Swarm Followup

Swarm follow-up

 

How do I connect my initial swarm description with Bolt 101?  For me, it is not hard.  My description of people fearing a swarm -- people being afraid of being attacked by a "gazillion stingers" describes me when it comes to on-line education.  I have been imprinted, not by cartoons about distance education, but by experiences that have made me grow callous, weary, cautious, and skeptical. 

 

Just a side note, I suddenly noticed myself using the words distance education when the description is now on-line education.  I will have to think about that change a bit more, but I will save it for later.

 

Back to the swarm . . . I have been imprinted with previous experiences which have not always been pleasant because I invested a lot of time and energy into my experiences, and after all was said and done, I questioned the benefit.  I come into the activity "imprinted" much the same as a person has been imprinted with an understanding of a swarm of bees.  You may say the activity is not imprinting but is just another word for experience.  Maybe.  Nevertheless, I find myself hesitant in a similar way just as a person who he hesitant to learn about a swarm of bees.  Just as Fictorie commented that he "would have taken a wide detour and would not have made any sudden moves," I find myself quite comfortable doing the same with on-line education based on my experiences.

 

I have experienced the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) built at a cost of $231 million taxpayer dollars, and on a positive note, it helped me with my graduate education.  I have spent time learning how to use the technology equipped classrooms, but after all was said and done, the ICN seems to have declined in significance, and to be honest with you, the amount of time I invested in learning how to use the ICN seems to have been for naught.  I have also experienced Blackboard and had to learn how to use it.  I have had to learn Moodle (Courses@Dordt) which has now been replaced with Canvas, and now I am investing more time and energy into developing on-line teaching while I watch my previous investments fade into ancient history. 

 

Oh yes, the swarm.  I keep forgetting (not unusual for my age!)  I have been stung before in my experiences with on-line education which has shaped my perception of reality (my ramblings in the previous paragraph).  Consequently my experiences have softened my desire to learn more about on-line education.  Many of you have no desire to learn about a swarm because of previous experiences.  So where does this leave me?

 

Should those experiences stop me from wanting to learn more?  The bee swarm analogy may not be the best analogy, but it somewhat describes my approach to BOLT 101.  I want to be honest.  Module 2 deals with persistence which  is coming at a good time.  It will be good for me because I could easily make a wide detour around the "swarm." 

 

A bit of self-chastising -- if I truly want to learn about the opportunities that on-line learning provides, and I do -- I really do -- then I need to be aggressive in my learning, especially as someone who is engaged as a educational professional in the transmission of serviceable insight.  I might need a bit of help and encouragement in the process.  Bare with me as I try to figure out what to do with the swarm.

 

Oh yes, I will tell you more about the swarm in a future blog . . .