CLMOOC 2016: It’s All About Connections

Yesterday was the first official day of the 2016 edition of Making Learning Connected MOOC (or, CLMOOC) and the call for introductions (you can dip in, swim in or dive in) has already led to many people reaching out to connect. The themes of this short MOOC — just three Make Cycles and one Rest Cycle — are Cultivating Connections, Reciprocating Connections and Celebrating Connections.

Please come join us. The entry points are designed to meet your comfort levels, and you are welcome to observe from afar, if that works for you. Whatever your level of participation … is the perfect level of participation. You can get more information at the CLMOOC website, which includes a place to sign up for news.

I’m going to step up to the soapbox here …

Look at the headlines of the newspaper. Watch the news. If ever there was a need for more deeper connections and better understanding of each other, and our different worlds, now is the time. No, the CLMOOC can’t solve race or religion issues, or change socio-economic divisions, or end war and famine and all of the terrible things that seem to consume our energies on the world stage.

But maybe CLMOOC, and other spaces like it, that are built on the ideas of CONNECT can help some of us feel a bit less isolated, a little less alone … maybe we become more part of the World in a meaningful way. Maybe it opens up a path to conversation. Maybe cultivating connections with those outside your normal circles, and reciprocating ideas beyond the easy yet fairly surface instincts of the +1 and the “thumbs up” or the “heart,” and celebrating what makes us diverse while also acknowledging common ground … maybe that is where we start. And if you are an educator, maybe connecting with others in the world is where we remember to value each other, including our students and their families, a little bit more … and bring those ideals back to our classrooms in a new light.

Maybe. There are so many ‘maybes’ in what I wrote. One can be hopeful. One has to be hopeful. I’m trying. You?

… stepping down from the soapbox now.

The first Make Cycle started yesterday and moves throughout the week ahead (with a few live events). There are sharing spaces on Twitter, and on Google Plus, and on Facebook. And probably other spaces, too. Who knows? That’s the beauty of an open networked learning adventure.

And this summer, with the National Writing Project and Educator Innovator working on its Letters to the President 2.0 project (which is definitely worth your time, too), the CLMOOC is being planned and facilitated by a crowd of participants.

I’ve been doing introductions of various flavors over the years with CLMOOC and the act of taking a step back reminds me of how complex our lives are. I tried to capture that idea in this comic that I shared out yesterday.

How will you introduce yourself?

Peace (connect),
Kevin