Well, campus for "Diplomatura en Educación y Nuevas Tecnologías" (FLACSO) opened yesterday at 9 PM GMT (that was 6 PM my time). Having taken online courses before, I was almost positive we'd be allowed at least a couple of days to log in and browse around, familiarising ourselves with the online environment and our partners (which turned out to be over 200, BTW!). Yet, can you believe I was quite upset because some "local" duties prevented me from entering the site before today? :-p! It was nice to find out we'll be using a Moodle platform, which I'm a bit familiar with, and at the same will profit from seeing used in more effective ways. It was even better to confirm 3 colleagues I look up to are just starting walking along the same path at the same time. As I'm a social learner, this means a lot to me, and I hope they like the idea of collaborating in this blog and sharing a bit of what we go through in our course with every English teacher on the Web via this blog!
In his welcome "speech", our coordinator has invited us to record our feelings and impressions as we just get started, and save them so that we can go back to them. I've drafted my impressions here, feel free to peep if you like!
Gladys
Posts
Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteLnock them down:-)
You will be the best, as always!
Hugs from boiling Sudan
Hala Fawzi
Hi Gladys and everybody,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to have found you (my ex-teacher) while reading the list of the participants, I had not expect to see two hundred teachers!!!
I guess this is going to be such a great experience!!! and as I always say "this way of learning, through internet, is a great chance to meet others, to learn from and with others and share if possible our fears and grow up becoming better professionals in our field!
Despite the fact that I have not met Gladys yet I consider that I have know her for ages, quite strange but true, Internet in a way have benefited me a lot. I have made new friends such as Rosy Aguila with whom I had been in contact with for 6 years before meeting face to face.
I live in Esquel (http://www.esquel.gov.ar/ , a small city in the south of Argentina. as you will see I am quite far away from big cities where you can have the possibility of studying anything you might want, something that in Esquel we do not have but thanks to Internet I have the same opportunities as many of the teachers who live in big cities. I have had the opportunity to graduate as a translator, attend a lot of interesting courses at different virtual campuses such as Iearn, Educar, etc, which have been useful for my classes and the most important thing is that I have met a lot of teachers, who have taught me a lot and I consider them friends, but we have not met in the flesh yeat!!!
Regards,
Juan Domingo
As they say in one of the course materials, Juan Domingo, "distance" has been questioned as a concept with the emergence of new technologies. Sharing this experience, I'm bound to be as close to you, down in the south-west of Argentina and to Mariana, up in my north-east (even another country) as to Marina, who lives only about twenty minutes from me! And I can tell you I'll be a lot more "distant" than this from several colleagues I'm currently working with! :-P
ReplyDeleteBig hug,
Gladys
@ Hala: thanks a lot for the support, dear cyberfriend. You're always close in my heart, you know!
ReplyDeleteGladys
You are right!!! but it is strange I have made great friends via e-mail. but before meeting this new world I used to send letters to different people all over Argentina. I met only one and we are very good friends, I met that friend in the flesh after 10 years of sending each other letters!!! It was an excellent experience spending a summer in his house!!!
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Juan
Hi Hala,
ReplyDeleteHow are you doing?
Regards from Argentina,
Juan Domingo
Dear Gladys,
ReplyDeleteIt`s really hard to study with small childern but since I had my both daughters I never stopped studying. I still survive!!!
All the best in this new journey you are starting.
A big cyber hug
Jennifer
You are really lucky that you are not alone!!!!
Dear Gladys and your cyber-peers,
ReplyDeleteTo learn long life is very common for this century. I am happy for you, your new feelings and approaches. You will do that easily, I am sure. You are a real rock! We'll be missing you and at the same time will be close to you in this e-space. Stay happy and the best of luck!
{{{{{{BIG HUG}}}}}}
Nina
Hi, Gladys,
ReplyDeleteOnly 10 minutes one from the other but we have been meeting only online for a year or so!!! I'm glad you have decided to try. The virtual world is what we, mothers of young kids, need, as Jennifer says. A degree in technology is something I'd like to have one day and this seems to be really good. I have been going through different possibilities and this sounds interesting but right now I am still doing my degree on education so technology will have to wait a bit.
I wish you the best and I'm sure you will succeed and all of us will benefit because apart from being a social learner you are a social teacher!!!
Love,
Silvana
@ Jenny and Silvana: my claps to you two, studying mothers!!! I'm really doubtful about my chances to perform this role, I'm positive I couldn'd have done it when my kids were more little... but I've been really looking forward to this day, and now I feel I do stand a chance!
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Silvana! Real distance does not mean much these days... Glad we can at least keep in touch via this blog!
Thanks everyone for the support! (Nina: I'll remember your words, and, whatever comes, "stay happy!)
@->-- (a cyber-rose for each of you, sweet ladies!)
Gladys