E-Learning & Digital Cultures MOOC #edcmooc

OK so here I am, MOOC number 4 (well more like 3.2). The previous MOOC I enrolled on to just didn’t work out for me (see previous blog post). The interesting thing is that I didn’t feel guilty or anything like that. My only query was whether I needed to formally tell anyone – but I guess not. So here I am ready for what looks to be a very well structured and engaging 5 weeks. I have been casually browsing the site and following the twitter hashtag for a few weeks now – but until this evening I have not formally engaged in any way with the course. I have been a bit of a lurker – trying to ensure that the course will be of value to me and that the time I invest will be worthwhile (not just in a learning sense but also in a social engagement context). One of my personal reasons for joining MOOCs is to establish new connections with people from across the globe. So in a weird way I have been watching the social spaces as the communities evolve and you all seem like nice enough people so here I am. 🙂 As an added challenge I will be undertaking this MOOC entirely on a tablet device. Why? Well……….because I think that education and technology have the capacity to provide ‘anytime’, ‘anywhere’ and ‘anyhow’ learning. I imagine that many of us on this course have seen the benefits (and failures) of technology in education. For me technology is an enabler, an enhancer and an empowerer of learning. Therefore I am interested in experiencing learning through technology, both where the technology and the learning have been designed together but also like this where the technology enables access to content predominantly designed with the desktop/laptop user in mind. What will the limitations be? What will the advantages be? Will I be so frustrated that I will have very little hair left and will be forced to return to the shackles of my desktop or….. will I be liberated, set free and able to learn more flexibly? I am sure that many of you will also use a tablet device at some point to access this course, but I am intending to undertake the entire 5 week course on my tablet device. I would love to hear from any of you who will be doing the same. Oh and to be clear, although I do have an iPad (which I use daily), I have decided to do this on a Google Nexus 7 16GB. Why? Well because although I do love the iOS experience and the devices I am also conscious that that experience comes at a financial price. So, can my £159 Nexus give me a free learning experience to a level at which I feel the learning has not been limited by it? I will be blogging my experience all through the course, so together we can find out. #edcmooc