Monday, January 24, 2011

Monday Mornings


Each Monday morning I walk my son to school then hurry home to release the assignments for The Man Code and Sublime eCourses. I usually have them all ready to go by Friday but give them one final once over then I press publish. It is very exciting to know that my material is getting out there.

The challenge is to sit patiently awaiting the student's response. My material requires a commitment. It isn't easy going. I am often introducing new ideas and challenging the students to think and see in unfamiliar ways.

The hard part is not knowing. I don't always know if the students just don't like the material or whether it is provoking so much thought that they need time to digest, or whether or not the commitment is more then they had anticipated.

I assume that this is common for those who run eCourses. For the difference between them and in-person courses is the immediacy of the response. In the latter case the students are in front of you so you can gauge their reaction. They either avoid eye contact or engage with enthusiasm or somewhere in between.

Sometimes I feel unable to be patient and wonder whether eCourses are my thing. Then I give myself a shake and try to remind myself that this is new for most of us. Giving and taking eCourses in and of itself is a learning experience, never mind the content.

I love to learn. Creating and running eCourses has already taught me so much. I love the challenge most days and on those other days I just try to shake that monkey off my back!

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