Saturday, February 19, 2011

An anchor subject for my Open PhD

My poll results are pointing me toward developing a mastery of folk music and dance while also deepening my knowledge around pedagogy, technology and life long learning. And these results are fine with me, as I believe having an anchor subject or activity is a pedagogically solid approach to give my research and activities a subject of interest (an anchor). Therefore, I will be applying what I know in regards to pedagogy, technology and life long learning as I develop a mastery of folk music and dance. I believe it is going to be a fun journey to develop Open Educational Resources within this realm.
 
I really like where all this went. I was forced to think about completion and what it would take. The personal conclusion I drew was that exploring pedagogy, technology and life-long learning could not sustain me as a subject. Its what I do for a living, and I do it fairly well already with a proven track record and mastery. For me it really comes down to passion toward the subject of study, particularly if you are going to be self directed. I believe this will be true for most people endeavouring toward an Open PhD outside of the motivations inherent with doing a traditional PhD within a traditional institution.

I really appreciate the people who responded to my poll and put the energy into thinking about the question I was asking.