Off to the Wild, Wild West

Yes I know its been a while. I have no-one to blame but myself.

I will be starting the MA in Learning and Technology at Royal Roads University starting in early August. Needless to say, I'm excited about the whole thing, despite the sheer blunt force impact it will doubless have upon life, work, family, etc.

A strange feeling is coming over me as I head back to the land of serious academia for the first time in over 15 years. Granted, its not as though I haven't been in classes of any kind over that time, but the full-time, long-term pursuit of something other than a class completion certificate is daunting and exhilarating, all at the same time. OISE is largely to blame credit for my desire to get back into a real 'learning' mode. While I was there, I really got the 'school bug'; which is somewhat surprising considering my somewhat laissez-faire attitude while I was in University the first time around.

On the personal side, I see this program as somewhat making up for my long-incomplete undergrad. On the professional side, its a way for me to advance with a real credential in hand. I'm really just about as high up as I can go with my hard-won 'nuts and bolts' experience and achievements.

I really wanted a different way to manage notes and references and, more importantly, the relationships and links between them, So I'm adding a couple of elements to the process.

• First, I'll be more active on this blog. I'll be recording class and program-specific thoughts and experiences.
• Second, I've established a Learning Wiki. I'll do some experimentation with the Wiki concept with my own readings and writings. I have also set up a little 'Learning Landscape' through Elgg.

I have to say, to the second point, that this PBWiki is a neat little tool so far. ("PB" referring to "Peanut Butter", as in, "it should be as easy to make a Wiki as making a Peanut Butter Sandwich.") Many thanks to Mark Federman - via Google - for the pointer.

Elgg also offers, at first blush, some very interesting possbilities for connections, social networking, and the learning opportunities therein.

So there's the latest. My first two texts have arrived and I'm diving headfirst into the first one. ("Making Sense of Adult Learning" - Dorothy MacKeracher)

Only four and a half weeks until I'm off to Victoria!

Technorati tags: e-learning, Royal Roads, PBWiki, Personal Learning Landscape, Elgg