As I face my last EDES blog, I experience déjà vu. I am Billy Crystal in Throw Mama from the Train. I struggle to get past my first line: "The night was humid/moist/wet/damp." No matter how I try, the words that would sound intelligent at least to my own ears seem to elude me. In the previous blog, I was stymied by the question: What's next? I couldn't think of a thing to say. Today, I am approaching my final reflection from the opposite end of the continuum; I have too much to say and no idea where to begin. It feels like a jumble of emotionalisms. At any rate, I will Risk It and jump right in:
To try is to risk failure.
The person, who risks nothing,
Does nothing,
Has nothing and is nothing.
They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But they simply cannot learn,
Feel, change, grow, love or live.
Risks must be taken because
The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
You LEARN from the TRYING; you WIN from the DOING.
So, here goes....
Reflections on the Learning Process
I began my serious sojourn into the blogosphere when I began the EDES course. Although I had set up a couple of blogs in a previous July residency, the experience was simply meant to be introductory. There was no time allotted for exploration, experimentation, and skill building. As an instructor of English writing skills at the post secondary level, I never really thought of the blog as another writing genre. I thought it was simply a venue for someone’s ramblings on any number of topics with limited opportunity for interactivity. Thus, for all intents and purposes, I began blogging very much the newbie with an attitude.
In the words of Edward Said, "Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness." When learning occurs, initial attitudes tend to change. Mine did.
In the EDES course, we learned by doing; and indeed, my learnings were many and varied. I began by creating my own Weblog using Google's Blogger. My first blog was simply a response to an assignment. Since then I began to understand Richardson's (2009) distinctions between posting and blogging and the stages that most beginning bloggers go through (p. 31). In my first post, I was not journaling an account of chronological activities, I did not provide any links to relevant sites with annotations, nor did I provide analytic, synthesizing, or reflective comments on literature, material, or other blogs that I had read. My command of Blogger features was limited. My post consisted mainly of text except for my profile that included a photo of myself, and I had added a couple of family photos. I tried to incorporate tags. However, the spacing between paragraphs showed I had not used the Edit HTML feature. I immediately began to hear about the need for a hook, that blogs were written to be read by others, so they had to attract readers, and they had to be reader friendly. I had taught some journalism and newspaper writing, so I understood headlines. They tell the news story in a nutshell, but I had overlooked the fact that blogs are also written for an audience, so titles must catch a reader’s interest. Given the number of blogs out there, a writer needs to gain a competitive edge.
As my learning went on, I tried to concentrate on headlines that hooked and content that engaged the would-be reader. Thus, my next two blogs were purely textual. I played with the spacing between paragraphs, but I had not yet experimented with the Edit HTML feature. I did include links and tags, and I started to receive comments from my classmates and prof. Now, that was a new experience. I began to master photo sharing through Flickr and Picnik. I remember struggling to add a video to my blog only to have my classmates report they were unable to view it. By the end of our exploration of video sharing sites, I did conquer HTML well enough to embed YouTube videos. I had also learned to link to resource material. I was beginning to really enjoy this blogging business. This was approximately the time I learned that I could link only to open source material available on the Internet, but any data I had found in my College library databases was licensed; therefore, viewers would not have access without appropriate userids and passwords. Again thank you to my classmates for pointing this out. Good lesson learned. I began to include APA style Reference lists (5th ed.) knowing full well that we were on the brink of the release of APA (6th ed.). I continued to agonize over the hook. By this time, I realized that besides the headline, the hook included an opening sentence or two. These should be Search Engine friendly. Here is where tags, taxonomies, keywords factored in. I was beginning to learn the lingo. But I wondered if I would ever truly master all of this? It was time to focus on my classmates’ work to see how they were approaching the blog. I also explored the work of professional bloggers: MasterMaq, Copyblogger, ProBlogger, and Larry Ferlazzo. I was learning a lot! However, it dawned on me that besides knowing the theory cognitively, I would have to demonstrate my learnings through my blogs. I was also working to show analytic and critical thinking, to synthesize, and to consider the implications of my statements and discoveries. In other words, I was aiming to extend my work beyond simple blogging in the hopes of achieving real blogging (Richardson, 2009, p. 31). I immediately fell in love with Animoto, Voicethread, and Mashups. I began to envisage ways to share some of my new skills with my College colleagues. These multimedia applications might be the best place to get them “hooked” on Web 2.0. At one point in this course, I remember recounting the way in which a number of my co-workers had overcome their aversion to DOS. It was through email. People got hooked on email even if it simply meant that all they used it for initially was to share jokes.
Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about Web 2.0, we explored social bookmarking, virtual libraries, and social networking sites. As Louis L'Amour says, "There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." I explored Facebook, My Space, Twitter and even eHarmony and PlentyOfFish. At about this time, I had the opportunity to meet Mack D. Male--MasterMaq--via Elluminate. He is very knowledgeable and comfortable moving back and forth between Web 2.0 applications. He convinced me of the power of the media and the importance of the blog as the pivotal application. He showed us how well blogs and Twitter work in combination. He also encouraged us to write about things we felt passionate about. When I did that, I noticed I got more comments from readers and higher marks. What must I still work on? In all honesty, I would have to say “Everything.” Communication is such an inexact science; in fact, it is the arena that first taught me that learning is lifelong. It is difficult to reach everyone with the same degree of success using one communicative approach.
Learning Highlights/Classmates' Input
If I were to provide a commentary of my learnings highlights throughout this course, I would point out that the EDES course exemplified induction into research-led, inquiry-based learning (McGowan, 2005). I would also point out work ethic. This was a heavy course; I really had to focus to keep up.
At the onset, I remember trying to keep up with Dan's early postings. He jolted me out of any state of inertia or procrastination I may have lapsed into. I enjoyed comparing notes with Heather our superwoman--working, capping project, EDES class. My blogging, like hers, will remain a work in progress. I also shared commonality with both Heather and Gerta in that we all work in higher education. Some of our collective perceptions were notable, quotable, and comparable. I continue to work on my blogging hooks; sometimes I come up with better ones than I do at other times. Shirley's opening anecdotes and analogies very quickly caught my attention. I tried to mimic her approach in openning a number of my blogs. I achieved varying degrees of success. I would like to find my Voice in the blogosphere as Ruth has. In Columbia University’s Newsletter, Oh (n.d.) states that faculty have become a trusted voice in the blogosphere. They are the "go to" people. This is the Voice I would like to establish for myself—a trusted one. I am working to engage in an educational blogging community beginning with my EDES classmates. Ruth has encouraged me to reach beyond our safe little EDES class; in fact, she pointed out that I had a follower or two from outside of our class. She suggests that I begin commenting on other bloggers’ work. I have yet to do this. I have occasionally referred to classmates’ thoughts in my own blog or discussion. YouTube says we should build blogging communities, and to do so this is one of the things we should do. I have admired the thinking of every one of my classmates. Tara, Debbie, like everyone else's, one of the things I found to be most helpful were the links each of you provided in his or her blogs. It would have been impossible for me to find all of them on my own especially within the timelines we were given. I found Carol's testimonials regarding the ease of use of Diigo and PageFlakes helpful. I did not have to find time to experiment with these on my own. I have learned much from the work and role modeling of my classmates. I must say that I’ve become a connoisseur of exceptional writing styles, use of graphics and collection of various Web 2.0 application, Voice, access to impressive resources and links that I would not have come up with myself in this short a time span. In all honesty, I am already becoming nostalgic. Whereas, this has been a heavy course, I know that I will miss the learning and the community. Hopefully, we will all stay in contact through our blogs or perhaps Facebook. Hey, everyone, did I actually put that in writing?
And to our profs: Thank you to Joanne for the trailfires. They gave us such a good start in learning about each Web 2.0 application. Jenn, you were always upfront with us regarding the intensity of this course and the heavy workload. Indeed, these realities mean that this course is definitely not for the faint of heart. But actually, I think it's been a great teaching ploy! Your strategy for this summer course was pure genius. The course asked us, as students, to confront the issue of digital technology and information overload; thus the course itself gave us a first hand experience in this regard.
