The Online Learning Experience (OLE)

In my last post, I invited you all (both of you?) to follow and learn along with two online summer courses taking place right now.

Today, I’m inviting you to learn and follow along with our signature faculty development initiative. The Online Learning Experience. It’s online learning for online learning. Nearly two dozen VCU faculty members have committed themselves to a summer of learning to facilitate learning online. And, in the spirit of “Connected Learning for a Networked World” (VCU ALT Lab’s tagline), everything is openly networked. The course site is public and serves as a syllabus, a blog aggregation hub, and an information source. Each participating faculty member will have their own blog and Twitter account.

Because other obligations were keeping me from doing my best job leading OLE and because he’s awesome, I turned over leadership of OLE to Tom Woodward about 6 weeks ago. With grace, professionalism and speed, Tom whipped the experience into the shape it’s in now. Tom does a nice job explaining some of the thinking behind the design of OLE in his last blog post.

This is not just online learning for online learning; it is a model of connected learning. This is us practicing what we preach.

I hereby encourage you all to follow along and participate in part or in whole. There are in-depth, required small-group activities as well as voluntary “makes,” which may be an easy way to play along.

Also, follow the posts in the Blog Hub.

Follow the #vcualtlab hashtag.

Subscribe to the Twitter list of OLE participants.

Have fun with us!