change11

MOOC a heaven for introverts #change11

jaapsoft26 Comments

I am an introvert. And I think a MOOC is very special, because no struggle is needed for rest and solitude in a MOOC. In a classroom or in a F2F teaching environment those noisy extraverts prevent a real human from learning. In a MOOC one could learn in ones own time and pace, without disturbances. In a F2F situation one is forced to listen to exclamations of other people, and think about these messages. In a MOOC one can think ones own stupid thoughts without bothering. In a MOOC one at once could go out for a thinking walk, chewing over a thought and no one is claiming your attention for social talk.
This week I did read about two books on introvertism. Do not believe that these authors are introverts themselves, introverts don’t write books about that.

By the way, it is not certain if introverts do exist. “Introvert” is a label. Labels are dangerous, because labels do not explain anything, and people tend to think labels are explanations.

BTW2 http://maryannreilly.blogspot.com/2012/01/5-things-i-want-my-teacher-to-know.html Do you think she is an introvert?

26 thoughts on “MOOC a heaven for introverts #change11”

  1. Hi Japp,

    I approve every word of your post and I like choise of the image.
    Is it a hyper- connected hermit?

    I Know the situation.

    🙂

  2. Thanks so much for this, Jaap! Few introverts publicly state what it’s like to be fully participatory in our own ways of learning/working, which can appear so different from the ‘obvious’ participation or contributions of an extravert. I will ponder our shared introvertism (is this a word?) on my next walk. 🙂

  3. Hi Serena, it is the hermit from Tarot. A search on this Tarot card: He is for inner growth and other fine aspects of life. :-

  5. Loved every bit of your post. I do feel there are clear differences in the way certain folks process information and react in social settings, but like you, I’m not sure the labels we use are correct or adequate. For lack of a better description, though, I do consider myself a fairly extreme introvert, and this MOOC has been a nice way for me to become exposed to many different ideas and people, without the “people pressure”.

  6. Your description of why you prefer learning in on online environment highlights how effective open learning with a community of learners can be! The words you use ‘learn at ones own time and pace’, ‘chewing over a thought’ and ‘go out for a thinking walk’ are awesome because they demonstrate how learning really happens. Love it!

  7. I think of myself as an introvert, too, but I tend to enter into symbiotic relationships with extroverts who generate a social life and help me make professional contacts. Myers-Briggs might have no more basis than astrology (which is also full of psychologically compelling tropes), but it works for me. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to make my f2f strategy work in an online world. Rather than enjoying an anonymous swim in the ocean of MOOC, I’m wishing a speedboat would pick me up.

  10. Saying things out loud sometimes isn’t meant for others to comment on. Your brain might need to take an idea out for a walk, give it some air, stand back and just admire how smart that idea is. But it is still your idea, you two are still deeply in love and others stay out of it. Anyway, if things turn sour who wants to explain, relive the separation, have to issue a retraction?

    There’s something vital to the generation of ideas that causes us, as Teresa says, “to write stupid things.” Like sticking your arm in the tiger’s cage–impossible to resist. Why is that? According to the web site here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/ The Hermit is the Fool later in life returning to see things missed the first time through.

    “With all his worldly possessions in one small pack, the Fool travels he knows not where. So filled with visions, questions, wonder and excitement is he, that he doesn’t see the cliff he is likely to fall over. At his heel a small dog harries him (or tries to warn him of a possible mis-step). Will the Fool learn to pay attention to where he’s going before it’s too late?”

    A poet is an extrovert, private, a show-off and awful at committee work.

  13. Scott and Jaap
    I think about what I wrote about things “stupid”.
    Do not think they’re stupid but can someone believe they are.

    my learning style Mooca and give freedom to me comes to mind. What I know, what I learn and remember.

  14. Hi Teresa,

    Looked up “stupid” in the Merriam Webster Dictionary. The origin of the word is from a combination of terms meaning “to be numb” and “to be astonished.” To be astonished is: “to be stricken by sudden and great wonder.”

    Scott

  16. 🙂 uau! “To be astonished is: “to be stricken by sudden and great wonder.”

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