- I've moved into my new place,
- teaching has begun,
- my students have started to interact and post stuff on the forums
- & we had about 15cm of snow last night!
So about 1/3 of my students have posted messages to the Welcome forum - hopefully more will later today & in the next few days. I guess it's pretty new to some of them, & it may take some time for them to get into the swing of it. I hope more of them start posting photos as being able to see who the person is - or at least what they look like - makes this whole distance interaction thing so much more personalized.
I think this balance between the personal and professional or educational is becoming more ricketty. While I recognize that some people prefer to remain private about who they are etc or to keep their private & professional or educational lives separate, I do believe that in order to make the most of any learning experience, we need to bounce our ideas off others & to get glimpses into the ways of thinking of others. And so I think that one of the best ways of doing this is by opening up ourselves and sharing our thoughts and approaches first - because, let's face it, most of us are reluctant to open up too much to other people. We don't want to be too vulnerable! Also, without the healthy disagreement of others with our ideas, how would we grow and develop as thinkers, as learners and as people? Ok - enough "sharing" for the moment, I think! Don't want to give too much away :-)
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3 comments:
Hi, Debra:
I agree with your approach of opening ourselves up and sharing our thoughts first; however, there is no "Do Over" -- where I am able to make another "first impression" based on my intent rather than others' experiences. If I am too open, people may consider me "needy" or their perception may be I am "pushy" when I am only trying to connect or assist! So when I open myself up and someone misinterprets my intentions, I want a "Do Over" instead of a "Done Did"!
Debra,
I have finally found time to explore your Facebook pictures and your blog. Very nice! I adore your new home. Very beautiful!
To comment on your recent post, I agree totally that getting to know each other will be vital to everyone's success and will make the learning environment much more fun as well!
Speaking for myself, however, I feel that everyone's personality and perspective will come out with each post and assignment. It is tough to quickly spill everything before you have had a chance to feel everyone out first. I am sure we will all get there soon! I am looking forward to it. :)
Thanks Deb & Amanda for your comments! Perhaps this personal/public divide may become a forum question in Unit 2?? It's certainly a biggie! I'm looking forward to seeing how people's personalities emerge as we interact more ... & glad you liked my Facebook photos Amanda - I've put some more up now with the post-snow pictures. :-)
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