Learning Lowlights/Intimidation Factors
As far as learning goes, the EDES course in itself presented no lowlights as long as timely learning did occur. There were, however, intimidating factors. I confess, fear was the biggest factor. What if I was unable to master skills well enough to meet deadlines. When I dabbled in blogging and other Web 2.0 applications before, I was a member of a face-to-face group. A professor, tech expert, or tech-savvy classmate was there to help us walk through an e-process or setup. In this course, I faced my computer at home, alone, in isolation, without a manual, without a tech expert to provide "how to" demonstations and textual interpretations. What if I couldn't figure out how to accomplish a task or how to use a digital tool? Then what? As a result, what if I were to miss a due time or date? I knew I was so close to the end of my Master's requirements, and yet at times I felt so far from it. I had enrolled in this EDES course because it presented skills that I really felt I could benefit from. But what if I couldn't master them? Today, I am thinking of John Heywood's words, "A hard beginning maketh a good ending." I think I have arrived.
Integrating Technology at Work
Looking back, I cannot believe how much I have learned and how eager I am to experiment with and apply my Web 2.0 skills at my workplace with staff and students: blogging, photosharing, videosharing, social bookmarking, podcasting, virtual library visitations, wiki collaborations, social networking and Twittering.
How does all of this fit in with my personal inquiry question? As I’ve said in previous discussions and blog, I know exactly which Web 2.0 applications I will be applying in each of my courses. Having worked my way through Web 2.0, I am convinced that the blog is really the place to start and that it functions as a great base or offshoot for all of the other applications. However, to hook my students in either English or Computer classes, a variety of program areas ranging from Human Services, to Health Care, to Business, to Trades, to Learning and Employment Foundations, I may be starting with other relevant tools such as Flickr, Animoto, and Voicethread. I no longer see academic integrity and plagiarism as bigger problems than they were before my introduction to Web 2.0. I do see, however, that my role in teaching proper documentation skills will continue to be very important.
Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow: Technology 4Me
When I think about my co-workers, I am still toying with a move to Instructional Design. I think I could really utilize and develop my Web 2.0 skills further. I also think I would be in a strategic position to encourage and school my colleagues in these skill sets. For myself, in the immediate sense, I want to explore and possibly subscribe to Diigo, PageFlakes, and Zemanta. I intend to continue exploring sites that suggest ways to make a blog more successful such as those stated in the following: ProBlogger, Northeastern University, Copyblogger, Garrett, Blogging with Success, and Wordpress. Beyond these immediate strategies, I will continue exploring the blogosphere, I will try to continue following my classmates blogs, I will continue to sign up for every tech training program my College offers. I believe that one of the main implications for my own future thinking, working, and networking, professional development is keeping up with change. The EDES course gave me an opportunity to bring myself somewhat up-to-speed on Web 2.0, but there is so much left to learn. Technology will continue to change. That is a fact. I cannot be left behind especially not if I intend to remain an educator in good standing. As Mack D. Male (2009) pointed out, if he were a student today, he would expect his teachers/instructors to be knowledgeable in multiple ICT applications--or at least aware of what's out there. Keeping up is the main implication. My rural, northern College is in the process of capitalizing on technology for online and distance learning. Electronic resources and virtual libraries help put rural adult learners on a par with their urban counterparts who always had greater access to sizeable library resources. Rural colleges are working diligently to lobby government resources to help finance supernet, greater bandwidth, and other forms of affordable high speed Internet to rural homes. Many of our students, whether or not they emanate from remote locations are avid users of mobile phones, texting, and photo-taking. Many are also avid users of social networking, Facebook in particular. Some aspects of netiquette, appropriate disclosure, common sense reputation-building remains to be taught and learned. I hope to help make overall inroads in our students' and faculty's ethical use of technology for learning, as well as to encourage and facilitate sharing of resources and collaborative learning.
The curtain is about to fall on my sojourn into Web 2.0 through the EDES course. But I know that each time a door closes, a new one opens up. Like the words in the Elvis Presley/Frank Sinatra song, I definitely did EDES my way; at times my performance was laudable; at other times, it felt dismal. But the learning throughout was immeasurable and the EDES learning community was exemplary and for that I am truly grateful. Ralph Bellamy says that, "Everything ends. But there are always new beginnings."
References
McGowan, U. (2005). Academic integrity: An awareness and development issue for students and staff. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, 2(3a), 48-57. Retrieved August 15, 2009, from http://jutlp.uow.edu.au/2005_v02_i03a/pdf/mcgowan_005.pdf
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
