Learning Theory Put into Practice

I have reached the end of the semester of classes and created a final project about learning theories. It wasn't until I began thinking about this projec that the learning theories we had been discussing in class began to move from abstract to concrete. I took a little different look at the learning theories. I decided to take the theory put forth by Jerome Bruner and put it into practice. Bruner talks alot about how culture, interest and social activity are keys in the learning of children. When I looked back over this semester, I decided to delve deeper into a community or culture that I know nothing about; skateboarding. I decided to ask a few of my students to teach me to skateboard. The goal was to understand their learning process, develop a deeper understanding of the skateboarding culture and to engage the students in an area of interest. I can say that this project was one of the most enjoyable adventures undertaken with my students. (My hip didn't think so but the rest of me did!!) Anyway, I created a video detailing the experience of learning to skateboard. The most awesome outcome of this project was the active engagement of the students in the classroom material. The participation within the class of the students that are a part of the skateboarding community has increased and they are always checking on my progress. The students that served as my teachers meet with me daily and are always trying to find a way to weave the skateboard into our lessons. When I told them we could use it during our Forces and Motions exploration, they went out and researched those topics coming back with ideas on how to use the skateboard. The positive outcome of this project has cemented the importance of making the material interesting to the students, knowing what their interests are, and allowing them to build on their own knowledge. This final project fits right into my action research project and has given me much food for thought. The video portion is attached, so get some popcorn, sit back and enjoy as you watch learning theory put into practice.

Time Constraints

This reflection is on my participation in various aspects of classes this semester. I knew that when I entered this program that the work load was going to be intense, however the intensity is more than I anticipated. Here is the challenge. I teach and have approximately 200 students that I am responsible for teaching science and technology to. I can not short change them to ensure that I met the deadlines and read the copious amount of books for these classes. My students are important to me and this program has reinforced that. The program has already had an affect on my teaching in that I am more actively involved with my students and their education. This has introduced more requirements for my time in planning and communicating with the students and their families. On top of this, I am trying to read the large number of books and articles required for the classes. Then you top it off by the reflections we are supposed to write for each class and the projects required. Finally you add the time spent on putting together a well thought out, meaningful action research project and you find that you have a 90 hour week just for work and school. Add to that the time spent with my family and you see the challenge I face. How do you balance all that and maintain your health and sanity? It is not nor has it ever been my intention to shirk my duties to my students or this program but there is just so much I can do. I feel that I have given my best in all areas of study and work. The people being short changed on my time are my family. They are willing to give up our time so that I can complete the program and they understand the importance of this for me. Know that I am doing the best I can and will continue to participate to the fullest extent allowed by time constraints.

3N Adventure

This blog posting will cover a couple days and different thoughts about the current learning adventure I am taking part in.

Day 1: Getting the News!

I have to say as I read the information about the new adventure I am apprehensive. As I read through the directions, my mind moves to the turtle quilt project and the frustration I felt during that time. My thoughts immediately go to, great here we go again. A project with little success for me. The reason for this is simply based on past experience. Experience one: The one area of problem solving I have always struggled with is the "what comes next in the sequence" activities. Experience two: The turtle adventure with the quilt building. There was success with the adventure but it took many hours of frustration. In fact, I can honestly say that it will be a day or two before I look at this program.

Day 2: Starting the Adventure.

I finally let go of my fear and apprehension and loaded the file for the next adventure. I have printed the directions so I have them for reference. The one thing I have come to realize is that my cadre mates have my back and if I get lost or stuck they will be there to help me. So, I began the program. It took me about 45 minutes of playing with the program to figure out what I was to do. It really helped having the directions next to me. Before I began I read the postings of others to see what they had learned and where they were headed. I began plugging in numbers and watched the machine work. I didn't get much out of the session as I wasn't sure what I was looking for.

Day 3: Small Breakthrough!

