Welcome to my first blog post, the first of many in our new world of what we call “Normal”

As I start my day from my new makeshift home office, where I have kids arguing, a dog barking and the constant need for structure. I find I am consistently asking myself the same question over and over is this my new normal?  Will I ever get to go back to face to face lectures? or tuck myself away in my office on campus? 

This past week MALAT symposium, has been nothing short of extraordinary, the amount of talent and information that was shared thought out the week is something that I would never have learned from my own work or reading in a textbook. 

When I decided to start my journey in the MALAT program, my intention was to gather knowledge, learn how to flip curriculum online and start using it in approximately two years.  I would never have thought that after my week of participating in the MALAT symposium of 2020, that I would be able to take what have I learned during the week and bring it into my new normal of online lectures.

Dr. LaBontes’ talk on “Remote Teaching or Online Learning? K-12 Schooling in a Pandemic World” came at a time of need especially for myself, as I learn to adapt to my new normal. Even though I teach at a postsecondary institute;  his talk gave me some food for thought. His statement  that “social , physical and  emotional connections are critical for learning and the biggest issue we are facing today”(LaBonte 2020) . This resonated with myself; as I do feel that my connection with my students has drastically changed over the past four weeks. Today I ventured into uncharted territory and I reached out to my students via video conferencing to deliver my lecture.  The feedback I got from students was astounding, they felt more of a personal connection and requested that my future lectures are the same format for the remainder of the year. I would encourage anyone to watch Dr. LaBonte ,  his positive attitude and wealth of knowledge regarding our current issues in the digital world, is a huge asset not only in a pragmatical way but also in a new method of pedagogy. 

Having the opportunity to connect with current MALAT students who are collecting data for their thesis research; has also opened up the opportunity to network with other professionals, who have the same challenges and same concerns of navigating our new reality of online learning.  

It has become apparent, that on a daily basis we are more then “Just” educators, oftentimes we have to wear multiple hats in-order to accomplish our personal and professional goals. Melanie Myers talk on “Many Hats: Why Flexibility and an Open Mind Matter” defiantly brings forward many good points on the importance of adjusting to our new reality of digital technology.  Melanie’s discussion brought up some interesting conversation, regarding ID and Learning technologists. It was refreshing to hear Melanie’s honesty regarding her feeling of having “(Covid) related burnout” (Myers 2020). It made me realize  that we are all human and as much as we would like to be a superhero and solve all world problems immediately, it is not humanly  possible. We need to take a step back reflect and realize that with all problems come solutions, we just have to find the solution that fits.

After this past weeks symposium, it has defiantly given me a new outlook on the digital learning world, and has given me a new perspective on what I can incorporate into my everyday life as a college instructor.

 

 

LaBonte, (2020, April 14). Remote Teaching or Online Learning? K-12 Schooling in a Pandemic World [Webinar]. Royal Roads University. https://bit.ly/2xy9o8XMALATVS

Myers, (2020, April 17). Many Hats: Why Flexibility and an Open Mind Matter [Webinar]. Royal Roads University. https://bit.ly/3ctqJ1GMALATVS