“In the beginning there was darkness…” and I did what I could to help others in my company understand what collaborative learning is and what the benefits are. They didn’t take it too well. This was mainly due to the fact that this type of learning is so new and foreign that it takes a while to understand. It is difficult conceptually see it without hands on learning.
But I tried – and in one of the first meetings I had with a group on this subject they blew up. Yes, there were other internal factors involved, but essentially they did not understand it. The next day the Director of I.T. gave me a fortune cookie tag. In essence it says, “In worthy attempts it is even glorious to fail.” A veiled consolation prize at the time. But I had the bigger picture in mind and knew that this was a small setback and that my vision will be realized (that sounds like the mad scientist who wants to take over the world, I know – but someday, ha ha ha, they will bow down to ME! Now, back to my alter ego…).
A couple weeks ago, this same person mentioned in a meeting that he felt that, “now more than ever that we need this type of solution.” I can’t wait until we get to a certain point where we are all learning collaboratively and I can return his gesture of condolence. Actually, that will only happen in my mind because I don’t want to throw it back in his face. It will be mine to keep in remembrance of where it started and where we wound up.
If you are trying to implement collaborative learning, don’t give up. Keep teaching, inspiring and be patient. Then go ahead and conquer the world.