This evening I spent more time with the program and had a small breakthrough. I found that if you take a number and multiply it by 2, then the generation of the multiplied number is one more than the original number. I also turned it around and said if you divide the number by 2 then the generation of the half number is one less than the original number. However, this part is untrue because some of the numbers when divided by 2 does not produce a positive whole number, they produce a decimal. One of my cadre mates pointed the error out to me and other cadre mates pointed out that the first part remained true. Therefore I modified my hypothesis by dropping the division idea. I felt pretty good at having found this very small pattern.

Day 4: Back to the Beginning!

Okay today started the second part of the adventure with the overnight generator and the graphing. I can say that for this particular part of the adventure, I am lost and stumped. I don't see what we are supposed to do. I was reading the posts of others and have no clue what they are speaking of. I am not sure what the graph is supposed to represent. I can run the machine but have no idea what I am supposed to do with the data. the data for the runs I have done make no sense to me. One of my cadre mates has created new code and maybe tomorrow I will try his code to see what the difference is between what he did and what the 3N program does. I am 100% unclear as to what the purpose of this part of the adventure is. I have posted my findings for my cadre mates hoping that one of them can tell me the significance of the numbers and the relating generations of numbering. I will work on this more tomorrow to see if there is more clarity. Maybe the fogginess is the exhaustion I feel after a long week at work! :) Tomorrow is a new day and we will see what it brings on this adventure.

The Last Days:

Okay I have spent the last couple of hours trying to figure out what I was trying to prove/disprove or notice as far as patterns go with no luck. I have no deeper understanding of this program than I did when I started. I can say with sincere honesty that I went from apprehension at the beginning of the adventure to elation to intrigue to confusion by the end of the adventure. The apprehension was relieved by taking a deep breath and diving into the program with the directions right next to me. The elation was due to the success I achieved when finding a pattern using the basic part of the program. The intrigue came with adding the overnight and graphing tool. I spent hours running different numbers through the program and then sitting down to see what patterns I could see. I really wanted to find a profound pattern to share with my cadre mates and instructor. The confusion came when I began to read what others were doing. Their terminology was above my thought level and the graphs didn't look like mine. Even though I was confused, I continued to work with the program trying to figure out what I was doing and looking for or at. By the end, I had no better knowledge of what I was doing then when I started as far as the program went. However, I did learn a lot about myself and working together with my cadre mates. So here is what I learned:

1. I have a tendency to panic first and then settle down to work.

2. My apprehension of patterns stems from educational experiences of the past and I have to overcome them.

3. I like it when I am successful and can contribute to the team effort. On the other side, I don't like it when I feel that I am out of the loop and not a contributing member to the process. This leads to feelings of failure and withdrawal from the process and group.

4. The ability to post my feelings and questions for my cadre mates to read was a wonderful benefit. It allowed for the understanding that all of us were in different places. I was able to voice my concerns and find that I was not alone in the apprehension or confusion. This allowed me to continue working on the project despite the feelings of failure. It was also nice to see the help offered by my cadre mates. We were able to discuss the program and what we were learning. We were able to build off each other and grow through the adventure together.

Overall, this adventure was compelling and intriguing. Even though I don't feel that I mastered the program or the point it was trying to make, I did learn from it. I learned about myself and the process I undergo when learning!!

Comedian Reflection

When we were assigned this adventure I wasn't really sure how much I would get out of it. After all, how is a video/movie going to enlighten me as to education theories and ideas? I was also somewhat apprehensive over the content that could be contained within this video. I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the apprehension was unfounded.

First let me say that the video was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought the film was about a group of comedians getting together to do a show. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was the story of trying to become a successful comedian. There was a lot to the video that tied into the class.

