Being able to join this opportunity has been rewarding and rekindled my passion about and orientation around the mindful partnership between technology and tools any teaching practices.

I started my college journey via an ITV course in 1992 as a non-traditional, first-generation student and it was one of my best classes. For me, “learning online” has always been part of my life, not something “moved to” because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article by Sean Michael Morris reminded me why I love online education so much.

It’s about the power of creating human connection and co-created learning spaces tech and tools can make possible. It’s the interaction it affords that I love, as Morris says: “relationships between teachers and students” as primary vs. “delivery of instruction.” Kind of like how the tech in this opportunity became nearly invisible and opened up space for us to explore together :).

Based on other people’s posts and readings in this module, one thing I want to expand in my teaching are more choice activities that expand opportunities for interaction in ways that value student preference for “showing up” and sharing and avoids, as much as possible, tech that is simply seen as cost-saving or data mining solutions. Not everything can or should be tracked when it comes to teaching and learning with technology.

I think the ability to stay connected to the work done in this and past/future cohorts is really important for ongoing reflection and community building. So appreciate to you all and PSU for this opportunity! – Julie