As I sit and reflect on the question, “Have you ever used online learning to achieve your potential and realize your own capacities?”, I realize I have engaged in formal and informal online learning in a number of different ways over the years. Focusing on the informal side of learning, a couple of examples come up.
The first is a sort of random type of research. I have used online access to websites like Idealist and others to learn about industries and opportunities online. I read job descriptions to analyze the types of skills required for certain types of jobs, and the types of jobs that appear in certain industries. I use this information compare my relevant experience, or lack of experience, and what my interests and skills might match well with.
Last year I found an online meditation study that I signed up for. It was part of a university students study, and was offered for free. There was no outside pressure to participate, or even complete the study. There were short readings each day, an MP3 of a guided meditation practice, a prompt for a short reflection, and unrevealed, but for some (apparently part of the study) a group of other participants to check in with. Also there was a weekly live cam web chat with other participants and a guided meditation by a facilitator. I committed myself to completing all of the tasks and meditations, and was very glad that I did so. I would definitely participate in other online classes or forums such as this one.
One other think that the internet has greatly changed in my learning, and that of many other people, is the world of music. Specifically, for me, is the access to songs I need learn for gigs. How so, you may wonder? Back before there was such open access to both the internet and Youtube and the vast amount of music streaming out there, I was in my very early 20’s, and working part time as a singer. Records and CD’s were an obvious place to find songs (although really, it was still a lot of cassettes) and I would have to purchase entire albums to find different interpretations of a given song, or if a request for a first dance was given when I had an upcoming wedding gig. Now, in a few seconds, I can access almost any recording of almost any song, often for free (unfortunately for the musicians). I love watching old videos of singers who I grew up listening to, and noticing the way they use their whole bodies to sing, how relaxed they are, or just to perceive their energy and personalities in a way that wasn’t available through a sound recording alone. Below is a video I love to watch of Sarah Vaughan. You can see how the shape of her mouth changes as she places her vowels or sustains certain notes.
While I have never taken an online language class, I have played around with vocabulary quizzes. I like the game aspect that can be applied to certain types of online learning, as in a typing tutor style, or a math flash card revue. This is a tool that strikes me as especially useful for memorization practice.
One thing that I find challenging about learning online, however, is the dangerous possibility of endless distractions. As a learner, I am curious. When I see things that are unfamiliar, or pique my interest, I will open a new page and google it. Sometimes this leads to a quick and informative space where I gain a little new knowledge, and return to the task at hand. But other times it can lead to following link to google to link to google, until hours have passed. I’ll look up, realizing I’ve read about college graduate programs in London, dissertations on community health participation in Kenya, and reading Shakespeare with youth in the favelas of Brazil, and yet I may barely remember what the original search was to clarify, or the original task completed. I worry about this lack of deeper, focused learning. I try to balance the access to so much information (and other people’s interpretations) with my own time for creative pondering.
Melissa's TC Reflections 