We will start with the first noticable tie in for me was realizing that the comedians had a culture that was all their own. They had their own community of practice. In order for you to belong you had to have reached a certain level of success, know, understand and love stand-up comedy. As a presenter the comedians had to be aware of their audience and the culture they were addressing. The other part of this that brought Bruner to mind was that if you are in the audience and don't understand the culture that the comedian is discussing you won't get their jokes. It reminded me of teaching, as an instructor you have to be aware of the culture and community in which you are teaching. If you come in with no understanding of the culture or life that the students are living, then you stand the risk of having them disenegage from the task or classroom environment. The comedians pulled their material from their own experience. They use their knowledge of their culture and community to create their jokes for their routine. One comedian actually had his jokes arranged by cultures or audience types.

The other thing I noticed was the reflection period by the various artists/comedinans. Right after the show, they spoke about what worked and what didn't. When they got together as a group, they often shared their experience with each other. Those that were newer to the circuit sought the guidinace of those with more experience. The more experienced comedians also bounced ideas off of one another. They discussed their successes and failures. The tone was serious but fun when they interacted together. The give and take that took place was interesting to see. The other thing that was interesting to see was watching the heiracrchy of the comedians develop. From the perspective of someone that sees the comedians on the same level of "expertise", it was fascinating to see the "awe" that some of the comedians had for the comedians that had been around for a while. The newer comedians looked to those with more experience for guidance and input in their routines. The comedians learned from one another and worked together to build a better and stronger community.

There was one other factor that I noted in the video; the motivation factor. The comedians that appeared to be motivated by desire and love of comedy, were truly more interested in learning from each other and drawing from the experience of others. They were better in their delivery and read of the audience. The one comedian that appeared motivated by the desire for fame and fortune didn't fair as well with his audience and delivery. Motivation leads to a deeper engagement in the material or career one chooses to interact with.

It still amazes me that a single film viewed from a different perspective than normal could yield so much information.

Reflection on Stager Video

There are so many thoughts running through my mind currently that I am not sure where to begin. So this blog will probably sound random and rambling but it is all that Gary's video brought to mind.

First let me say a big thank you to Gary Stager for taking the time to try something new and creating this video. It truly opened up a lot of thoughts and reflection on my part.

Okay here we go. While I was listening to Gary speaking about his experiences about feeling smart and not so smart, my heart hurt for the young man made to feel inferior by his math teacher. It began me thinking back as to what I do in my classroom. Am I without conscious thought sending that type of message to a student within my classroom? It is something that needs to watched for and addressed. I want to be that educator that Gary talks about that opens the doors to the future not closes them. In fact, that is what my action research is all about so this video just reinforces those thoughts. When Gary was talking about the teacher that took the time to get to know him and allowed him to excel at the programming, I thought back to when I first started teaching. When I first entered the classroom, I was that teacher that reached out to students, that wasn't afraid to try new things and ways to engage students, and that was willing to go that extra mile for the students within my classroom. I truly think there were two reasons for this. First, I was working with a dynamic team of teachers, that had the opportunity to meet at lunch to discuss our common students and the challenges we were facing within the classroom. I was able to get tips and techniques about students from the educators with more experience. This gave me confidence in myself and trying new things. The second factor was that there was no state mandated test. We were still held accountable for what our students learned, yet the focus was on assisting the students in becoming well rounded individuals, not test takers. Over the past 8 or so years, the shift to ensuring that every student can score well on the test has taken that fire and risk taking out of the classroom. Listening to Gary just reaffirmed that it is time to take that risk to move in a new direction where my students are engaged and motivated.

The other part of Gary's message that stood out for me was the story about his college experience and the teacher's message about his potential lack of college success. It made me think back to my son's educational experience. Patrick was blessed and fortunate to find teachers within his high school years that went the extra mile, from making the curriculum content relevant to him to having students over on the weekends to study and look at calcus in a new light. Then there was his wonderful college counselor that sat with him for hours on end getting to know him and showing him the variety of types of colleges that were out there. Because this counselor got to know my son, she gently steered him away from the bigger "name recognition" colleges to the smaller colleges. This was because she knew that Patrick wanted the opportunity to get to know his professors, as he had gotten to know his high school teachers. He wanted the personal experience of college not the number experience of college. (No disrepect to any college out there or graduate from any college, just relating my son's experience.) Patrick selected the colleges to apply to based on size and feel. (We toured seven colleges, five of them East coast). When Patrick stepped on to the Dartmouth campus, he looked at me and said this is it. The experience, though short in nature, was one that brought him wonderful memories and the closeness with his professors that he sought.

