A couple of thoughts on this weeks’ #ocTEL activity “Approaches to Learning” http://t.co/3v2PAewD8I— Tim Leonard (@TimJPLeonard) May 15, 2014

Hi again. This weeks #ocTEL webinar was really good, Panos was a very engaging speaker and clearly has great enthusiasm for TEL. Looking forward to delving into the resources for this week, though there is […]

Next #ocTEL activity: Exploring and experimenting http://t.co/JlrAaM2NRo— Tim Leonard (@TimJPLeonard) May 02, 2014

I started writing this post then came across Wendy Talao’s blog post for Activity 0.3. As well as answering the questions set by the activity, Wendy has also used her blog post to plan her participation for the MOOC which is a great idea. Jim Kerr mentioned doing a participation plan in Wednesday’s webinar, which I thought was a really good way of doing some prep to avoid getting overwhelmed. Set your goals and all that. So I’m going to try and combine the two activities.
A few days on with #ocTEL and I’ve tried a couple of different communication platforms to engage with the course and the other participants. I suppose I’ve stuck to what I know so far. I’ve used WordPress a lot in the past (I used to maintain the blog for the last library I worked at) though I’ve (re)launched this personal blog afresh for #ocTEL. So I suppose that counts as something new-ish, right? I set my profile up on the #ocTEL site and I’ve been using the course reader a bit to find people on Twitter.
I’ve followed a number of participants on Twitter and noticed that I’m picking up followers from the course too, so obviously other people are following the hashtag on Twitter or picking up tweets from the course reader. Twitter has been good for reading people’s blog posts as most people are tweeting when they have posted a new one. I’ve exchanged a couple of tweets with people but no great in-depth conversation as of yet. I’ve been on Twitter since 2009, though I wasn’t a great convert for the first couple of years. I tend to use it more as a news/opinion/links aggregator rather than as a communication medium and that’s mainly the purpose it has served so far on #ocTEL.
I chose the third party blog option for posting my own thoughts, as I got the impression from the course handbook that blogs were the preferred option. I’ve read a lot of blog posts by other participants but only posted a comment on one so far. I think the #ocTEL discussion forum will act as the main platform for discussion to be honest, there’s some really good discussion going on there. I haven’t posted as yet but I will try and do so at some point. I’ve always been a fan of discussion forums, I’ve been a member of a couple of forums related to my interests for years now, and I still think they are the most effective tool for fostering discussion online. Having said that, when I did my online distance PG Dip, participants were encouraged to share their thoughts online on a forum which saw a lot of activity at the beginning of the course, before gradually falling by the wayside (because the forum activity wasn’t assessed, as time went on people stopped posting and focused on the assessed activities).
Participation plan:
1. What tools to use
Often: Primarily Twitter and this WordPress blog to post my own thoughts. I should be able to make the webinars as long as they are always at a lunchtime (early evenings are no good for me as I have a bit of a commute and then a 20 month old to see when I get home). I will try and engage in discussion on the forum where I can. I’m going to try and link up with other participants to join a group soon (I’ll probably do this by approaching people via Twitter or on the forum)
Once-off or infrequent: I suppose it depends on the platform chosen by the group I join. I’ve got a G+ account but I’ve never participated in a G+ group. I’d be open to trying any platform really. I’ll probably try and gather interesting tweets on Storify at some point, but probably only a couple of times over the course. I may try using Scoop It! to curate interesting links relating to TEL (though that may be a bit redundant, there’s a ton of good posters on Scoop It! curating links on e-learning, educational technology, etc already).
2. Level of participation: I’m going to try and set 30 minutes aside each weekday for ocTEL. I’ll use this time to read the course content, check the forum and other participants’ blogs. I check Twitter throughout the day so I will keep up with other people’s #ocTEL musings on a pretty regular basis. I’m going to try and write two blog posts a week. I may have to do that at the weekend. If I don’t quite manage that, then I still should have written one 🙂. If I don’t write any that’s a complete failure.
I’m going to stop titling my blog posts as relating strictly to one or another activity. Hopefully my thoughts should address one or more of the Activities for that week, and I may be able to combine some together. I could always use tags on my posts to make it clear to the tutors what points I am addressing. Yep, I’ll do that from now on.

Week 1, no wait, week 0 of #ocTEL and a chance to reflect on why I’ve signed up this open course. A bit of background first of all, I’m an academic librarian, currently working at Lancaster University. I’ve had a teaching role for a few years now – my teaching nearly always involves using technology, and I teach students about using technology effectively in their own studies.
Some of the experience I have in TEL includes:

Creating interactive tutorials for VLEs
Creating podcasts and videos
Using social media and blogging platforms for student engagement purposes

And I suppose most essentially, my teaching is about how to use technology to find and manage information, and how to develop the skills to effectively understand and assess information resources.
As a student, I completed a postgrad diploma online via distance learning. It was probably the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. The technology aspect was part of what made it challenging (it felt very self-directed and at times very isolated) but the technology was what made it possible for me to study while working full time. I feel that right now in my career I’m exactly where I wanted to be when I started that course, so it’s been an overwhelmingly positive experience.
One thing I do find hard about many types of TEL is the social and reflective aspect. By my nature I find it hard to get something down on paper that I’m happy to share with other people, without umpteen revisions and rewrites. I’ve currently repeating Point 2 of these Huffington Post Blogging Tips as a mantra (“Let go of the compulsion to write or blog perfectly”) and I’m hoping that as #ocTEL progresses I’ll find it easier to express my thoughts on TEL. I’m sure there will be lots of good blogging by other participants to act as an inspiration.
My big questions for the course relate to stripping away the technology and focusing on the learning – the experience and the outcomes. I suppose what I’m most looking forward to on #ocTEL is interacting with a range of different people (teachers, lecturers, learning technologists) and learning about experiences and ideas to do with learning technology from outside the library “bubble”. I’d consider myself fairly up to date on how HE libraries are using technology to deliver learning experiences, but I have a lot to learn from outside that rather narrow field.
And I suppose small questions relate to more specific examples of TEL: I’m interested in Open Badges for instance, and would like to learn about interesting ways in which they’ve been used in HE.
Right, that’s been useful for me, and I hope it’s served as an explanation to my interest in #ocTEL. Looking forward to making contact with other #ocTEL peeps out there on the web. See you round.

Why didn’t I think of doing my #ocTEL activities in tweets? Good thinking @raetzelo— Tim Leonard (@TimJPLeonard) April 29, 2014

First #ocTEL activity – 0.1: Big and little questions http://t.co/2DsdqQvUmM— Tim Leonard (@TimJPLeonard) April 29, 2014

Exploring #ocTEL, looks good though slightly concerned about managing to keep up!! Dusting off ye olde blog in preparation— Tim Leonard (@TimJPLeonard) April 28, 2014