Although I no longer teach regularly in the classroom, I’ve racked up a few years of MST (mainstream teaching), but lately I’ve been feeling a bit ambivalent. I used to get so much energy from walking into a classroom. But now, I’m just not feeling it. It feels a bit like falling out of love. Where did the feeling go?
I was reading Scott Karp’s reflections on his preference for reading online, and the idea came to me. Maybe after teaching a bit online, teaching face-to-face has become too boring. Teaching on a network is just more fun. I’m like the student that Marc Prensky mentions who feels like they have to power down when they step into the classroom.
How does that happen? Does your teaching style get rewired when you teach online?
(Photo, 195/365, by marie-II)
Well I’d put it like this – online synchronous web based classes with the emphasis on active and social learning are great fun and probably more productive for learning and capturing the learning.
Web 2.0 tools now also make asynchronous work much more enjoyable and increases the variety of learning that can be achieved.
I think face to face to face teaching can possibly be less interesting after experiencing online learning. The remedy is to make sure that all classrooms/students are wired (or wirelessed) up. With web 2.0 tools in the classroom offering greater variety of learning, face to face teaching may rekindle a bit of pizazz.
I think i am wired up differently now. I could not bear not to have access to a wiki, social bookmarking or web pages for example. As George Siemens says all these tools “are a conduit to a discussion”
Absolutely, Steve. The conversations are wonderful. I love the connections that people make. There are so many different ways to approach learning in an online course. You just don’t have those same opportunities offline.
I also like the engagement of learners online. Learners seems to take the lead much more naturally online. Maybe it’s me but it seems harder to achieve offline. And I’m just using an old-fashioned discussion board and Elluminate! Imagine how it will be when my teaching world opens up to 2.0 tools!