Initial Reflections On My e-Journey
I am 3 weeks into this journey and what a ride it’s been.
Initially it was full of confusion and frustrations as I tried to cope with this alien culture and language. I thought I was pretty computer savvy but I’ve had to learn a whole new language and explore a whole new world of concepts, thinking and ways of doing things. What were these things such as Ning networks, social bookmarking and how on earth could I ever create a weblog???? . I was certainly “immersed” in the technology, some days I felt I was drowning and wanted to flee back to my comfort zone.
But after the second week things started to come together – I lurked around the e-learning community and found the courage to make an entry; I got my weblog created and even managed to post information to it. I was so excited by my success I emailed all my family and friends with the link – regardless of whether they might be interested in it’s content. Then I got my first comments – I was ecstatic!
I am now more comfortable with this world of e-learning and am keen to explore it’s possibilities. I have ideas for creating an e-learning community of my own and can’t wait to get into the details of how others are using the technologies available. I finally understand how “internet time” happens. Where do the days go when I’m online? One of the greatest supports during these initial weeks has been the e-learning community. I was comforted to see others experiencing similar difficulties and frustrations, even those who had been exploring this world for a while. The tips and advice from others helped keep me coming back to my travels. So, the social psychologists are right – learning in a group does result in changed attitudes, new learning and a willingness to apply that learning.
I feel like the real adventures are now about to begin.
March 22nd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
I love that phrase, ‘internet time’. It is like being in a science fiction book or the opposite of The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe where instead of being gone for what feels like hours and instead it is only a few minutes, the opposite has occurred – we have been online for hour upon hour and yet it feels like we have only just dipped our toes into the water. It is really scary how much time it chews up – no wonder my students don’t get their homework done!
Cheers
Prue
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
G’day.
I liked the idea of reflecting on personal growth so early. I think seeing growth early on gives hope that we will continue to growth in the future. I too thought I was computer literate but at times have fought with the technology (and lost). There are people out there who have offered tips and tricks in comments also, they have helped just make my blog more organised (which I think is a big part of keeping it useful). So, there are long ways to go with pleanty of help out there.
Phillip
March 24th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Love the name of the blog ..what is the inspiration? Certainly a talking/blogging point.
Quite a scary thought to think we have only dipped our toes in the water…I don’t even want to go near 2nd Life right now as I am just coping with my 1st Life.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:30 am
“The Gulch” is what my friends have affectionately named the area I live in – it sounds much more exotic than a “down the side of the hill” or the “gully at the back of street” don’t you think? I’m aiming to get a photo of the view from the gulch on my blog but have yet to master that technique!