A common saying that I think applies here is "You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?". We have been talking and talking about online learning, virtual schools, flipping the classroom and many other variations of distance education. Well this class forced us to "walk the walk" as we were asked to sit behind the wheel of Blackboard Collaborate and emulate a walk through of an online lesson. Even though I felt the first 4 weeks of this program prepared me for the role reversal...it didn't. There is no better way of learning how to do something than just doing it. I'm not saying it wasn't a positive experience, because it was. I'm just saying that it felt more like a Chris Berman announced segment where a big lineman picks up the football and he says "Rumblin, Bumblin, Stumblin!!". Even though I felt prepared it turns out that the shared whiteboard within BC didn't accept JPG pictures and that threw me for a loop. When I make a mistake in the regular classroom I have several options that make it have less of a negative impact on the lesson. When you make a mistake in a live online lesson it creates that awkward silence where 10 seconds seems like an eternity of embarrassment. I am fully confident that it would get easier with more practice but it was an eye opening experience. It makes me feel sorry for the online teachers we have had when no one talks or raises their hand. :-)
A year ago I would've said that the mixed classroom was on the horizon but we had a ways to go. Over the past year I think things have progressed with such a sense of urgency to change the structure of the classroom that I would say online learning is here...spread the word.
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