Michele Brannon-Hamilton's Blog

It’s hard to believe that another course has almost ended. It was a whirl wind of information combined with the flu! I enjoyed the readings but the most interesting feature of this course was how it was structured. After the instructors taught the first modules, the class was divided into groups and given the task of teaching the rest of the course. What an exciting challenge. Each group came up with original and effective ways to present a variety of information that covered the foundation topics of the course. I learned a lot.

Beyond the learning that happenend in this class, I experienced a camaraderie with some of my classmates. I’ve taken 4 courses now but the dynamics in this class were different. I wonder if it was the weekly chats. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting online each week but once it started, I found myself looking forward to the chats because I felt like I was part of an actual classroom.

The discourse groups were another great experience. I found I was able to get to know the members of my group in a way I hadn’t experienced in other classes. Perhaps it was the amount of work we created together which translated into a lot of time or maybe it was how we communicated. We met in Vista, in email, in Google.docs, after the weekly chats and live synchronously one night using webinar software. Putting a name to a face or voice made it more personal and seeing our photos in the Halloween Monster Mash made it more fun. Even after we were done our group work we still met just to chat!

So once again I’ve found this course very valuable in a way that goes beyond the reading and learning that was required. Perhaps the community interconnectedness that I felt was the true value of the course.