Networking and Blogging

From the beginning of the semester I started to read various class blogs, Chrissie’s has been invaluable in providing ideas and insights on everything blog related. When researching I used my own links list as well as the links on both Ula and Chrissie’s blogs. I have commented on the class blogs from time to time over the semester but it was only recently that I ventured outside my comfort zone and commented on blogs outside of the class. Initially it is intimidating to comment on other’s writing that you don’t know personally. I commented on James Farmer’s blog in regard to using weblogs in education. I felt it was more appropriate to use track backs when discussing an article that related to the course content when providing feedback. With comments, responses where received quite quickly and many of the class members lefts comments on my blog forming the beginnings of a network. After reviewing some blogs outside the class such as Stephen’s web and Incorporated Subversion I went on to search through their links lists and found some interesting blogs that I wouldn’t have been able to access through my original hub which was predominantly based around Learning Circuits and various other e-learning blogs (American mind you) which held some interest for me. When commenting on a blog I would add it to my link list for further reference as well as link to the post I was specifically talking about in the body of the text.

It took me awhile to develop a structure for my weblog and experimented with various categories. I found the more categories the easier it was to organise my thoughts and I eventually settled on categories that reflected the stages and progression of modules one, two and three. However I renamed the categories so that outside readers would be able to follow the organisational method. The links on my page generated from three main areas:

• E-learning resources such as learning circuits, American Society for training and Development and E-learning online magazine.
• Blogs from both the class and the wider network.
• Personal interest sites

I found categorising my thoughts was a much easier way to reflect on my learning. I can see the process of weblog development beginning in the initial categories as well as my knowledge of e-learning. The later categories that stem from module three are more involved, in-depth and useful to the study of e-learning. Considering issues such as effectiveness of online training and how this relates to the style in which people learn can transcend focus areas in other subjects and give insight into organisational learning from an e-learning sense.

Module Two: Learning Styles, E-Learning Innovation and Examples

Selecting a topic of interest for my area of focus for module two involved considering the issues faced in organisations that implement e-learning and deciding which of those areas interested me. It order to find examples of organisations who addressed various learning styles in the implementation of their e-learning I started at learning circuits and began searching through case studies that involving success due to consideration of learning styles from their I was directed to various pages of e-learning software developers who had case studies of their clients and the success of each individual client. Learning circuits operated as central hub for most of my research as it provided valuable links to other sites with interests in e-learning. The learning circuit’s blog also provided valuable commentary on contentious issues apparent in the e-learning environment which proved to be very valuable.

Module Three: Online Course

I made posts regularly throughout the duration of my online course to ensure my thoughts and feelings were captured at every stage. The course itself was quite well structured and included a combination of action and theory to keep even an activist like me satisfied. Although one major frustration was the regulated process at which the lessons were posted up to complete. I wanted to get it all done really quickly but found myself having to wait for the next module to arrive. Overall I came to the conclusion that I didn’t really learn that much from my online cause. However, I did find that my learning brought about by the use and development of a weblog was on the other hand quite great. Firstly I actually developed a weblog (that was a challenge in itself) and throughout the semester I began to develop my ideas on e-learning, online training, blogging and related topics. It was useful to review other blogs that had a similar focus and all the reading, pinging, posting and doing was very useful. I enjoyed that while learning about blogging and e-learning that we actually had to DO IT. The similarities of my learning from both blogging and completing the online training were more a means to an end rather than on a par. By capturing my thoughts on my weblog I was able to reflect on what I had learnt throughout the process of my online training course while developing a weblog gave me a forum to cultivate ideas and reflections on learning theory in a wider sense. The differences were the longevity as well as the complexity of both development of a weblog and my online training course. The time taken as well as the complex nature of combining all my thoughts and ideas into a online medium substantiated my learning more so than the online training did because it wasn’t nearly as complex or took so much time.

My Learning Overall:

Furthermore, I feel that the development of a weblog throughout this subject has comprehensively enhanced my learning in this area. Primarily everything theoretical that was taught had an active component which meant we were required to do what we’d learnt on our own blogs. Firstly, categorising my ideas into topics and streams was useful to organise my own thoughts and develop opinions and a voice on areas of e-learning that were inherent to my learning. It is useful to realise that much of what I learnt is inter – related and by adopting a developmental approach where the knowledge that I’ve gained is built upon and enhanced rather than viewing topics as segregated and isolated. Secondly the participation element of networking was a substantial aspect of my learning. Reading how other members of the class had interpreted the same article that we’d both read provided greater insights, deeper understanding and wider perspective. This continued even further with the development of a network outside the class because this provided more perspectives and ways of looking at things that I hadn’t yet considered. Finally, the developing awareness I gained of the usefulness of technology also aided my learning. Before this subject began I was unaware of the wealth of knowledge that existed online in regard to education, learning and more importantly e-learning. The combination of all these factors confirms the effectiveness of blogging to enhance learning and consideration of all these factors will also form the foundations of knowledge highly relevant to the business environment today which is geared towards e-learning practices even more so enhancing professional development.