That particular mix of F2F and online instruction sounds extremely interesting. Thanks for naming it, Laura.

Promising-sounding model!

It reminds me of some continuing education choices for graduate studies and certifications that I have participated in where students meet at a physical location to study/workshop/receive lectures together once a month over a weekend and then work independently or together on projects in the in between weeks to share with each other at the following physical meetup.

I would agree with Sue that a mix of F2F with online platforms could help solve the retention rate as well as charging some fee to the course offering no matter how nominal and when possible link continuing education credits to a course offering.

This is an amazing comment. I’m trying not to sound ironic here, but I’d love to hear your thoughts more often, even if on imperfect forums like blogs and twitter. I gather you don’t have a blog. Twitter handle?

Rivka, thanks for sharing your experience. Obviously, it’s exciting to hear about anybody having a good time in professional learning online. Your experience, while more positive than Audrey’s above, speaks identically to the challenge of cultivating community online. Your emails were read and hers weren’t. That’s an interesting challenge.

Interesting you asked that… I have seen an exit ticket where the student is asked to choose from four emojis representing “I totally it! — I think I get it — I don’t really have it down — I’m utterly lost.” I’ve considered adopting it (for occasional use) but haven’t yet done so.

1. Each digest was immensely rich with thoughtful and thought provoking ideas. (2. And, the kick of seeing my own thoughts excerpted by the leader for inclusion in that awesome digest, handily beat the kick of accumulating likes and retweets from the #mtbos.)

3. The small group was great because it felt very real and human. 3a. I knew these two teachers were actually going to read my entire email, give it actual thought, and probably reply… versus the Twitter/disqus/etc model of people scrolling casually through dozens of super-quick comments, upvoting some eye candy, and maybe dashing off a smiling sentence or two.

3b. Large groups (including the mtbos) come to focus on several superstars, which is great when I want inspiration but subsequently feels hollow when I want fellowship. I like to process inspiration by talking it out. I could, in theory, start a reflective blog, which might or might not get eyeballs… and even if I did and it did, that’s still less real, less rich, than exchanging emails with a very few colleagues.

Super helpful to hear from one of the participants, Audrey.

Your post provokes two hypotheses for me:

• 1. A F2F learning experience will offer more opportunities for more nuanced feedback (including the facial tics and gestures you mentioned) than most online learning experiences.
• 2. The Twitter online learning experience is probably more effective than either the email or LMS options for experienced Twitter users.

No dispute on either. But the question that remains for me is, “What can we offer people who a) don’t have a F2F learning community, and b) lack experience navigating a challenging medium like a Twitter conversation?”

But maybe you’ve already answered the question!

“I don’t know if it’s possible.”

My wondering is whether other people dropped out for the same reasons as I did. It’s hard to continue in any kind of space, virtual or face-to-face, when you feel you are speaking into a void and, unfortunately, that’s what this felt like.

I sign up for learning experiences to be engaged in learning. Sounds simple, but we all know learning is more complex than that. The curated list of reading was better than an open search on my part, so that was a definite plus — but that could have been a link at the end of the ShadowCon talk.

So why sign-up for an LMS course or an email thread conversation? Because I need a space to learn where my interactions with new ideas/thoughts/material in whatever form (written/spoken/watched etc.) are met with some kind of feedback. In the newest iteration of ShadowCon extension, there was an appearance that with 4-5 members of any email thread that there is more personal opportunity for that to happen. Instead, I was met with the exact same experience of an overloaded MOOC — I was writing and no one was responding. Yes, people were writing more … but did anyone read what I wrote? Obviously no one felt compelled enough to respond — is that the feedback in itself? At least in a face-to-face situation you get visual clues as to whether your statements and questions are being considered.

I know I have a place in the blame here on why it didn’t become conversational. I didn’t know how to respond to the one person each round who sent out a group email — because I didn’t see anything to respond to. In person, what would have garnered a head nod of affirmation, or a head tilt of question, instead was left unanswered.

So I’m curious — why continue any of these types of learning experiences if some (maybe even most or many) learners won’t actually get the opportunity to learn together? Perhaps we’re better off with a post-ShadowCon reading list and an assigned hashtag, and let Twitter analytics help provide me feedback on my ideas.

Looking for more than my regular #MTBoS PLN learning here, but I don’t know if it’s possible. As much as I gained from the emailed articles and thoughtful questions, I don’t know that I’d sign up again.

I mean, no matter what it is – either online class or email group- I am truly thankful that ShadowCon coordinators and speakers spend their time coordinating such wonderful event for us. I am a junior teacher. Having a chance to listen and learn from experienced teachers means a lot to me. I am very blessed to grow through these awesome opportunities.

I think an important component in the comparison between Global Math Department and online courses is the synchronous/asynchronous portion. Live online events have lower attendance.

I also agree with Leigh’s point that nothing invested means nothing lost if they don’t attend.