I’m coming down from a really serious six week project. I was asked if I could teach a class in social networking, said yes, then had to develop the course.
So now, I need to cast around for more work. Part of the work I’m going to create is going to be teaching versions of this class — bits and pieces as seminars and continuing education classes for teachers who might find themselves a bit overwhelmed by the new ways their students communicate and want to keep up. (Hey, I live in an area that has an old Ivy League institution. Keeping up with what Those Crazy Young People are doing is important).
I’m also reeling from the idea that I taught something I developed myself. You old hands at teaching can feel free to laugh. You guys do it all the time. I had never gotten up in front of a classroom without the backup of a course someone else had developed before.
Now, as intimidating as it was (and yes, I was scared), I love to learn stuff, and I love to teach stuff. I could happily spend the rest of my life making a living going and learning something and then teaching it. It’s just fun.
“Learn stuff?” I hear you ask. “You’ve gotta be kidding me! You’ve been doing online social networking for nearly fifteen years! What’s this nonsense about learning stuff?”
Well, there’s a big difference between doing something for years, and organizing the concepts clearly enough to teach that same material in a finite amount of time. Not only that, you tend to fall into a routine, so it’s a good idea to find out what other people are saying on the subject. When you do that, you will learn something new.
So, today I’m back to bidding on projects and working hard on breaking down the one-day seminar to smaller time units for potential classes.