To sum all this up: 1. It is up to me to determine how I engage my students and allow the learning experience to develop. I must move beyond the "norm" to the risk taking because that is what my students need to be successful. 2. Watch my words and actions carefully, you never know the full impact of what you do. 3. Be willing to admit my lack of knowledge to my students and learn together with them. 4. Leave the classroom management to the students, they will not allow those around them to disrupt their learning if they are engaged. (this will be the hardest part for me).

Thank you again Professor Stager for the time and the motivation to move beyond the "norm".

"Turtle" Learning Adventure

Okay. I have been working on this "turtle" adventure for over 20 hours and have reached the limit of my patience. I was finally able to get the turtle to create my single patch. It took me hours just to create a basic patch. When I see what the others within the cadre did, I don't even want to share my patch as it looks like a first grade drawing compared to college artists work. Despite this I continued to work on the patch to get it to work correctly. After hours of working on my own and wanting to throw the computer through the window, I finally sent out an SOS e-mail. I sent an e-mail to my cadre mates (God bless them!!) with questions as to what to do to get it to work. They responded promptly which was appreciated. I was able to speak with two of them over the phone and they were able to talk me through the glitches as well as explain the code for quilting. After speaking with them, I was able to look at the code for my patch and see my error and fix it. I then decided to give myself a break before trying to tackle the quilting. I was working on it for over four hours and still not getting it to work. So I sent out another SOS e-mail hoping that my cadre mates could point me in the direction of success. This time the help came in the use of the "google wave". Using the wave, I was able to communicate directly with one of my cadre mates and work on the problem together. We combined the "wave" with an e-mail and success was achieved. Or a least my version of success. Without the help of my cadre mates there would have been no success achieved as I would have just walked away from this assignment.

The feeling of failure in this adventure is great. My patch is basic and I can't even figure out basic code. The really hard part is that one of the next assignments in another class also involves programming and writing code. I am no looking forward to it with any sort of joy only with severe anxiety. The nice thing is that I now my cadre mates will be there to lend me a hand when I get stuck. I just wish I had the ability to assist them as they have helped me.

Learning Adventures Reflection

We have journeyed on three adventures to date in class. The first adventure on hereos and martyrs brought home the point that you need to be careful about biases in research and information. The personal perspective is important but you need to carefully examine your data and procedure to ensure that your biases have not crept into the project. It also emphasised the importance of making sure that you examine closely the sources you are using. If you are not careful, you could wind up on looking only for research that reinforces your biases instead of showing the whole picture. The second and third adventures brought home, for me, the importance of personal connection and learning. The second adventure involved using a music program to create a musical composition. During this adventure, all I could think about was how I couldn't wait to just get the composition done and move on. I had no connection to the program therefore I had neither the desire to excel at the compostion nor the drive to explore the program further. If I had been sitting in a classroom, my eyes would have been glazed over and my mind wandering to anywhere except class. (I have, sad to say, personally seen this expression on my students faces!) With the third adventure, exploring space, I could feel the excitement building everytime I used the program. The ideas began flowing fast and furious as I got into the program. I was able to picture how to use it in my classroom and the expression on the student's faces. Due to the connection I had with the program, my desire to explore the program built and I was able to find add-ons that could be used to send my students on their own personal journey through space. The difference in how I felt from adventure 2 and adventure 3, reminded me of the importance of facilitating a connection between my students and the curriculum content. It means that I am going to have to move out of my comfort zone and into a new world of mutual input between my students and myself. I am not sure where the remainder of this class will take me, but I can already see personal growth. I am a better educator today, then I was a few weeks ago. I have no doubt that as we progress through this program, I will learn even more that will make me an even better educator. Looking forward to the next adventure!

