A final review on #BlendKit2014...a thank you and comments on our Learning Culture

Hello and Welcome Back!

This is my very last post on #BlendKit2014 - as I am not submitting a portfolio, I'm now done the course - but I'm not done learning.  Not by a long shot!

I will be continuing to take MOOCs and continuing to write about them - although not always here.  I will share links to my blogs as they are posted just in case you want to keep up with me :)

I'm starting a course on Gamification from OpenLearning - I expect to start posting about it in a week or two...You will get the details here as soon as I can release them!  If you've read my blog before, you know that Gamification and E-Portfolios really sparked my fire!

In the meantime, I have been reflecting on my MOOC experience in #BlendKit2014 (specifically, although Intro to Marketing on Coursera has been similar in experience).  The community we've built.  The shared experience. I've come to realize something.

Universities have it all wrong.  When they say MOOCs can't replace the school culture, the classroom experience and the one-on-one interactions with the professors, I have to ask, "What dream world do they live in??".

When I attend Saint Mary's University, I was lucky.  In the grand scheme of things it's a small school, although in Canada we would probably consider it a medium school.  I knew who my profs were.  They might know my name...but generally I was "Oh right, the one who wrote about...".  I didn't have many convos with the profs, the classes weren't filled with debate, I didn't know half of my class.

Which was ridiculous.  Some classes had 30 people in it.  Some upper level courses had 12.  I didn't know them.  They didn't know me.  We had a "sage on stage" most times with limited discussion.  We didn't try to help each other to understand the material or the context.  We were not a community as such.

Now again, I was kind of lucky.  I was on the executive of the English Society.  I arranged to have profs come in for symposiums to share their latest research (we made for a great group to tell you where you ideas had room for improvement!!) and often a beer or two after.  I had office hours and spent some time debating concepts, imagery, context, symbolism, etc with a few students - generally not those in my class though.  I didn't ever feel like my understanding was important to anyone else. I was alone in making my education count.  And...that led to me maybe not working quite as hard as I should have...

I worked ridiculous hours while in school - one year I did 52 hours a week for an entire semester, went to school full time and still had a social life.  Crazy? Yes! Did I do homework?  Barely.  Did I put forth nearly as much effort as I do now?  Nope.  Not by a long shot!!

Learning about Blended Learning meant I did probably 6+hrs/wk of work to understand the content and context of the work.  Researching, piecing things together, and reflecting in this blog...at least 6 hours/week.  Just for this course.  I have been taking 8-10 more at any time.  But I had help.  I had a community of people who would talk about concepts on twitter, Google+ or my blog.  Or the discussion forums.  Or LinkedIn.  I had a personal learning network.  I made connections that I want to stay connected with.

People shared their ideas, their understandings, their successes and failures (real or perceived).  They invested in each other - showing their work at various stages, looking for feedback and advice - which they got!  Our shared goal was to have a deeper understanding.  That we all have a deeper understanding.

MOOCs can drive the Learning Culture.  It's driven by the participants, not the university and not the professors.  Each may take part, but it is the students who take the lead, help each other, look for deeper meaning, share, support, and ensure no one who wants to get ahead is willingly left behind.   We drive the Learning Culture.

We did.  Us.  I'm so glad to have had the chance to take this course with each of you.  We came in from many different walks of life, experiences, and understandings.  We finish this course with a shared experience, a shared understanding, a shared desire to help our connections find a deeper learning.

Time for some Confidential Information...

I was very intimidated at the beginning of this course - I realized that I was one of the few who didn't teach in a school or - even scarier - in a university.  I thought about dropping out a dozen times in the first week even though I loved it, was learning and having fun.  Seeing so many people with PhD or EdD after their names or job titles that were followed by at X University...Yikes!  I only had a little ol' BA...and I seldom talk about it!  And I have been working in retail (and retail training)...Double Yikes!  But this community (thankfully) quickly grew and made me feel like it was OK to come in from a different angle.  That my experiences could add value and occasionally a different viewpoint.

Had I taken this course at a brick and mortar institution, I would have withdrawn and run for the hills by Week 2.  I'm glad I didn't.

