CMALT in Action

I have just came back from LAT-C.

As usually it was a great expereince, especially at the networking level. It is always a great opportunitie to meet those faces whose blogs and articles we read throughout the year. IT is always pleasant to see the faces that are behind those blogs and tweets I religiously been follwoing for a long time now.

Above all, I think this events matter because it is a good “excuse” to get people together and host a big learning party. I think this year, the 3 days at ALT exceeded my expectations not necessary by the programme that was put together, but especially because of teh informal opportunities to discuss current topics that were (un)organized by people genuinely interested in debating serious issues in a rather FUN way. Long live the unconference!

And I can only hope this is just the beginning.

Now following the motto of what happen in Leeds - I would like to suggest some get-togethers where we can come together to talk about our CMALT journey. It might help increase the motivation and think of new approaches on how we can take this accreditation forward. Since we are all over the country, I would like to suggest some net meetings. It is better than nothing and it would be a way to using technology to its full potential - to bridge teh space gap that there is among us. Please let me know if you would liek that and we can think of a venue that pleases everyone. Flashmeeting might be an option.

Have a great week!

What does connecting online mean to you? why do you connect online? Why is online environments become so popular and for some so priceless and important as part of their further development and (informal) learning?

These are questions that come to mind sometimes and today they make even more sense since I have joined Connecting Online 09 (CO09). Co09 aims at inviting people to tell their stories, share their experiences and create opportunities for people to talk and be listened to. And maybe it is here that the magic especially resides : in the fact that online everyone can develop their own voice and be valued for what they have to give.

Online, in order to make one’s self visible, one has to participate actively. It doesn’t mean to say that you cannot take part in online initiatives in a shier, quieter way. BUt if you are really looking for action and meaningful interaction you will have to make sure to be part of that world in an active way, so it ca bring you visibility. How are we otherwise supposed to know you have something to share. We cannot guess you are part of it if you don’t give us tangible evidence of your presence.
The hardest part is to get started! How many of us have dread to go to that very first dance class in a room full of people who we don’t know and who we assume are already friends with eachother, and been dancing for years. There is always this resentment we will not be good enough or what we have to share is too trivial to be accepted by the others, who supposedly already share group coherence. I think acceptance is an important issue. People new to these kind of online interactive environment don’t want to take this kind of risks. Most times we are afraid of not belonging there; or better of not being able to fit it. But the truth is totally the opposite. Usually the people who engage in these conversations are friendly and keen on new faces - it means new learning possibilities based of fresh perspectives. In my opinion, online interactions are (or are supposed to be) nothing but these interesting, relaxed conversations among people who get together to discuss their interests based on their own experiences or lack of them. Stress and tense dialogs are usually not part of the deal. Everyone is there on a volunteer basis and we all want to make the best of it and create an environment in which we feel comfortable and welcomed.  Everyone is there with a similar purpose - to hear what others have to say and offer their perspectives whenever they think pertinent. That’s a healthy exchange of personal data (experiences, practices, reading, interpretations, etc) which can be converted into joint constructed knowledge and know-how. That’s the magic of Connecting online - to listen and be listened to; to be part of this ongoing dialectic of giving and taking, which is becoming rare on face to face learning opportunities, as such interaction often get limited to that classroom/session pre-arranged time.
Connecting online is not about connecting to a machine; nor is it only about connecting through a machine. There is more to it:  it is about truly connecting (reaching out) to people and establishing interesting human interactions which enable learning opportunities to happen in a coherent and continuum process There is no limitation so time or space for these exchanges to happen and the fact that are the individuals who choose their connections and guide their learning path often makes connecting online a more relevant journey (when compare with some classroom sessions) to the parties involved.

In short, connecting online involves a volunteer move from the individual to learn with others; later on it requires a deeper engagement with his/her peers in which warm interactions take place and help evolve the relationship the learner has with other learners and with the entire group. Connecting online is about making bonds which will grant one good company in a nver-ending journey into learning.

Where to start? That is always my first question and most times also the most difficult one to answer. The CMALT experience hasn’t been different. It is never easy until we find our feet in the new challenge. It took me a while to understand how I had to prepare to this task. I read the papers, I did some online research about what had already been done, but still I wasn’t sure where to start. I was already keeping a blog as a reflection of my learning trajectory – I have been writing in the blogsphere since 2004 when I started my Master’s in Portugal- but somehow CMALT required something more. I just had to find out what.

After giving it some thought I decided I needed to develop a more complete online presence. So the first thing I did for CMALT – as especially for me as a learner and a learning Technologist – was to develop a more tangible online presence – of what I am and what I do. I decided to develop my own Personal Space - you could even say I have been trying to collect the coordinates of many of the places in which my learning occurs and takes shape in one single site. Is that what they call a Personal Learning Environment? I am not sure, but it looks personal to me, and it links to many of the venues in which I learn/ take part to learn.

Anyway, in first few months of the year, I made this site available on the web and it is where bits of me and of my learning journey come together. There you can actually find links to places where I am actively engaged as a content producer or a network/community/group member. I have also provided bits and bytes of personal information (just enough to make that space a little bit more “me”) and I hope in the future to be able to update it with other relevant links and information as I progress in my journey. What kind of links and information I am going to add to it in the future, I still don’t know. They will probably arise from my needs as an Educator and a Learning Technologist, as a PhD candidate, as a life long learner, as someone who is curious about the world and has the need to constantly look for new things, new ideas, and new connections.

So that was where I got my CMALT started: I got myself a Personalized spot where I present myself to the (cyber)world. Hopefully it will also represent well who I am, what I do and also where am heading to in my professional field.

And you, how did you start your CMALT? What it hard to get started? Or did you find it rather easy?

The next Step: was to start actually preparing my reflections based on he CMALT questions. I am currently working on the two first sections of the CMALT accreditation. Things are still a bit into draft mode. I will post about it sometime soon.

hi,

I am Cristina - a Portuguese living in the UK.  I am currently working at the University of Salford as a Learning Technologies Development Officer - whatever that means! . I work with academic staff, helping them to develop learning strategies with the help of the web. Blogging is definitelly one of the approaches I hope to influence more staff to engage with.

I am really excited about being part of this CMALT Accreditation online compenent .  I am sure I will learn a lot from you. Hopefully I will be able to contribute with some useful ideas too.  Going through the accreditation process is not that easya s I had initially thought. I hope together we will be able to  work on it in a more relevant way.

So, let’s get started!