Well, I decided I would take part in the chat room event held on the evening of 14th November at 8.30pm for an hour. The subject was something close to my heart – how to be an effective practitioner, I am currently studying for my L&D Practitioner Certificate. I have never entered in to a chat room before (really, never!) so I thought “why not, it will be different” and it was.
I had no idea how it worked but with Mike’s guidance, I logged on, entered the chat room and once we started found myself getting really involved. I thought at first I would sit back and just read the chat that was going on, observe and learn that way, but within seconds of the first question being posted, I was in there, adding my thoughts and responding to others comments too.
It didn’t feel like learning, it was great, so interactive and immediate. I felt enthused and quite excited by it all. It was so good to chat with like-minded people and proved really thought provoking.
Mike hosted the chat and posted his questions to really get us all thinking plus we had a few funnies along the way which kept it all flowing. We didn’t get through all of the questions as the chat really took off on each one posted so I can’t wait for the next one and hope it will be soon (there’s a hint there Mike!). I will definitely be signing up straight away and would encourage anyone else to do the same. If you haven’t been involved in one before, there is nothing to worry about, you simply log on and take part as much or as little as you like, it’s so simple. The benefit is that you get a more collaborative learning experience, it’s very different from the class room or anything else for that matter as it’s live, the chat evolves, it lives and it breaths and it’s great fun, we all had a lol at some point!
Hope to chat with more of you soon at the next event. If you would like to know more, head to the Huntingdon Level 3 group and post me a comment.
Comments
It is great that you benefited so much from this, thanks also for your honesty in this blog.
We are now planning a schedule of on line chats which revolve around the LDP programme's content which will add to the great learning you gain in the workshops. So look out for the invites from Mike!
Here's me for example multi tasking on a Saturday morning catching up on the latest DPG community action whilst watching the cricket on Sky Sports. And still learning.
Hi Stephanie
Thanks so much for sharing this. There are so many things in this post that make me smile and nod in agreement. Firstly thanks for being involved and being open to trying something different, as we discussed in the chat one of the key behaviours that a lot of us agreed with was being curious. Being curious about how things work and this is a great example of where you were curious, did something a bit different and really enjoyed a new experience as a result.
Not only enjoyed the experience but you've also clearly benefited from what was a thought provoking discussion with like-minded individuals. For me this is a great example of this community adding value by getting people together to talk about something we're passionate about and sharing ideas and thoughts. Yes we use technology to do this but it still felt personal, human and whilst we lose the face to face / body language interaction we can still communicate very effectively. Plus it's CPD.....win win.
It's interesting your comments that it didn't feel like learning, we are so used to learning being associated with the training (class) room that it does feel different but the benefit of the the chat as you quite rightly describe is that you can participate as little as much as you like, reflect, respond, build on and develop ideas in a way that is relaxed and friendly. The way in which learning opportunities can be facilitated has changed dramatically with using social technologies - no longer can learning professionals 'just' think about learning in a traditional sense and only 'classroom' approaches.
It's collaborative learning and if others take your lead (of course thank-you's go to the others who joined the chat) then I think these chats will become hugely valuable and an opportunity for community members to come together and share what they've learned, developing their experience and exchanging new ideas.
"It's learning Jim, but not as we know it"
Let's continue to challenge what 'learning' is and what 'learning' looks like. I look forward to our next chat and I hope this blog encourages others to get involved.
Be great to hear from others and what they thought of the experience as well :-)