The ETADExperience 

Face to Face vs Online

ETAD was my first experience with formal online classes.  I'm a fan of social media and have participated in many different types of online events and training including weekly Twitter Chats.

 

• It was interesting to see the evolution of our online class communities of practice from the first few weeks to the intense discussion of the later weeks.  The discussion forums can be crazy at times. (I was part of classes where we average 200+ posts a week and even topped out over 300 posts one week).

• The challenge for me was to carve out time to complete the readings and watch the videos and then formulate my posts.  Who would have thought trying to write posts that say more in fewer words would be the hardest part;)  

• Then the biggest challenge was keeping up with the active discussions.  There's nothing like opening up a discussion thread to find that in less than 24 hours you are 150 posts behind.  It was in the disucssion threads that the course content came alive...sometimes took on it's own life, but tangents aside it was where we made sense of the material by sharing our personal stories.  Again our stories were what helped us make our learning meaningful.

• Online classes also give you time to think through how you would like to respond, but it also presents the challenge of wondering if people really understand what you are saying.  Without body language and voice to accompany what you say, you wonder if people are truly understanding the story you are trying to tell. 

• The flexibility to make the learning work for you is a major reason why I chose the ETAD online program.  I work full time, have a family and run a home based business.... so time managment is always a struggle for me.  Online classes provided me the opportunity to make it work in my schedule.  I could listen to recorded lectures in the car as I drove from one school to the next... the only draw back is I could remember Dr. Rick Schwier explaining a concept and I could remember the exact location where I was on the road when I heard it but I couldn't remember the exact conversation I had with myself after that point. 
   

Face to Face: 

• ERES 800 was the only blended class that I took in my program and the awesome part of travelling the 2 hours into Saskatoon was that I got a chance to meet the people in my class.  It's one of my favourite things to be able to meet my online network in person.  It happened at a few conference that I've been to and it's been awesome!

• Face to face discussions are easier to keep up with in that I'm not a 100 posts behind but the challenge of many people wanting to share at once is that you could easily miss out on the different perspectives due to the ebb and flow and a live conversation.

• I also appreciated being able to see and hear the teacher live in the moment. It's still a type of learning I truly appreciate.

• I did take the opportunity twice to travel into the city to meet with my online group members to plan presentations.  The best decision I made because we developed lasting connections that have helped in my role as a learning consultant.

The Value of the Kitchen Party:

• Some online classes have more opportunities to synchronously check in than others.

• I truly appreciated the time that Professors made to check in with us in real time.  I don't think anything can replace the value of having a few moments of live conversation to help clarify the direction of your learning.  If they offer a live session, if you can make it work it's well worth the time to check in and get to know your teacher and fellow classmates.

• The "Legendary" Rick Schwier Kitchen Parties

  • No ETAD reflection would be complete without a shout out to Rick's KPs.

  • I'm forever grateful that the College of Education brought Rick back to lead us through ETAD 802.  His positive nature, genuine encouragment and lifelong love of learning is inspiring and energizing.  If I can share the energy and enthsuiasm Rick has throughout my life it will be a life well lived!  

  • I loved the weekly KPs and I think I only missed two the entire semester.  The opportunity to spend 30 minutes talking about the course, discussing current topics or just getting to know everyone truly added a feeling of genuine community. It truly felt just a good as a face to face class.

  • Thank-you to all of the Professors that continue to make time to check in live with their online students, it has a huge impact on engagement, community building and learning.