phew.

After fully expecting to write a bit about each day of Immersion I now find myself back in Ohio a week later wondering, “what just happened?” The program lived up to expectations and was overall an exhausting, constructive, and challenging experience. I went into the sessions hoping that my technology-oriented focus wouldn’t undermine my ability to benefit from training that purported to be so hands-on and classroom-based. Although e-learning was summarily absent from the curriculum (which was an area of some disappointment, as approaches to digital learning are being so heavily developed at the moment), I found that one valuable aspect of the program was its validation of the learner-centered approach to instructional design, irregardless of medium.

We were also treated en masse to a charter bus tour of Winnipeg’s pride and joy, the Folklorama international cultural festival – deep-fried Philipino and Chilean food punctuated by Hungarian boot-slapping, so amazing. At every pavilion we visited (which were set up mostly in different school gyms or local community centers miles away from one another) we were given special seating up front and recognized from the stage, “how about a big round of applause for the, uh, associationofcollegeandresearchlibrariesimmersioninformationliteracyinstitute bus tour”… it was unbelievably sweet.

Also priceless was the feedback I received on my presentation style – apparently, I can get away with a few verbal fillers because I talk like that anyway. Right?