Carry On, Carry On

Today in #ExtendmOOC, it is finally time to really get down to business. Module One is launched!

The week we spent getting to know each other in Module Zero has been just a wonderful, fun time seeing educators from all over the place, geographically and discipline-wise, get to know each other a bit. There have been just a boatload of responses from participants sharing where they are and what they do and what they hope to get out of this mOOC. I am happy to see participants willing to share their thoughts about how we’ve deployed things in the EdX platform as well as a great group going for the outside EdX free wheeling DIY route!

Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty of the Extend Modules as we begin the Teacher for Learning Module. I said this before, but I want to say it again: what an opportunity. An opportunity for all of us involved to gain a bit of each other’s experience, to borrow pedagogical ideas from across disciplines, and to hopefully make enjoyable connections to each other that maybe could lead to any number of positive future collaborations, beyond this mOOC.

On another note, please view the GIF below to see who is extremely grateful to have Alan Levine helping to guide this experience. He is working very hard to make everyone feel welcome and for having a lovely trail-head created and mapped for all the paths that may be taken by Extend mOOCers.

via GIPHY

I feel incredibly lucky to get this chance to work with him on this project.

Here are my hopes for this module: That we see many different takes on what can be done with the upcoming Teacher for Learning activities, That we see many different routes taken to get there using many different tools, and that we hear some reflections and feedback on the experience. Oh and I hope some people join us on the Extend Radio Show!

I’d better get to work on my own responses! See you in there!

Photo by Ron Hansen on Unsplash

Come As You Are

Take your time. Hurry up. Choice is yours. Don’t be late.

Kurt Cobain

It’s almost time to come in. The Ontario Extend mOOC opens next week. Well, the lobby will be open. We will be hanging out in Module Zero, getting to know each other a bit and chatting about what to expect over the next 12 weeks. Your starting point is wherever you are right now. Come as you are.

Ontario Extend will help you fill up several pedagogical buckets. Some of these buckets of yours may be quite full already. Some may be less so. The labels on these buckets are: Curator, Collaborator, Technologist, Teacher for Learning, Experimenter, Scholar. Personally, I think my scholar bucket sprung a leak so I definitely need to revisit that one.

In Module Zero, we will chat about how to get warmed up and stretched out before Extending ourselves. We will chat about the quest at hand. We will hint at some side quests you may want to take as well. You can come and go as you please.

There are over 320 of us signed up so far. 320+ Educators sharing their time, energy, thoughts and ideas for 12 weeks.

What an opportunity.

What can we do with this time? That is up to us as we go, but one thing is for sure: after our time together in the EdX LMS space where we are hosting the mOOC, we can leave it behind knowing that we still have each other to lean on. I think that is powerful stuff.

Maybe during the Technologist module, you get a little busy with your own course. Maybe you miss a thing or two. Now it’s a few months later and you’re planning for your fall courses and need some ideas. You think back to the mOOC. I’d wager you don’t immediately think about the content we covered. You think about what people were doing with it. You think “oh I remember Jess from Conestoga was doing some cool things with ____ (insert ed-tech tool of your choice). I’ll shoot her a message.” And guess who is thrilled to hear from you and more than willing to chat about ideas? Guess who also has some resources to share with you. Guess who saved you from doing some lonely work? Your mOOC friend Jess, of course!

So yeah you’ll get some cool badges, which is great. You’ll do some very engaging activities that can directly affect your teaching practice, which is awesome. We all get to work with Alan Levine! What? How amazing! But the most powerful thing, to me, is you’ll potentially have 320 Jess’s to lean on as you move forward through your career. I can’t wait to start connecting with all of you.

If you haven’t expressed interest in joining the Extend mOOC yet, pop your name in to this form: bit.ly/ExtendMOOC and we will follow up shortly.

Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash

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