Hi everyone! This is my first experience in blogging and I never
thought of starting a blog if not for the course ONL 191. Thank you ONL 191
group for encouraging us to blog! It would be too unfair by the others if I say
that my generation is not used to blog, yeah, my friends (not all, though) are
very active in blogging. They do write about various things, but I never wanted
to start one, maybe I was too busy, or too lazy for that!

Well, I think it is better to introduce myself to you a bit.
Unlike the other members in my PBL group, I am still a student: a PhD candidate
at the Stockholm University, Sweden. The challenge in my PhD study is that I am
doing my studies being in Sri Lanka which is my mother country. Thus, my PhD itself
is an example for distance learning. ONL course was recommended to me by my
supervisor because we believe that it could give me some exposure to computer
mediated communication which would be really important for my study. If I tell
you a little bit about my study, it is on computer mediated corrective feedback
and these days I am engaged in a study which examines the use of digital tools
in the ESL classroom.

I was amazed to see that there are so many digital tools
which we can use in the ESL classroom; unfortunately, not all of them are used
in the Sri Lankan context. Even I am getting exposed to those only after
joining the ONL course.

Most importantly, I also realized that I am in a fantastic
group of people from around the world. So, I am looking forward to this amazing
online experience and I am so excited about the many things we will learn in
this international platform.