~Thoughts~
Uncertainty/ fear of unknown is always present when you step out of your comfort zone. But how can we overcome this?
Building a rapport/ relationship somewhat helps to overcome this fear and settle into the new environment.
Communication is an important factor in enhancing relationship and communication does not just mean talking. Those subtle touch/ movement that was presented in the video demonstrated the importance of communication.
Another essential component is adaptation which is essential for survival. Either you struggle to adapt or you ease into the new phase.
So what does it has to do with Open Education/ Openness?
The Pandemic forces educators to move out of their comfort zone and start socializing in the digital world. Some may not be comfortable to use digital tools in their teaching and have concerns about sharing their teaching materials/ articles digitally. The fear of being evaluated by others or negative comments may put them off from sharing. I felt that there is a need to establish a ‘relationship’ with the tools by learning how to use and trusting that the tools will help in achieving what they set out to achieve. Taking own initiatives and learn to adapt into the new world and close up the gap between educators and students of the 21st century who are digital savvy. Let us start taking baby steps out into the open world digitally and start leaving footprints. Do not forget active participation drives learning and it does not just apply to the students but also educators. Get into each other’s world and start learning.
Sharing and receiving information online is another huge area in academic education. I am a junior educator and may not be producing papers or seeking for publications now but this knowledge of sharing does not just meant to be that. Often we share resources/ materials with our colleagues and this is the beginning of openness to me. How and what are we sharing? Do we verify the resources/ information we received? Additionally, I am also looking at resources online and how do I go about determining if this resource/ information is reliable? The word ‘Metadata’ was something new to me that was brought up during the lecture. I did not know that there is such a thing that I can and have to look at before determining if the resource is reliable. Glad to learn it and apply in my day-to-day work.
Educators need to know about the open system and ‘what’s out there’ in order to be comfortable and trust that it will do what it is set to do (legally). So, how much do we know about sharing digitally?
Let this be the start of the sharing journey in the digital world ^^
References
Bates, A.W. (2019). Teaching in a Digital Age – Second Edition. Vancouver, B.C.: Tony Bates
Associates Ltd. Retrieved from https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/teachinginadigitalagev2/
De Gagne, J. C. and McGill, B. A. (2010) Ethical and Legal Issues in Online Education. Journal of eLearning and Online Teaching, 1(7), pp 2-13