I have been thinking of doing some kind of formal course again but I would not be officially accepted at the university here in Brazil because I would need to sit the entrance exam again, which I find ridiculous. I sat it in 1970 for Social and Political Sciences (at that time my interest was Anthropology - still is) but as I did not finish the course, I am required to do it again.

Now what is paradoxical is that I was allowed to do the 2 last years of graduate studies in English Language and Literature (as I could speak/understand/write the language better than some of my professors, I was exempted of the first two years which are, in Brazil, basically learning the language). Although I graduated with honours (ten out of ten in linguistics) and I am allowed to teach at secondary school, I  cannot postulate for a masters or a PhD (well, I could eventually, as a listener,  but would not receive accreditation or have my papers commented). Instead of sitting some kind of GRE,  I would need to sit the entrance exam and do the 4 college years, a rule I refuse to comply with - even though it has already caused me unpleasant situations.

This kind of system, the bureaucracy which blocks participation (nobody is responsible for it - nobody can do anything about it, nobody can solve this), and the multiple barriers to learning and access to knowledge are the main reasons I am observing with much interest the wave of change brought by ICTs towards openness, deobstructing the pipes and making the energy, exchanges and communication flow. The connectivism course will be an interesting experiment and experience in architectures of participation and how people organize themselves to make this happen.

1. address the questions about value points in education and the role of learners and faculty in large scale open courses
2. model alternatives to existing course design and delivery models. These alternatives are defined by openness, innovation, active participation, connectedness, and learner autonomy.
3. expound connectivism as a learning theory and provide a forum for critical thought, debate, and consideration of future steps in research and implementation.

Although it has not yet been officially launched, participants have already started making connections, coordinating efforts and suggesting how to foster interaction with others on ways to improve delivery. How?

• by volunteering translation services. The course site is being translated into Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese;
• by using tools to coordinate and organize local f2f meetups in other languages;
• by opening parallel google lists and interacting in communities of practice to reach their specific groups or areas of interest;
• by opening spaces (like this one) to discuss connectivism and ideas that emerge from the course from the perspective of their own field of practice, cultural and organizational contexts;
  
• by suggesting tags to narrow and filter the content.

What tools will you be using to organize yourself and how will they serve you? Why have you enrolled and how are you planning to go about the course? Besides the kitchen talk here, are you already participating or planning to do so in other events linked to the course (local meetups in your native language, translation, etc)?

Maryanne

I have been online since 1997,  involved in collaborative projects with my classes and more recently, organizing professional development workshops/courses for teachers using open and social media tools and platforms. I am a member of a number of national and international communities of practice, coordinate the EduTech SIG for BrazTesol and co-run Dekita.org, whose aim is to showcase, highlight, discuss and promote open and participatory uses of the Web in ELT.

I'd like to welcome you to one such moment in the Dekita kitchen and hope you will enjoy preparing and sharing the meal :-)