I really like how the comments on this blog post are helping clarify to me (possibly to others) more about the course. I like Doug’s point about novice vs experienced participants… Sort of felt there was an implicit opportuty for more experienced or confident participants to e.g. Initiate networks or clusters in week 3 of the course?
I also really like Scott’s observations on scaffolding and people’s reaction to scaffolding. I always had a sense of connectivism not working for everyone and even though I am myself a highly-networked and autonomous learner, I can see why it might be v difficult for others to participate in a cMOOC or any very unstructured learning experience straight away. The points about novelty seeming like noise is a great one and I hope you don’t mind me quoting you with my colleagues at work (it made me realize why the more conservative of them resist novely). Yes, it sounds almost intuitive, but you have articulated really well… So thanks!