Another Academic year, another rich menu of MOOCs from which to choose.  Pedagogy First is offering the Program for Online Teaching again.  I heard Lisa Lane tell about it (in a hangout with Jeff Lebow, I think) some time ago.   Somewhere between the connectivist cMOOK and content-centric xMOOC, Lisa describes it as “task based” and a “sMOOC” (for small MOOC).  Thanks to Stephen Downes’ OLDaily, POT came to my attention again at just the right time.

I “fell” into online teaching when learners in other communities asked if they could join our T???cho? Language classes last winter.  Blending local f2f learners with online participants presents unique challenges.  I muddled along, trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel by cobbling together Skype, trial subscriptions to Blackboard Collaborate, email lists, and my Moodle installation.  To my surprise, it was considered a success, and I’ve been asked to repeat it this year.  My fledgling online teaching experience should give me hooks where I can hang new learning from POT.  And, while not safe-as-in-sandbox, my language class will be my proving ground.  They will judge whether my pedagogy improves as I journey through this sMOOC.