Serving T42/ Smashing through Writer's Block

My previous post introduced the planning of T42, my critical study on teachers’ experience of an online, self-access course in learning and teaching language with Web 2.0. Although the academic side of this is flowing quite well (once I strap myself to my desk and get going, that is), restructuring the original course is presenting quite a challenge.

To call a spade a spade, this is the course designer’s version of writer’s block. Come to think of it, I haven’t had writer’s block since my teens, thanks partly to my mother’s emphasis on learning strategies, and partly to the wonders of MindMapping. The course is different, though, because the components are in multimedia, most of which I have dabbled in but not mastered, the participants are unknown to me, and most paralysing of all, I would, of course, like the end result to be simply awesome. With all the breathtaking professional materials out there on the Web, this might be what scares me most.

This is an empathising experience, because I have seen how writer’s block can freeze my students up. They have to write in a second language; I have to create a course in media I haven’t mastered. Like them, I am in an uncomfortable position – yet the slight discomfort of pushing your limits is where the learning happens.

When I used to get writer’s block before a project, my mother was always the one who talked me through developing a strategy, structuring my work and devising little ways to make the end result special. Doing this over an ice cream cone or a cup of coffee didn’t hurt, either. Stepping away from the task is often the best way to get perspective. (As long as it doesn’t happen indefinitely, of course!)

This is why, being the strategic learner that I have been trained into, I am stepping back (with a strong cup of coffee), considering the structure of the project, mindmapping it and getting started. And calling my mom.