In my Online Teaching Online Course, I had an interesting thing happen last week. It was something totally unexpected. We were in the middle of our second module, which was extended to 2 weeks long due to Spring Break. I completed all the readings, postings, assignments and module assessment so I knew I was done for the week. I watched the weekly announcement reviewing the content for the week so I knew I was done. I even check in with the facilitator to make sure I wasn't missing anything. It was great to know I was done, could take a few days to enjoy Spring Break with the family, yet as each day went by I kept getting this nagging feeling in the back of my mind I needed to 'check in' with the course, read more in the text (which I am enjoying), just do something.
It was hard for me not to feel like I was missing out or missing something, I think I couldn't completely accept being 'done' for the week. I tend to get that feeling when I'm facilitating the online course since even when we are off I check in daily to make sure there are no student concerns. Maybe it's a carry over from that, but I thought as a student I could completely walk away for a few days when all the work was completed. Not sure what that means for my design and facilitation in the future? Just an interesting side note for me.
Oh wow, So I, who have yet to really start should really be worried ! :)
ReplyDeleteI am so far behind i can't even see the caboose on the tracks. Partly because i took some time out for family by watching my son's 15 month old twin daughters while they welcomed a son. It was so much fun. I read stories, cut strawberries and even went to bed early. I did not really miss my computer for those 4 days. What i realized when I got back to my adult life is I hardly ever get disconnected and it was a really healthy thing to do.I hope the suffering in catching up won't be too bad.
Agreed, we all need to unplug frequently. Trying to make it at least one day a week....I'll let you know how it goes!
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