Dr. Alec Couros- continues to inspire me

 

January 14, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

 

As a former student participant in #Etmooc2013 I would love to nominate Dr. Alec Couros for the Teaching Award of Excellence for Flexible Learning. I joined #Etmooc in January 2013 as a relative rookie to the field of educational technology. As a high school counsellor from Calgary, I had no formal training related to educational technology but had wanted to learn how to connect with my students in a meaningful manner. I was very nervous to jump into a world I had never known, and wasn’t sure if I belonged. Thankfully I entered an environment where we were encouraged to ask questions. We could go back and review videos, Google Hangouts, Blackboard Collaborate sessions and Open Source course notes as often as we wanted and on our own time lines. This helped individuals like myself who were full time professionals and parents, explore their new environment on their own terms. Dr. Couros and the rest of this team had a very approachable demeanor which was always patient. The key phrase was “take what you need, when you need it”.

 

 

They say that a manager directs and a leader encourages those around them to stretch their wings and become all that they can be. By this definition I would definitely say that Dr. Alec Couros is a true leader. Dr. Couros encourages all of his students to take what they learn from the experiences he facilitates online and go out into their worlds and apply their skills. Since the end of #Etmooc I have continued to connect with my colleagues through a number of off-shoot projects which developed based on connections I made through #Etmooc. First I am a regular vlogger for the Fellowship of the Openspokes https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/116395158372553895482 . A community of vloggers from around the world who ask questions and offer support to each other around teaching and learning.
Second I was involved in the planning committee for another cmooc the Open Online Experience OOE13 https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/102207059956192791361 This project was inspired by #Etmooc with many of the participants being both former students and professionals recommend by Dr Corous.
Finally we, the students of #Etmooc, have maintained an active Post #Etmooc community https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/111431081834171225314 which has continued to connect through twitter chats, hash tags, Google + and Google Hangouts. We organize both twitter chats and Google Hangouts to continue to maintain and facilitate the personal connections that Dr. Couros modeled were so critical to educators during our #Etmooc experience.

 

My connections with Dr. Couros continue to impact my career. This year I have taken a position as an English teacher and coordinator of international relations in Tarui, Japan. The PLN (professional learning network) that I developed under Dr. Couros’ tutelage, continues to provide me with support and suggestions on the other side of the world. I am truly grateful that I was able to learn the skills to connect online before my move as I can not image how much more isolated I would feel without them.

 

Dr. Alec Couros is a leader, a visionary and a role model. I am truly honored to have participated in one of his courses and I feel that he has demonstrated exemplary skill in providing flexible learning.

 

Sincerely,

 

Erin Luong

Earned another badge last month

Connecting Through Haikudeck

http://www.haikudeck.com/p/EPkGjw3fVI/getting-connected

How Being Connected had Impacted my Classroom

I totally love the above picture. I took this a few minutes ago from my wordpress statistics and it shows a map of everywhere in the world my blog has been read. Imagine…. that my thoughts have been shared with people on almost every corner of the globe. I first began my connected education journey less than a year ago.

Since becoming a connected educator I have:
-collaborated with colleagues to develop an online teacher training program
-established an international bookclub for a group of grade 3 students.
– Began a pen pal program between Japan, Canada and America.
-vlogged
– collaborated with colleagues to develop a number of google+ communities
-co-wrote Haiku Deck stories with students in my office
-participated in the DS106 Daily Create
-Completed 5 different MOOC`s
-Google Hung Out
-Skyped
-Blogged
-developed a number of different pinterest pages
-co-created the Canadian School Counsellor hash tag #cscchat
– Set up a meeting in Calgary from my desk in Japan
– created a number of Livebinders to help with my various teaching assignments, ESL, counselling etc..
-continued to connect with colleagues, family and students in Canada while living in Japan.
-Read countless blogs and tweets
-Taught myself basic Japanese using pod casts.

How has connecting impacted your classroom? I am interested in your ideas both as a form of celebration and inspiration.

Erin

Connecting Today

This morning I participated in the following Connected Educator event*

Unfortunately the original key speaker was unavailable due to illness. However we had the pleasure of being able to work with Roz Hussin https://plus.google.com/117219403239374562288#117219403239374562288/posts
who agreed to facilitate the session in Stephen`s place. Roz did a fabulous job of sharing with us how being a member of an online environment can reduce isolation. I`ve chosen to highlight a few of her slides which had the most impact on me.

In today`s world it is no longer enough to be able to read and write and perform basic math. She proposes the following 5R`s to be the minimum requirements to become an individual who is able to coexist in with others.

New technology can be SCARY which can cause those who are not comfortable to develop a technophobia. Roz suggests that helping students to have such a good time learning tech stuff, they forget that they were originally worried is a great strategy. Engage Technophilia- Make Learning Fun

Creating a postive digital footprint is one way of demonstrating a postive character and impression. We are more than our high school transcripts. Open source online communities are one way to help reduce societies economic barriers.

Our class came up with the following ways that connecting has impacted our lives*
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tbssgApCIiAv8Kg7JVBBlx75ksdrBYLHSJBcWUgoTdc/edit#slide=id.p

Great reads
What Connectivism Is (Stephen Downes) http://halfanhour.blogspot.de/2007/02/what-connectivism-is.html

What Connectivism Is Not (Stephen Downes) http://www.downes.ca/post/53657

Potential impact in mainstream and non-traditional education (Hussin & Kim)
Slides – https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B65XgVipBfIFbVB3d0M4bDJFQmM/edit?usp=sharing
Paper – https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B65XgVipBfIFSUI2Q0dNSUtqbU0/edit?usp=sharing

Teens are Natural Learners if we Let Them Fly

Loved this Ted Talk about the positive things teens are doing online. Adults need to *learn* to be connected educators, but many teens do it naturally.  Love to hear about these ripples….

October is Connected Education Month

October is Connected Education Month and I am super excited.

It was less than a year ago that I learned in #etmooc what it means to develop my own PLN (personal learning network).

Since then my PLN has become a major part of my life. Participation in groups such as the Fellowship of the Open Spokes

And the collaborative development of the http://www.ooe13.org/

Are a few ways I connect.

How about you? How do you connect?

I Wear My #ooe13 Badges with Pride

http://www.ooe13.org/badges-awarded-in-ooe13/