"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure , the process is its own reward." Amelia Earhart
The first blog I have ever created . . . I feel a little like the Amelia Earhart of the blogosphere today--ha! ha!
Here goes it feels like a rather wobbly takeoff. . . although I have taken several courses online, I am far from an expert in this medium. I have been blessed with capable instructors and I have enjoyed their insight and the insight of the other persons in the classes.
For me, online classes without voiceover, have had some of the charm of old fashioned letter writing. You cannot wait to read and absorb the perceptions that others have as they put pen to paper or rather digits to keyboard.
You realize how amazingly similar we all are . . .kindred spirits . . . the same fears, the same insecurities when we are faced with the unknown . . . and yet how different . . . a kaleidoscope of talents that are seen through the gorgeous colors of each wordsmith.
You realize that you don't have to be face to face with someone to get to know them. It is possible for hearts and heads to connect without hearing voices or seeing faces. Being able to hear their voices or see their visages are just added bonuses.
No preconceived notions, no body language, just the connection of words---it makes one once again realize how powerful the written word is. Someone who you have never met can have a profound effect on your being and your thought processes by the power of the written word.
A big part of this power lies in the exchange of ideas, in the tete-a-tete that takes place online. Distractions are obliterated and the ideas and thoughts become paramount. How much interference and static gets in the way when our subconscious preconceived notions are allowed to enter into the arena?
Online learning is not a panacea for everyone. It is also not suited to every subject matter. However, it can be used to supplement almost any field of endeavor.
I have only been computer literate for about ten years, but once I was introduced to the vast potential for learning that was available online, I was hooked. There is rarely a day that goes by that I do not research someone or something for which I have a great curiosity.
Online learning can be a transformational experience for some. I know that it can sometimes transform a cocooning student into a butterfly. I have seen the relative anonymity of cyberspace make a student stand up with new boldness and conviction. Is he/she no longer bound by any self conscious notions about his/her appearance and therefore feels that one can more freely express ones thoughts because they will not be bound by bias?
I have witnessed a shy, slip of a girl who never uttered a word in a brick and mortar classroom blossom into someone who was willing to offer all the wonderful ideas she had to offer in cyberspace because she was not hindered by the shyness she felt by being in close proximity to what seemed to her, judge and jury.
I believe that online classes offer another venue, a very powerful venue for learning. It is learning without borders---across time zones, across nationalities. Ultimately, it has/will knock down many barriers and let peoples from all over the globe become more acquainted with one another and it will allow us to commiserate with a new found understanding and bond with our fellowmen.
I have often wondered what might have been if this instant access tool had been available as a learning tool for some of the great minds in history like Einstein or Aristotle? Would Einstein have arrived at the theory of relativity more quickly because he would have been able to have had the instantaneous input of ideas from other great minds across the globe at all hours of the night or day?
Would Watson and Crick have unraveled the mystery of DNA earlier because they could have received input from some other scientist on the other side of the world who held the key to the missing link they sought to unravel the mystery of the strands?
The levels of learning that exist are phenomenal. Online learning is not bound by common constraints, it urges forward constantly. It is customizable. If you want to talk to someone about Ansel Adams, adrenal glands or arachnids, there will be someone available who can exchange ideas with you in an instant.
It is also frequently communal learning, as both students and instructor come together through a melding of ideas to broaden and enrich their individual knowledge.
The unlimited accessibility it affords to remote areas of the globe is reminiscent of a sign that I found to be very comforting one frigid night in a 24 hour restaurant on a road trip far from home, "Hot coffee day or night". There is a comfort derived by the fact that the essence of online learning and the exchange of ideas is available day or night.
This does not factor in the significance of having the largest, seemingly limitless database of source material in the world available at your fingertips. How Benjamin Franklin would marvel at how far his concept of "library" has come!
On a personal note, I have come so far in cyber literacy in the last ten years and yet I feel I have just skimmed the surface of the online classroom learning experience and potential.
I want to become skilled enough to work from both sides of the spectrum as student and instructor. I would like to be able to assuage the fears of the returning older students who have not tapped into online learning experiences and I would like to be able to assist some of our high school "cocooning students" to become butterflies via online learning.
However, before I can begin to accomplish these goals I have to hone my own skills and unlock the possibilities that stand waiting in cyberspace. With all of the talent that I am surrounded with in this class, I am certain that I will come away from this learning experience with many new friends and many new ideas that will broaden my vistas.
However, as I make my first solo flight, my biggest fear right now is sending my simple thoughts out into what seems like a black hole of cyberspace, where they will be swallowed up and unretrievable (with my skill level, I feel like I am navigating the blogosphere in a single engine plane with a pen light). I will, however, continue to fumble with the controls, and peer forward into the blogosphere fearlessly looking for signs of the horizon.
It's time to attempt my first landing. . . I think I'll take a moment and google Amelia Earhart . . .
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