Metaphor - Week 8

March 22, 2010

The metaphor I used for my online learning experience was that it is similar to an ocean. This metaphor made me reflect on what my experience has been like thus far and how it has compared to my undergraduate experience (my undergraduate experience was face-to-face). I have had many ups and downs in my online learning and have had times where I feel like I am learning a lot, followed by times where I feel like I am learning little. The metaphor that I used for my online learning experience was that it has been similar to an ocean. Many times I feel like I am trying to keep up with the activities and the intellectual discussions, and other times I feel like I am ahead in the activities. The metaphor resembles the rough waters and calm waters; similar, to the busy times of being a full time worker and a learner and the calm times. I suppose learning is never suppose to be extremely comfortable as it is moving outside of my box and this is why it is similar to an ocean with water moving constantly in different directions and at different speeds. The metaphor exercise was interesting as it was educational to compare my learning to another aspect of life. Sometimes, when you take a step back and compare your learning to another aspect of life you realize what kind of a learner and what experiences as a learner you go through. This will be valuable for me in the future as I will be able to analyze my learning through metaphors.