthesis of concepts and poking fun (as it should be poked) at that playful pomo theory. The most interesting part of the post, however, came when Mark discussed the tension between engaging with or disregarding his student’s publically broadcast messages.
“I wasn't sure about how to broach the topic at first, anxious that it would be a bit like jumping out of the blind to scare the wildlife one's been observing.”
My first experience with an online course, sitting in on Alec Couros’ open-ed ECI831, inspired me to apply for the MAIS program at Athabasca. Perhaps I should have conducted more research into the structure of courses before applying, but I anticipated a connected and networked learning environment that would bleed into the rest of my budding online identity. While I recognize that there are moves toward this type of learning at Athabasca through the building of places such as the Landing, it will take more than simple tools to move faculty, staff, and students beyond Athabasca’s traditionally distance-education model. Connected leaders will need to model a new form of engagement and prompt others to embrace this shift in culture. In this vein, I thank Mark for his post outlining his trepidation as well as the reward of “jumping out from behind the blind.” I hope he continues to incite participation in interactive spaces.
In the meantime, I wonder if it’s possible to ask professors and departments of Athabasca to provide Skype office hours to respond to the needs of students who are spread out around the globe. I believe that Skype is a good place to start for those who are just learning to jump into connected spaces with their students. I would appreciate having a time of week where I could feel free (and maybe even encouraged?) to contact my professor, rather than having to go through the awkward process of requesting a Skype meeting and waiting with bated breath to see how he/she will react to such a thing. Certainly I am not asking for anyone to keep ridiculous hours; I am willing to wake up at whatever time of night is necessary to meet individuals during their work-day, but when requests for Skype contact with departments are referred back to telephone numbers that I can call from China, I wonder what type of “leader in online education” school I am attending. Sorry, I was just frustrated.
Leslie
Comments
hi Leslie,
Thank you for your post.
I really like the study buddy group. It will be a really useful addition to the Landing to connect students. I am an independent blogger within the Landing, and had finished the MDE program in May this year. I facilitate the Academic Blogging Group. I am not taking courses at the moment.
I agree that we need to reflect more closely on how we all interact with one another on the Landing We need to unpack and examine our assumptions and expectations about what should amd should not be done when initiating contact with others. Professors may be concerned about engaging students not part of their cohort, and students might feel nervous about contacting their instructors (or even other students not within their cohort or program).
There are most definitely gates that restrict the movement of participants. This is as it should be. But because the gates are there to prevent access, it might also be confusing would-be participants into thinking that other gates exist by default as well.
You attempt to make a Skype call, and get directed to make phone calls. You might make the decision that making skype calls are not worth the time. They are too hit-miss to be reliable.
I click on a link from the activity stream, and get sent to a restricted page (not part of the group). I might make the decision that I should not be clicking on that person's activity links again, as I have no access to any of them.
I comment on a blog post, and get no reply. I might make make the decision to curtail my posting, as no one is reading the posts anyways.
And in all cases I would be incorrect. I just needed a wider perspective, someone else to show me a different way of looking at these events, and how they drew different conclusions.
Glenn
Thanks for your comments, Glenn, and for the encouragement!
Of course, there must be some pages that are restricted for various reasons, but I'm speaking more to the culture of Athabasca and other online learning spaces. Moving into the online world in a real time and connected way can be frightening. I recall not long ago being in my first MMORPG (massive multi-player online role playing game), Maple Story. It's a game my boyfriend was playing and is very similar to a Mario-brothers, collect-the-little-coins game. The first time I saw another player on the screen I felt a surge of adrenaline down my spine. That character was connected to a PERSON on the other end somewhere! How did that other person get into my computer? It was a little like discovering there was someone in my home.
Since then I've gone through various stages of developing my online identity and now feel more confident in navigating this digital world, but I can still recall the chill I got that afternoon. Walking into a room full of strangers is daunting, but we have been doing it all our lives. The digital room is full of strangers without faces, without names, and sometimes who are not human (bots). This step is not a small one, I recognize, but just as we develop personalities and values to filter which strangers we will talk to on the street, we gradually develop assertiveness to engage with digital strangers.
I think that a great way to facilitate this process is by taking others out of their homes and on digital walks. We show our friends the sites, steer them away from the shady parts of town, and demonstrate the rewards on offer for those willing to embrace shared experiences in the digital world. To me this also means opening the door to your home through that screen you're looking at right now. Perhaps by inviting someone in, you will encourage someone else to open a door.
Leslie
Oddly enough, a teacher that I follow on twitter, @intrepidteacher, has just written a blog post in a similar vein. He discusses the potential for lifelong learning by forging connections with students beyond the classroom.