One of the most important duties we all do for each other in the OLTD cohort is to provide a sounding board, feedback and an engaged listener as we travel through our own personal learning journeys. I hope that I have provided these aspects of myself to my colleagues over these last 5 weeks. I've contributed to blog posts, engaged in G+ discussions and tweeted a few items out to our #oltd hashtag.
Some of the specific contributions I've made to blogs are:
Karen's Week 2 Post
Some of the specific contributions I've made to blogs are:
Karen's Week 2 Post
There were also a few interactions on Google+ which I was able to participate in. From assisting with technical trouble...
...to discussing a great science website and its implications on open education...
...discussing some of Google's hiring practices with respect to education, MOOCS and "traditional" degrees...
...to a great discussion about ownership of work and compensation of teachers. (More than shown)
Overall I have enjoyed the discussions and blog posts in which I have been a part, or simply read. I feel that sharing is an important skill, but so to is responding, respectfully challenging and discussing important topics. I myself find the discussion of ideas far more valuable than the summarization of ideas and learn so much from the ongoing conversation that I have with peers, colleagues and friends.
On a larger sharing note, and a plug for Twitter, the ongoing conversations in short 140-character blasts are so valuable for me because it forces people to get to the hear of a matter quite quickly. Twitter has allowed me to connect with a number of educators around the world and contribute to their learning, as well as have substantial contributions to my own.
I didn't contribute much to the #oltd stream, not because it wasn't valuable but simply because of the timing of everything. If one looks at my Twitter handle in the recent months I have had periods of ups and downs, generally trending with the demands of my job and situation. I certainly read often, and have had a number of excellent articles passed on through the #oltd stream, but I engaged elsewhere when I did find the time to send tweets.
The process of tracking the contributions I have made to the learning of others has been invaluable and I will continue this practice throughout my masters program. It has been a wonderful course and I have had the opportunity to engage in a number of frank, useful discussions with some engaged and interested peers