Community of Practice

I just finished my project for the community of practice. I elected to observe at a skateboard park. During the observations I saw that the skate park was not just for skateboarders but also for the BMX bike riders. It was truly amazing to watch the interaction between the two groups. They had the same type of heirarchy in both groups. The more experienced riders and boarders were given the first dib on the bowls they used to do their tricks. Once they were finished the less experienced would take over the bowls and attempt the tricks they saw the other "experts" do. There was a lot of interaction between the "experts" and the beginners as far as teaching and offering advice on completing the tricks. The ironic things was that they would only skate for 5 - 10 minutes then they would sit under the trees and talk for the next 30 - 45 minutes. The experience was a good one. Here is the video of the experience. Hope you enjoy it!!

Composing

Just finished composing a jazz piece for class. This assignment had to personal meaning to me other than to complete it so my grade was not affected to the negative. In all that we are reading it discusses that when there is no connection to the material the students do not retain the knowledge. That is how I feel about this assignment. There was a limited amount of energy expended in this task. I now understand how my students feel when I give them an assignment when not connecting with a task I assign them. It has brought to the forefront the need for me to connect the topics I teach to things of today. I hope that I will find other adventures that I can connect with instead of going through just the motions.

I am back!!

Okay, I guess we are supposed to blog here as well as the hundreds of other places. There is a high level of frustration that runs through me with this program. I know that part of it is the style in which I am more comfortable learning in but a part of it is the lack of firm direction that I see. Every time I think I have a handle on what is happening, we have a meeting and I find that I had no clue as to what I was doing. We are supposed to be ready to Frame our research and I still have no firm understanding of what is happening and what I am doing. I think I'm going in the right direction then I look and don't really see how technology is involved in what I am doing. So then I go back to the beginning looking for an idea where technology is used. I am so tired of re-doing everything. Hopefully with the lit reviews and the framing the question it will pull things into the light. Time will tell.

Last day of Camp: Outcome

The last day of camp was filled with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. People were busily working on their robots getting ready to take on the Warrior course. There was an air of jubilation all around, no sense of panic or frustration, just eagerness to get going. There were last minute adjustments and the one last practice run. It all looked like it would run smoothly!! Our cohort, 13 of 12, went first. Robot one was successful in its run but didn't get the "warrior" passed to two. Robot two was somewhat successful but again the pass didn't go well. Robot three that had performed all week without issues, fell off the teeter-totter. Robot four climbed to the top of the tower with no problem. We wanted a re-do.

When I watched Robot three fall of the teeter-totter, I was heart broken; all that work and testing came to naught! How could that happen? We checked and re-checked!! What was going on? Now that I have had time to digest the happenings of that fateful, July day, I find that the robot falling off the teeter-totter, mimics life: No matter what we plan, no matter how we practice, sometimes things just don't work out the way we expect! This program is like that for me. I am a traditional type of student, the teacher speaks, I take notes, and then produce the product: a solo event. This program, relies on the ability to work together as a group, a community united for one purpose. I have to say that in all honestly this is tough for me. Here's why: All my educational life, I have striven to do the best I possibly could. My drive was to achieve those A's. Due to that drive, I found that group work was often not for me. When I was in school and group work was assigned, there were always those that didn't have the same values as far as grade that I did. This lead to them not buying in fully to the project the group was to work on and that left those of us that were "grade driven" to pick up the slack. I know that all those within this program are hard workers that are dedicated to the jobs ahead of us. Yet even knowing that in my heart of hearts, I have this area of anxiety that roams around in the back of my mind.
I am looking forward to working with all the Cadre 12 members and moving beyond the self-imposed educational box that I have created for myself. The challenge is in looking to the group first (there is soooo much collective knowledge there) then the instructors. (traditional way was instructor first and only!!) There is no doubt that by opening myself up to this I will improve my abilities to assist my students to learn!! I look forward to the journey and the many revelations it holds!!

