Re: Semester Endgame

Do you read your colleagues’ work online?  How often? What is it like to read their work? How does being able to see everyone’s work online at any given time change the way you do your work?

Depending on the assignment I know there are a few other students I can blog-check for guidance. It's nice to be able to see their work and individual style as well as compare my own thoughts and processes to theirs.

How has the publicly and always visible course blog made this course different from one without a blog?  How would the course change if the course blog disappeared tomorrow?

I'm not sure the public has had that big of an affect on me personally YET,  but if the blog disappeared tomorrow I would die. HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT HOMEWORK TO DO?

Has publishing your work for the public to see changed your approach to completing an assignment? How so?  How would your feelings about the course change if you couldn’t publish your work that way?

It definitely holds me accountable. I tend to slack off sometimes but the blog is like a living timeline of my work ethic.

Has your experience of the physical classroom changed because of the open & online aspects?  Where does your learning actually happen?

It happens everywhere. I like that I can use my phone to access the internet in class. It's better to use those kinds of instant references, since they are available. I can only hope more teachers allow this in the future.

 

You were described in the Macarthur Foundation/DML  interview as “a pioneer”-- how do you describe the experience on the edge to people who haven’t been there (friends and family)?

I kind of tell them it's common sense to use the technology we're all attached to anyway for educational purposes.

How do they respond when you describe the brave new world in which you’re working?

Well, my worst case was them telling me that my generation is going to be screwed because we "can't talk to people", but most people just nod and say, "cool."

What do their responses mean to you?  What effect(s) (if any) do they have on you?

The aforementioned worst case just made me sad for the ignorance of the generation before me. We're gonna have a much more productive time on this earth, I'll tell you that.