The start of the ONL202 journey was daunting – a byzantine website with loads of material to scroll through, cryptic course description, out-of-the-box course obligatories and a very long to-do list at work to be ticked off during the autumn term. I was terrified about how to manage… but I did! I found the course as thoroughly enjoyable as any higher education pedagogical course ever can be, with the added freedom of the online format, the – still – relatively relaxed homework assignments, and really interesting and fun groupmates.

What did I take with me? For the first, meaningful online learning is not just getting through traditional content in a home setting while attending classes via Zoom. Online learning should have a purpose in itself. The content should be suited for and, preferably, best acquired through online and/or collaborative learning. In my field, collaborative learning can well be used and problem based learning is also employed at some universities. I have some – but limited – personal experience with PBL as a method of teaching and learning, but I have not been convinced of its greater merits above traditional teaching methods. This is due to a lack in the communication of the intended benefits of PBL as compared to traditional teaching. The same applies to online teaching. During the covid-19 pandemic, we do not have a choice of whether to teach in person or online. But we do have a choice on how to conduct online teaching. We can choose whether to take our regular classes online or to change the entire form of teaching from online to collaborative (to which, in my mind, PBL is comparable albeit not identical). There must in any event be added value to online teaching as compared to the traditional, classroom teaching.

This added value was not served to us on a silver plate during ONL202 but reflecting on the course as a whole I am starting to put the picture together. The added value probably lies in:

(a) the possibility to include persons in the classroom who would not normally be there. For the purposes of my own teaching, I am contemplating trying to open up a new course to students outside my own university. This would, of course, require a lot of convincing, collaboration and administration but is, at the same time, one of the most attractive features of ONL to experience in real life;

(b) the nothing is impossible attitude. An inspiring, innovational and research-based learning environment will probably also increase the students’ motivation and engagement with the subject-matter. Covid-19 has forced most of us out of our comfort zones as concerns teaching methods. The ONL202 was all about getting out of the comfort zone and although I felt the muscle ache once in a while I knew it was going to be worth it. It was. I hope enabling students to get out of their comfort zones via new modes of learning would have the same effect;

(c) collaboration. Regarding one’s student colleagues as assets to one’s learning rather than competitors in this very competitive field I am teaching in. The trust in the common effort as a benefit rather than a burden. Saying this, any collaborative teaching must actually be thought through deeply and serve a pedagogical purpose (with reference to my previous not-so-pleasant experiences with PBL). I still believe, and referring back to the beginning of this post, that online teaching only makes sense if it is purposeful and not conducted for the sake of online teaching in the absence of a better alternative.

I am glad that I persevered and conquered ONL202. If anything, it has broadened my horizons, provided lots of inspiration as well as a theoretical backing for the practical teaching efforts, made me more courageous to explore and try new (for me) online tools and very motivated to integrate meaningful online teaching practices into my own teaching.