Can you remember what it was like only 5 years ago, certainly 10 years ago? It’s so easy to think life was always like this.

I’m specifically going to talk about how we learn, in this blog, and how that’s changed dramatically over the last few years (for good and ill…)

Lockdown really changed the education and learning landscape, and for good.  I don’t think we can go back now, even if we wanted to.  

My life changed massively, due to learning and teaching online.  

I vividly remember getting the text from my Pilates teacher in March 2020, telling me that we’d be doing the classes via some thing called ‘Zoom’ for a while. I dreaded my first ‘day job’ meeting online, (I thought it would be like a ‘phonecall, but with the added awfulness of them being able to see my every expression). My meditation group also moved onto Zoom almost immediately (many people decided not to attend at that point, but interestingly we still have an online option- we’ve changed for good). It’s amazing how little I think about doing things online now.

Much of my world was online during those lockdown months – I remember it as me going between beautiful springtime walks, and hunched over a screen (both to home school, and get my online world in order).

I decided to join Alice Sheridan’s ‘Connected Artist Club’ membership at that point, which totally opened my eyes to how I could be an artist in this world, on a practical level, and it was that membership that led me to taking Nicholas Wilton’s Creative Visionary Programme.  I kind of thought of it as an online MA in art making, and, although expensive, it was still cheaper than a real MA!

That course really changed the way I made art – not the techniques so much (though, yes some of that), but how I put together an image that grabbed people- me and others.  It taught me not to be afraid of changing or ruining anything.  And it showed me that I could learn practical art  from a man in California, without ever meeting him in real life.

As an introvert, I enjoyed this way of learning.  There were no ‘icebreakers’ or ‘getting-to-know-yous’ (which I dreaded).  The social media groups attached to them were sometimes overwhelming – but I could step away if I needed to.  I could do things in my own way, without anyone looking over my shoulder.  What a relief.

So although there were some cons (such as not socialising so much, not getting literal hands-on help etc), the pros made up for them: taking things at my own pace, saving time and energy by working at home, rewinding and rewatching videos whenever I wanted to, working after my daughter had gone to bed.

It wasn’t long before it dawned on me that I could also teach online.  Although it’s been quite a long and winding journey to what I do now (I started off doing rather long, live hand printing classes on Zoom, through to pre-recorded shorter, self-paced courses, to what I do now which is a mixture of pre-recorded and live courses), I feel each year I improve, and learn how to make it better. 

And it’s been revelatory to realise that so many other people had similar experiences during lockdown, to the point where most of my students now don’t bat an eyelid about signing up for an online course – they know the ‘drill’, how it’s going to work, what they can opt in and out of, how to make the course work for them, however they like to work.

I’ve had students from some of the most isolated places in the world access my courses, and feel connected to kindred spirits, continents away.

What’s been your experience of online learning, and how has it changed your life?

Pros of online learning

• Making all your mistakes at home, with no-one watching!
• Rewatching and rewinding videos and content
• Joining communities of like-minded people all over the world
• Being able to step away from aspects of the course that don’t interest you
• Taking everything at your own pace
• Complete it on your own clock – if you need to do it in the evening, or at night, weekends or early morning- that’s all possible
• You don’t need to put aside large chunks of time or travel time (and money!)

Ways to get the best best out of an online course:

• If you’re the kind who likes to bounce off other people, join the community, there’s usually one, either on the course platform or Facebook.
• If you’re the kind who likes to ask questions, use the ways to communicate with the tutor or their team as much as you can – they won’t mind, that’s what they’re there for (and often others will want to know the answer too)!
• Do the course each week, as directed. Or don’t. If you know you need the discipline of weekly content or check-ins, then try to follow along. However, if that’s just not possible, the only thing you may miss by doing it more slowly, is doing it alongside others at the same time.
• If you feel able, share what you’re doing.  It will definitely inspire others and enable them to share work too – it feels so much more open and inclusive that way.
• If there’s a live element, and you can attend, then do so.  You’ll feel more connected, the tutor will enjoy speaking to more students and you’ll probably come up with questions that you didn’t know you wanted to ask.  You don’t have to speak or have your camera on, if you don’t want to.

Hand Printing Happiness, my self-paced, online course, delivered over 8 weeks is now open for enrolment until Friday 13th March.  If you’re interested in making print part of your world, then take a look here.