e-books and e-courses
The choice to move The Courageous Year from an e-course to e-book format is not one that I take lightly (though it does feel like a breath of fresh air). When I began working with participants from the course back in January, I found that all of my experience as a classroom teacher came in handy. For instance, I don’t freak out at the prospect of managing/leading/coaching a lot of people at once. I did that for years, with 100+ people each semester. Getting a lot of emails doesn’t even remotely compare to the way it used to feel when students would swarm around my desk with questions or requests after class. (And, I must confess, there is a smile on my face as I type this, as I warmly remember the overwhelm as well as the rush of excitement. Once I knew the ropes, I sort of liked the way, in a matter of ten minutes, I could pass out handouts to someone who had missed class, sign an add form, give directions to the financial aid office, point someone to the appropriate tutor, etc. I was my own personal Mission Control Center.)
Another thing I took with me was a regular practice of assessment. There were three times in a semester when I’d assess how my classes were going: One month in (by that time, everyone is settled–trying to assess earlier than that is carte blanche for the Inner Critic to come in and piss all over your efforts); The halfway point; The end. So in essence, about a quarter of the way through, halfway through, and once all was said and done. Even though I was only up for formal evaluation by my department every three years, I gave students in all of my classes end of semester evaluations of the class. I made my focus as a classroom teacher a simple question: “What is effective?”
I learned an enormous amount from this process, both about how students tend to work in classrooms as well as what did and did not work for me as a teacher. It was a very humbling process, because without fail asking this question meant that I would need to walk into some kind of unfamiliar territory and learn some new skill, way of being, teaching method, etc. I would need to stretch myself and be first on the chopping block in that new place.
After leading five different groups into e-course territory, I’ve been assessing what the biggest blocks are to people’s success in e-courses. I’ve been talking to other people who run e-courses, and observing and participating in other e-courses. What I find to be a common thread is that participants get discouraged when they “fall behind.” Life happens–a child gets sick, work demands increase, there’s sudden travel or sickness in the family. Additionally, there’s the question of how much to participate in public forums. And oh, how the Stories go flying here, with the triggered inner critics and the worry. I smile tenderly at these Stories, because we are all so lovely and human. The people who like to participate a lot worry that they are talking too much or feel the sads if others aren’t participating a lot. The people who prefer not to participate as much often appear almost apologetic about their preference to have a solo journey. And I, in the midst of this, see these Stories for exactly what they are–just the inner critic popping in–and trust that however someone chooses to have their process is the process they need to have. At the same time, when I ask myself the “What is effective?” question, I see that there is room to shift things so that the people who love to interact have that opportunity, and the people who prefer a solo journey can have that, too.
In essence, I want to create win-wins that reach the greatest number of people and allow the greatest number of people to have the experience they would like to have.
I believe that moving from an e-course model (with the restrictions of needing to check in to a website regularly) to an e-book course module would be more effective. The book can be downloaded and worked through at one’s own pace. No more “falling behind.” A community space would still be there for people to interact, because that piece is so important–we all need places to reach out and connect and ask questions or reveal where we feel stuck so that we can get support. Since we all know how important accountability is, a Courageous Year announcement list for CY participants, only, will be there so that I can pop in with emails once a week–it’s kind of hard to put a book on a shelf and forget about it with an email coming to your inbox full of some love and inspiration, reminding you to stay the course and keep using the tools. And I really wanted to also include space to interact with me one-on-one, to ask questions specific to your life, which is why I’m now including a coaching session with each level. I’m most passionate about working with people, and excited to take this interaction beyond just reading and responding to forums.
In essence, it’s a focused change targeted at working with a specific issue. The course itself does not change, just the delivery of the materials.
Another thing that I love about moving to the book format is that my passion for these topics can now grow, unrestrained! 
When doing an e-course format, I needed to really pick and choose what I presented, making sure it was something that people could manage in a Monday-Friday format. With the book, I can include more. I can add interviews or exercises at later dates–I’ve created a page just for updates within each level, such that if I add some new bit months down the line, people can access that.
With all of that said, I am still committed to a process of assessment. I have already received enthusiastic response in particular from people who have been working the Year the longest, the past 6 months. I’m really excited to see how much bigger we all get to live as one big community, learning and growing together.
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* Where my inner little girl does the happy dance
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