Labor Pains

This is another entry regarding the student-driven hybrid fiction course I’m piloting at the moment that is testing both my notions of teaching and my students’ understanding of how the classroom is supposed to look. From time to time, I’ll reflect here on what I’m learning along the way.

I spent a large chunk of last year designing the hybrid fiction class I’m piloting this term. 

How much? Well, taking into account the 15 month May to August gestation period. I calculate that I spent more than 350 hours on the process from inception to the beginning of the current semester. That time includes researching network theory, collaborative learning design, LMS and technology experimentation, meetings with training staff and colleagues, reading, shooting video lectures for YouTube, and of course writing all of the components of the class into a set of digital storehouses.

But more on that writing process. I totaled the word count from all of the files I created for the class to work: all the explanations, assignments, modules, syllabus, and transcripts. The grand total? 65,428 words.

And that doesn’t take into account the scores of emails I wrote to anyone involved in the process from the provost to the people outside of education I used as sounding boards for some of the crazier ideas I had. There were also conversations about the class I haven’t included in the hour count above as they were informally connected to the work I was doing.

So, what’s the net-net out of this situation?

There's a good reason I haven't gotten much done on my current novel project. I used up all the words and time and creativity I had for it on this class.