Learning by not Doing

The last few weeks have been a very interesting learning experience for me. The domestic  issues which have prevented me from participating fully have begun to fade. What have I learned and what am I reflecting on?

• for years I have been saying to my own students who tell me that they won’t meet a deadline or that for personal reasons they won’t be able to attend my classes that in the end the world doesn’t owe them a qualification and that, sympathetic as I am, they will be assessed on their performance at the end of the day. Now I’m in that situation. I don’t really see any alternative to that response. I suppose it would help if it was possible to re-take a block under certain circumstances. Does the OU ever allow re-sits?
• Of course, it would be hard to retake Block 3 on your own because of the collaborative nature of the project. Unless Patrick, Asanka and David would like to do the whole project again after the end of the course!!
• I have also been thinking about how online groups differ. The Block 1 collaboration, the MOOC and this current project have all been quite different in tone and character. I think learning styles and personality come into it quite a lot.
• my current group, the C Team, has put the emphasis very much on the subject-matter and we haven’t branched out into other technologies. In earlier groups we were often learning as much about technologies and apps as about the subject matter
• the other team members have been very supportive and patient and have made a point of commenting positively on my posts. Thank you!
• it seems to suit my learning style to communicate with the team via video conferencing. I unfailingly find our chats very helpful and encouraging. You can cover a lot of ground in 30 minutes conversation. Because I couldn’t attend an online conference yesterday David took the trouble to meet me today.
• I believe that learning styles are not in our genes - they can be developed and modified. As learners we can learn how we can get the most out of an online, collaborative course, but it can take time. Imagine if you had never been taught in a classroom with 20 other people. It would take a while before you worked out what was the best way for you to learn in that environment.