My First Online Learning Experience! PART ONE
My first online learning experience was wonderful! It started the spring of 2004 right after I quit my tenured teaching position that I had held for over 12 years. I was burned out after 24 years of university teaching, fed up with the whole gig and I knew I had to find a new direction for my life. I knew if I didn’t, I would not survive. I knew if I didn’t, I would lose my soul and would never find my way back. But like the Chambered Nautilus, I moved forward hopefully to a better understanding about my decision to leave my position and with faith that something better was in store for me.
So what does a burned out 50 year old university professor do? You got it! Go back to school! School was all I knew! I had been in school or teaching school most of my life. It was the place I felt comfortable. I knew the rules. I could do this. I knew the territory. But this time I was going to try online learning– a totally new and unknown experience for me at that time. I had developed and taught online classes before using Blackboard 4.0 and I was intrigued by the potential of this new technology. Yet, I had never taken an online class myself. At those early, beginning stages, I had no idea how this was going to transform the way I thought about teaching, learning, life and my place in the world. I had no idea how it was going to change me forever. I had no idea how it would lead me to a new, more fulfilling career and purpose. STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO!
