Throughout this semester I have been teaching myself to surf using online resources. I was initially skeptical that I would be able to teach myself something of a non-digital nature using only online resources but surprised at how much help I found. Before I hit the water waves for the first time I looked up a lot of video’s and guides on the fundamentals of surfing and technique. I was by no means an expert my first try but I was able to focus my learning and practice specific skills which I believe helped me learn faster.
Each time I went surfing I identified a new problem that i would find a solution to at home. The first problem I found was how to hook up temporary racks to your car. When I got home I looked it up online, found instructions on how to gain maximum security make sure you don’t lose your board before you even get to the beach. Another major problem I encountered was the etiquette of surfing, what rules to follow to keep everyone safe and to not piss anyone off. It seemed confusing while surfing but looking up video’s and examples at home I realized they are fairly simple and will keep everybody safe and happy.
One area of the project I struggled with was establishing or joining an online community. While learning to surf I sought out several friends whom I knew already knew how to surf and went with them. They were able to give me advice as well as make the experience more fun, establishing a community of surfers locally was easy. Establishing an online community was much more difficult, I was unable to find a community about learning to surf. The best I could find were communities where surfers came and posted pictures and stories of their experiences, usually not about learning. These communities were still valuable and it was great to see others sharing their passion, I just could not find anything related specifically to learning.
Overall, I was amazed by this project and how much someone can learn using only online resources. I could see this not only in my own project but in the projects of all my peers who learned to do some pretty amazing things all online. My generation started to get really involved with technology in the middle to high school era, I didn’t get a phone or an email address until high school, and even in high school did not get really involved with technology. My first major learning experience with technology came through water polo. In high school I began watching videos of techniques and plays that I needed to work on. At the time I didn’t think about how powerful it was that I could go online and teach myself water polo as a supplement to practice.
Students in our classrooms today are coming to us with more technology skills than any generation before them. They have the resources and the skills to teach themselves anything they want to know, all we have to do is provide them with the motivation and point them in the right direction.
Each time I went surfing I identified a new problem that i would find a solution to at home. The first problem I found was how to hook up temporary racks to your car. When I got home I looked it up online, found instructions on how to gain maximum security make sure you don’t lose your board before you even get to the beach. Another major problem I encountered was the etiquette of surfing, what rules to follow to keep everyone safe and to not piss anyone off. It seemed confusing while surfing but looking up video’s and examples at home I realized they are fairly simple and will keep everybody safe and happy.
One area of the project I struggled with was establishing or joining an online community. While learning to surf I sought out several friends whom I knew already knew how to surf and went with them. They were able to give me advice as well as make the experience more fun, establishing a community of surfers locally was easy. Establishing an online community was much more difficult, I was unable to find a community about learning to surf. The best I could find were communities where surfers came and posted pictures and stories of their experiences, usually not about learning. These communities were still valuable and it was great to see others sharing their passion, I just could not find anything related specifically to learning.
Overall, I was amazed by this project and how much someone can learn using only online resources. I could see this not only in my own project but in the projects of all my peers who learned to do some pretty amazing things all online. My generation started to get really involved with technology in the middle to high school era, I didn’t get a phone or an email address until high school, and even in high school did not get really involved with technology. My first major learning experience with technology came through water polo. In high school I began watching videos of techniques and plays that I needed to work on. At the time I didn’t think about how powerful it was that I could go online and teach myself water polo as a supplement to practice.
Students in our classrooms today are coming to us with more technology skills than any generation before them. They have the resources and the skills to teach themselves anything they want to know, all we have to do is provide them with the motivation and point them in the right direction.