Hello #BlendKit2014 friends! You gave me a real understanding of MOOC Driven Learning Cultures http://t.co/zU1RBlPFuf Enjoy! @Accredible

— Passage Gal (@passagegal) May 30, 2014

I've written a slightly more defined version of what I am emotionally trying to explain here over on Accredible.com.  The culture we created is just as relevant as the culture at any brick & mortar school - and possibly more valuable!  What we created was something I was never able to find at any university (even though the schools all say they have it).

Thank you Dr Kelvin Thompson and Dr Linda Futch for creating this fantastic program and providing the forum for a Learning Culture to be built.  Your feedback and participation in Social Media played a great part in our community development.  Your in course emails provided great feedback and support to a gal who felt like a fish out of water but was loving to learn about Blended Learning.  Should you ever run this course again from a corporate training perspective, let me know!  I'm totally in!!

To my fellow coursemates, I look forward to staying in touch via twitter, each others blogs, Google+ and the LinkedIn group.  I hope to see you again in another course and wish you great learning, great understanding, great happiness and great success!

The use of Badges in On-line Learning

Disclaimer: I like to game on Facebook.  I'm not a true gamer by conventional definition.  I play app games, Facebook and occasionally, the Sims.

The "Game-ification" of Education.  Sounds a little weird but it is a reality.

As a Gen X'r, I grew up with a computer in the home.  As a I mentioned, I play some games on-line.  I was a Girl Guide.  I am goal oriented.  For someone like me, Badges are AWESOME!!  I am constantly trying to find new learning opportunities.  I truly believe that if I haven't learned something new today then my day has been wasted.  I could cure Cancer, create World Peace and end Hunger, but if I didn't learn something new that day, it would have been wasted.  OK, I'm not quite that bad but almost.  But I digress.

Badges are a great way of identifying new skills and learning opportunities without having to go through a formal learning program.  It isn't a Certificate or Diploma or Degree to hang on the wall, but these are still representations of valuable skills one has learned or tasks one has completed.  I think there is great value in this process and I hope it is one that sticks.  I've included a link to Mozilla's wiki on Badges.  You should definitely check it out!

If you think back to your childhood, how exciting was it when you got a sticker or a stamp on a test or assignment?  How about when you learned to boil an egg and got your Cooking badge in Guides or Scouts?  When something you worked hard on was publicly acknowledged?

When, as an adult, was the last time your hard work was acknowledged publicly?

For me, it was yesterday when I earned not one but three (3) badges in my #BlendKit2014 course.  Am I excited?  You bet!  Did I share it on LinkedIn?  Yep, at least one!

   

This no (or low) cost award generates excitement in the learner.  Makes them want to do more to earn more.  A lot of groups and websites now offer badges to add to your credentials.

Imagine being a student.  For every time you do your assigned reading (and comment on it electronically), complete an assignment, write a test, submit a project, improve a grade, whatever, you got a badge.  After so many in each category, you got a certificate or a badge that you want to show off.  Something you could add to your resume.

What if you were a student who didn't love to learn or didn't think school was cool?  What if changing your learning environment from a classroom with a teacher talking at you to an on-line environment with goals and rewards, videos, links and interactive chat sessions was a better option?  Maybe a blended environment, where you could learn asynchronistically (OK, I hate big words that mean nothing to the rest of us so...it means learn on your own versus synchronous learning which is learning with a group) for the content and then in a class for the context.  Web 2.0 is all about making life and learning easier...

As an employee, what if you were awarded a badge each time you had a customer compliment, missed 0 days of work in a given time period, met your sales target, took a course, passed your WHMIS exam (again), worked safely and accident free for a given time period?  How would you feel?  What if it eventually became acceptable and expected to include in your resume a link to your backpack with all of your "real life" credentials?

I have learned first hand how much adults like to be recognized for training.  At a previous employer, I taught many product classes.  I maintained a board with names and courses in the staff lounge.  As a person took a class, they received a pin or sticker on the grid to indicate its completion.  On many a lunch hour did I pop into the lunch room to hear the excited whispers of "Did you see how many pins I earned this month?".  This enthusiasm drove their desire to learn more - and heaven forbid if their friend had more classes than them!!  It didn't matter if the person was 18 or 58, they all loved the recognition of what they had done and what they could offer.

In my next career, whatever it may be, I hope the employer will consider using the Open Badges program to offer acknowledgement for a job well done or a course taken to their employees.