Yes, I am retired; I no longer facilitate learning. Are my teaching and learning opinions still relevant? Although I no longer teach, I certainly am learning…

MOOCs of great variety seem to be available everywhere; I completed two since commencement last May and am active in two others now. (I also abandoned a few – but that’s OK too.) Indeed, MOOC invitations and suggestions appear in my email inbox nearly as often as credit-card applications appear in my USPS mailbox. Choice is wonderful – I’m free to explore physics or computer programming or medicine, literature or math or law. “Free” is a good price too, available to those like me who do not seek new credentials.

I also I keep learning by reading. In addition to novels and daily blogs, I’ve read both books chosen this year by NMC’s Global Literature Reading Group. Web opportunities abound too – I’m currently working on my 80th ProjectEuler.net puzzle.

Why this personal reflection on my own learning? It’s really just context for the question, “What can faculty do to help students engage in learning throughout their lives?” Sometimes it’s hard to worry about such an issue while facing urgent stacks of papers to grade, lessons to prepare, help requests to answer, and meetings to attend – but it is very important.

Consider integrating activities like these into your courses, your lessons. How might they impact your students? Are they worth the effort?

• Facilitate student registration in MOOCs of their choice; lead students to analyze their participation, compare individual MOOCs vs. NMC courses, make recommendations for improvement – in other words, perform significant critical thinking about their role in the learning process.
• Practice finding suitable Internet resources. The web is immense, and many students need to hone their skills so that they can effectively sift the great from the good, the good from the bad – without getting frustrated by the process.

I wish I’d taken more time to focus on students’ long-term learning.