Day Four: It All Comes Together

Today was a great day. It was less frustrating and anxiety ridden than any previous day. As I look back and reflect on the day, I find that the reason for that was the layout of the day. It was done in the traditional or "old school" way of instructing. This tells me that I am most comfortable with learning in the notes and lecture style. When moved out of that comfort zone, my level of anxiety raises leading to bouts of frustration. So the question is what does that mean for me?
1. I need to look at this revelation in regards to my classroom. The style of learning that we experienced over the past few days is a style that I feel would benefit my students. Their world revolves around the social tools, immediate feedback/information, and working together to find the answers to the questions. It is definetely an idea worth exploring and implementing in the classroom. If successful, then I can share the outcome with co-workers so that we might better meet the needs of our students.
2. I need to become more flexible and open-minded about the learning processes I might be exposed to. By being more open-minded and receptive, I stand to gain more and grow as an individual and an educator.
3. When I opened up to the idea of distributed learning and looking to my fellow cadre members for assistance, I found that the frustration was relieved. The best thing about working with the cadre members is their willingness to help and they were able to approach the challenge from multiple ways.
I believe this revelation is just the first of many!! I look forward to the journey more with each day.

Day Three: The Light Goes On

Today was a day of insight mixed with the frustration. I'm learning sooo much about myself, how I learn and where my comfort zones begin and end!! Today as we were to work on the web designs for our individual website, my frustration reached its limits and I needed to step out of the classroom and take some much needed deep breaths. I contemplated whether this program was for me or not. If I was feeling this much frustration at the beginning what would it be like in the middle or end of the program? After deep soul searching and questioning, I decided that I really wanted to finish the program (for many reasons).
During this soul searching, I found that I really didn't want to leave the program because I had built some good relationships with those within the cadre. I wanted to continue to build these relationships and the community I had become a part of. The people within this groups are giving, nuturing, and hard workers, I'm not willing to give these connections up!!
At the end of the day, I sat and analyzed what it was that was leading to the frustration I was feeling and the lack of success (from my point of view) that I was seeing. What I found is that as a learner, I want direction that is clearly stated, time to work through each step and the freedom to pursue the task that fits my particular learning style. This is the first time I have sat in a class and been so lost that I wasn't sure what I was doing. (it doesn't help that I have this need to compare what I am doing to what others are doing and finding my work inadequate. Just one of many things I will be working on). That's why I had to find the reason for the frustration and try to find solutions to the problem so I could move forward. I was looking to the instructors for all information, guidance and answers and they in turn were giving me broad unspecific instructions. What was I to do?
That's when the light bulb turned on: that's what this program is all about: cognitive learning, distributed cognition and team work. The instructors don't want us to look to them for all answers, but to work within our community cadre, with each other, to find the solutions ourselves. Checking with the instructors to ensure we are on the right track is a good thing but for the majority of what we are doing, we need to rely on each other. That is the purpose of building the community we have been working in this past few days. We have a lot of knowledge within our community to draw from. We need to use those connections to move our projects forward, drawing on the expertise of those within the group. (Yes, we are all experts in different areas!!) The past three days have been a hands-on example of distributed cognition and team work using the social networks and technology available.
So what is the solution: tap the experts within my group when I am in uncharted waters. Be willing to ask those that have the expertise for help and more importantly, be ready to listen when that help is offered. Finally, the light goes on!!

