So, first of all I have to say that getting back on a mud for the first time in years was an exhilarating experience. I just to use muds for text based computer gaming back in the day *cough*star wars RPGs. Although this time I wasn't battling with any sand people or inspecting treasure chest it was still nice to get back on one of those things for the first time since sixth grade or so.
I digress.
The mud was an interesting experience for class today, and I think that we all utilized it differently. Some had random outburst after being taken over by what I can only describe as pure giddiness from holding class online. Others struggled to get in the discussions and I think the mud slid right over them burying them somewhere underneath lost trains of thought and the pace of the mud. I was rather comfortable with the space and didn't feel that I was being overwhelmed by it, granted I have had previous usage. I did notice that even those who expressed problems at the beginning ended up catching up and being more active nearer to the end.
The big question is-what was gathered from today's mud trial? I don't think that this space was effective for us all. I think some of us were more inclined to take it more serious than others, but i think that would change if the entirety of the class was held on a space like that b/c it would be only the ones wanting to get something from it. I think those who felt more intimidated by the expeirince would probably not sign up for this type of class and even if they did their comp literacy would catch up in the environment as the semester went on. I think there were good and bad moments within the chaos that was class today. This space is also hard when trying to host twenty people rather than just six or so... it does create some chaos.
Class online made me think a lot about underlife. Our random discussions were underlife and made the discussion more free and comfortable, but it was distracting and unproductive at times. It was also tedious trying to pick through text to find the important and the non-important stuff being said.
ReplyDeleteEven some blogs for this class are like that, however. Do we not take a good point as seriously if the person was goofing off in the chat a few minutes before? Do we avoid people's blogs that we do not relate to or that are not easily readable? Does underlife get in the way of education, or is it a good way to get students to relate? (Personally, I don't care what a student does outside of class, and I don't care if they think I'm actually a robot. They are paying for an education and I am paid to educate them. If they cannot motivate themselves in that sense, there loss. Maybe that's a little mean, though.)
Scott, I also have previous text-based computer game experience, and probably they were far worse than your Star Wars rpgs (Zork, anyone?).
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as one of the giddier participants in yesterday's online classroom, I think one of the major underlifes (underlives?) I struggled to keep within boundaries is my self as an online chatter. I haven't used Googlechat in probably a year, and I only used to chat with very silly and occasionally profound people. I like the chats to go quick, and I like them to be witty. It was striking how difficult it was to control myself and NOT blurt out whatever I felt like typing.
I wonder, though, if I sometimes get the opposite reaction in a classroom. In the same way I've trained myself to goof off in a chatroom, some student have been trained to clam up when they sit at a chair connected to a desk.
The one thing I liked about our online class discussion is people got a chance to say/type what they wanted to. Sometimes, it's not possible to do that in a face-to-face classroom environment, either because you can't get up the courage to say something, or once you do, the conversation has moved on. I think it would be nice to occasionally hold class discussions online. I know it was a little crazy this time around, but I think after everyone gets over the initial excitement of being in class, but not being in class (if that makes sense!), there might be more productive online discussions in the future.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post here. I agree--we all used it differently. And, that's what happens every day in every class, in a way; because of our different experience levels, we all interact or approach the content differently. It's difficult to understand/see how, of course. Anyway, thanks, glad to see that you were able to revisit a tool you've used in another context, and to think about how it might work for education. That is, how to use the under overtly.
ReplyDelete