I think we should have a spot for general questions and comments, so I am creating one. I hope you find it useful. In my D2L-based online courses, students have a "water cooler" discussion forum, simulating that coworkers run into each other in such a spot and informally exchange a few thoughts. As you may have guessed, I have a general comment. I took the time to visit each PLC's blog today and found some of them really interesting. Nonetheless, I experienced the same dilemma that I know from online classes - both from my students and from being the student. As much as responded to some of the posts, I didn't know what to write without repeating things or just agreeing. Those one-to-two sentence responses are poo-pooed in online classes. Sometimes I could have added my two cents of wisdom or a visual, for example to the infographics, but that seemed almost intrusive to me. In other words, even though I understand the intentions of being accountable and encouraged to experience the other PLCs, I am uncomfortable with actually having to post on others' blogs. I want to post only when it's meaningful, and sometimes, it is nice to just lurk. I am interested in hearing what you think about that.
Image: mnenergysmart.com
Hi Miriam, I appreciate where you are coming from. I would like to add one thought, however. The intention of these blogs is not to see whether you are being accountable or not; rather, the purpose to put us on course for being a connected faculty. Certainly, you can peruse without commenting, but the hope is that you are able to provide feedback, even if it is only a sentence or two that helps further professional growth. That being said, the other purpose of these blogs is for reflection, and so, it is an interesting idea allowing there to be an online space (the water cooler) for items unrelated to the course; however, would you allow your high school students to have a similar space for your classes? What might be the benefits? Keep up the good thoughts, and thanks for sharing. Matt
ReplyDeleteI personally don't think it would seem intrusive if you added your two cents of wisdom or an infographic link in the comments for the blog posts on infographics -- I'd like to see or read what you have to share, brief or not :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought, Miriam. I agree that authenticity and meaning should guide our work; on the other hand, we need some form of accountability, some way of ensuring that we are reviewing and considering each other's work. Let's think about how best to do that. Would it be better for everyone to build a personal blog in which they record what they have seen and what they will use and why? Something like that would remove redundant comments from others' blogs and at the same time compel thoughtful reflection.
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