Day Two: Frustration Sets In

Today was a day of growth and frustration. It is amazing how quickly one can travel from elation to frustration, from joy to anxiety. The day started with using Tappedin which was a breeze for me (while being challenging to others). Then we moved onto the Lego challenge (challenge is the right word for it) and the anxiety began to set in. When the directions for the challenge were given my anxiety level went through the roof and traveled around the solar system a few times. All I could think about during instruction was what am I going to contribute, how was I going to be a working part of our team (I've played with legos but building robots!!! Way beyond me!). As we went to met with our cohorts, I dragged my feet and participated very little in the discussion of the division of labor (after all if I had little to contribute to the building of the robot, I didn't have anything to say about the work). As soon as our group was assigned it's part of the course, I immediately chimed in with "I'll do the documentation!!" (whew I said it before anyone else could take that job!) As the discussion about the robot began I sat, observed and documented. The further along we went with the task, the anxiety began to diminish. Once the anxiety was dissolved, I was able to participate more fully in the building of the robot. (Still didn't have as much knowledge as my partners, but had a few good ideas). By the end of the session, I was much more secure in my part in the lego challenge. But once again that didn't last long. We moved from lego to web banner and the real frustration set in. (Thank goodness for my tablemates and their words of encouragement). I had no problem with the conception of the banner, I knew exactly what I wanted, it was the computer that wasn't listening to my commands. By the end of the class, my frustration was through the rough and I was in the forget it mode, I'll get to it later!!. (Which I did and was able to finish the project!!)
So what did I learn about myself today: I don't like to move outside my comfort zone into areas of the unknown whether that is building robots or creating banners. I realize that the frustration felt will lead to growth (in fact, I look forward to June to see where I end up) but I don't like it!!
The best thing about today though was the support from those within my cohort. They were there to offer suggestions, advice and support in getting the tasks completed. I will survive and be better and stronger through this journey.

Community

This is day two of the Masters Program. The question tonight is about community and how our impressions of communities have changed or been challenged in the last 24 hours. The definition of community has broaden and expanded for me.
Before reading the book Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, I viewed community in a very narrow way. I saw community as the environment in which I lived and/or worked. After reading Shirky's book and participating in the development of Cadre 12's community, I see that community reaches far beyond the walls I see everyday. Due to the tools of technology, especially the social tools, our communities are no longer bound by geographical barriers. My community includes all that I interact with on the various social networks that I belong to. Community encompasses so much more today then five or ten years ago. Five years ago, people with common interests and goals were only able to connect with those within a given distance from their home. Now with the advent of the internet and social tools, we see people from all over the world uniting around a given "cause" and forming large numbers of communities.
Some of the communities formed are small and intimate with those within the community getting to know each other well. Other communities are large and the people within them are loosely connected. Community has moved beyond face-to-face contact to include computer-to-computer contact. A sense of community is evolving and will continue to evolve as the social tools and the internet grow and change.

Day One: The Beginning

A little over four months ago, I decided to apply to Pepperdine Graduate School in order to work towards a Masters in Educational Technology. Once the paperwork was done, the interviews conducted, I found that I was accepted into the program. I was excited and ready to tackle whatever came next. What came next was VirtCamp in Malibu. Leading up to camp were e-mails of things to accomplish (with all the anxiety of getting it done on time and not being behind before the journey began), reassurance that all was in order (even if I didn't know what the order was) and a warm welcoming tone.
Today is the big day, the first day of VirtCamp. I have moved through a series of emotions ranging from excitement to doubt to anxiety. It started off with excitement at meeting my roommates and heading to class. The beginning of class rocked with the getting to know you activity of video taping an intro with your team. After that the scary part began. The introduction of the expectations of the class and where we were headed on this journey to earning a Masters. There were times while listening to what was awaiting us that I thought to myself "What did I get into? Am I really up to this? What do I have to offer?" The most important question I asked myself was "are you sure this is what you want to do?" Listening to the outlines of what was to come sent waves of anxiety crashing through me. The positive part is this program will stretch me to be better at what I do. The one thing Paul and Margaret stated that made me think this is where I belong was "relationships are important in learning". This falls directly into the philosophy of my teaching. You need to establish a relationship with those you are working with to give them a vested interest in the outcome. This is the one thing I will hang onto throughout this journey. So here I am climbing into the car, holding on and getting ready to ride!! Join me as I travel through the Masters program.