What was the topic, again?

A whirlwind couple of weeks, in our first ONL topic – I had to look it up to refresh my memory: Online Participation and Digital Literacies. In some ways I felt like I lost sight of the topic as we navigated new collaborative relationships and figured out a new tool… in other words, while we lived the topic.

I had moments when I was glad I wasn’t a facilitator – it was a big job to manage the first topic and it must have been stressful. I’m not sure what I would have done differently. It was messy, but in the end, good – and I’m looking forward to trying out the thinglink tool again on another project.

I struggle with interpersonal discomfort as a teacher – frustration, checking-out, unequal labour distribution, good ideas not understood or unappreciated – I felt the disharmony in our group, but wasn’t bothered. I am aware of a different culture than I’m used to – I think in Canada people are more likely to go along with others’ ideas, though often the process will be sabotaged by protests unspoken. In the end I don’t know if anyone is completely happy with our result, but there were moments of unity, humour, and mutual appreciation, and I’m glad to move forward.

Oh, wait. Now I’m a topic leader. And I COMPLETELY misinterpreted the topic: Openness and Sharing. I assumed this was building on classroom safety, authenticity, etc – but it’s about open access in learning… something I am much less interested in, and much less knowledgeable about. I feel a steep learning curve coming on…