I love this! As with all of these Web 2.0 tools, I find that I'm not crazy about them at first. They seem overwhelming to me, and not 'intuitive'. But after working with them for awhile, I begin to figure things out. While it is frustrating at times, I know that the "construction" of understanding I am engaging in is going to serve me much better than if I was provided step-by-step directions that I could follow and "memorize". It's reminding me of the teachers we work with who always lament that their students want everything spoon-fed to them- that they don't want to think on their own! It would be much easier for me (and I'm guessing for all of us in this class) to follow very clear directions in setting up these accounts, registering, subscribing, posting, etc. but the "mucking around" that we are doing is causing a much deeper understanding of how the tools work, and how they might be used. I've had many "aha moments" that I never would have had if I had been following a detailed 'script'.
As I've learned each of these tools, I've found myself spending way more time with them than I would have needed to in order to fulfill the requirements for this course! Once I get past the initial confusion on each tool, I find myself highly motivated to keep working with it. Once I get the basics down- even if it takes me a looooong time, I'm so pumped that I want to stick with it, to figure out some of the bells and whistles!
One of the "lenses" through which I view the world- is motivation theory. When I think about how I've organized the elements of human motivation (CLICCCK), this course is incorporating every one of them:
C: Chance for Success (challenging, but not outside of my grasp, and much support)
L: Level of Concern (appropriate level- accountability, authentic audience)
I: Intrinsic Motivation (the task itself is the reward)
C: Content (meaningful and relevant to my work and to my personal life)
C: Collaboration (forums, blogs)
C: Choice (I get to decide how each tool can be most useful to ME)
K: Knowledge of Results (great feedback from class members, grades posted)
No wonder I'm motivated!
Regarding Diigo- I'm excited to have a great list of bookmarked sites! I'll definitely be adding to this!
I totally agree that we learn more deeply and remember when we "muck about" to acquire skills/knowledge. I remember taking courses on software in which we followed step-by-step instructions in a workbook. By the time I got home each day I had no idea how to duplicate what I had done in class because I didn't learn it!
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