Too much of a good thing?

I realise with some sense of responsibility that if one does a google search on 'OU H800' then all our reflective blogs are listed, for the world to read about our experiences on this first iteration of the course. Plus someone might pop in and point out that with my Road to Hell lyrics, I just used a pic of the A34. Wasn't that supposed to be the M25? Well the pic communicated my feelings about bandwidth problems, and yes the A34 does happen to be pretty high up on my list of roads to hell.

We have been discussing in our forums the Michael Wesch video 'A Vision of Students Today' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

Students spending hours and hours online each day? Dis-engaged, facebooking through most of their classes, bringing their laptops but not working on class stuff? Isn't that because they have abundant, cheap bandwidth available? Perhaps too much of a good thing. Maybe being on the wrong side of a bandwidth issue does have some merits for our kids .....

Technological breakdown

This ain't no technological breakdown

Oh no, this is the road to hell....

You may have spotted I haven't been very reflective lately. When one does a completely online course, one has to rely on one's technology. It's critical to the course. If it doesn't want to play, then it truly is the road to hell. My poor PC has been going slower and slower and s-l-o-w-e-r and s--l--o--w--e----------r. On top of that, the international bandwidth from SA is really not what it should be. We have started doing speed tests and generally get a fraction of what we pay for. When it takes 40 minutes to load a 5 minute video you feel like you are in a monstrous traffic jam. And we have the highest bandwidth available in SA. I don't regret the experience though. It just brings into such sharp relief the bandwidth problems faced by most of Africa - not enough and too expensive.

Enter Alan, my trusty tutor group member on Twitter, suggesting Google Chrome as a faster browser and helping me out with it. Wow, what a speed difference. Our speed tests tell us we are generally getting about 3 times faster access, which is an enormous help. Same videos loaded in 3 minutes - felt like someone had opened up a new highway lane just for us. Thanks, Alan !!!!

Meanwhile found third PC problem - with my LCD screen. Have abandoned the PC and gone onto the laptop, usually the family games machine.......now getting time to enjoy being creative again.......

Two Blogs for different purposes

I have decided to go ahead with both my blogs for the time being - and just to be awkward, to use the OU one (only visible to other OU users) for my answers to the activities, and this Blogger one (visible to the public) for exactly what I say in my title - a reflective diary of my learning experiences. Whether this proves to be a workable format, time will tell, but so far Blogger seems like 'fun', with the ability to put include photos etc, and the OU one more utilitarian and feeling like 'work'. I don't want to mess up my fun anything goes space with activity answers but I may change that in the future!!

A Huge Morale Boost

OK OK OK so I wasn't back 'next week' it kind of got swallowed up with school hols, two SA public holiday weekends and having an awful lot to post about on Week 11. How can they put quality stuff and the digital divide in one week? :-) I care about both of these so much so I have to put my bit in again, even though I was actually planning to do a bit more real life. I'm all forumed out and very glad there isn't much of that this week. Are forums a waste of time and unproductive - or does the time that you spend on them yield rich rewards? As I said in Elluminate tonght, I don't think they've designed in sufficient time for both forums and activities on the course. It certainly doesn't feel like it; and it's a significant part of my learner experience. Talking of which, what a wonderful fabbo morale booster to be talking on Elluminate in the when-everyone-has-nearly-gone post session discussion. Loved it. Just to be talking, sharing and empathising about how tough we are finding it - and to see that others have exactly the same problems as yourself is sooooo heartening.

No pics of crocs and hippos yet, I know I said I would. Blogging to me is fun and the activities and forums have to come first. I shelved the fun part last week. Back soon......

A Big Day

Well it's the SA General Elections and UK Budget Day! Must admit I haven't looked at the news today but not sure which of these two is the most scary. Perhaps even scarier is not getting very far with Week 10 even though it's all looking such fun.....I have had major time consuming problems with Delicious and we are going to try re-installing my IE.

Isn't a major aspect of learner experience (about which we have to write for TMA02) surely the time pressure in trying to complete activities in the required timescale in amongst all one's other commitments? It seems a major pre-occupation of most H800'ers. Although having just read John's latest blog post, it seems he keeps up admirably by slotting things in short timeslots every day - how do you do that John?!! You must have a knack built up from many of years of OU-ing. I still feel on the starting blocks especially when things go wrong as they have done for me this week with Delicious.

Also such a big day as it's Earth Day and the very last day that my son is in single figures - 10 tomorrow. When they grow up you have to mourn their previous stages don't you.....

Off now for long weekend in South Africa. Will be back next week.

Hi all

Here comes my first blog entry (now in Blogger). Been meaning to try this for a while. I took the break week last week, exhaustion setting in, and am short of time this week, so jumping around activities and doing this now. Seems like a relaxing thing to do.

I think my blogs will initially be of the catharsis / personal journal type. Later it might be about sharing H800 ideas but why not do that in a forum or our Cafe? I've yet to experience the benefits of blogs beyond reading others' opinions, and am really interested to see what everyone else chooses to write about...

H800 break week?
Well as I said, I took it. My experience of H800 so far is exciting, exhilarating, providing loads of brain fodder which I can apply to my work, and a real big struggle to get the time to 'get the maximum' out. One of the questions posed in Week 10 is 'why pay a university for your learning' - well I have lots of views about that, and since I have paid myself and at an overseas rate - well I want to squeeze as much value out as I possibly can! However mutual opinion appears to agree that this course is really heavy on activities, and getting the most out means too many late nights and a big need to de-tox for a few days.

Virtual identities and the Wii
We have been doing lots of action research (literally speaking) in the week off. My son is going to be 10 on Thursday and we gave him his early birthday present of a Wii to play with in the holiday time. It was followed by a wide screen TV at the weekend and we are in a whole new world. Interesting about virtual identities (as per Bayne paper); it's fascinating how he is now able to be a champion boxer, boy can he beat the you know what out of some of his opponents, but wouldn't last 5 seconds in normal boxing ring, he's just too small !! He says thank goodness I can't feel it Mum! He loves the tennis and the bowling (but finds a normal 10 pin bowl rather heavy to get enough speed).

The Wii is amazingly social and great fun. At first we were sceptical but we've been bowled over (excuse pun).

What next this week?
So I have to try and fit in this whole week in 2-3 days. Tomorrow (Weds) is the general election in South Africa and a public holiday. Then there's a long weekend (Freedom Day) and we are travelling up to the Sabi River near the Kruger Park to go hippo watching. Will post some pics when we return. SA has lots of challenges as a place to live, but hippos are definitely on the plus side.

That's all for now. As I put in a quote in the cafe, it feels good to write and get it all out...