First real project work in the coures has now begun. Must say it was all a bit confusing at first, but now I feel I have gotten the hang on what the course is about. The topic of online participation is an interesting one, and now with COVID-19 forcing us all into cyberspace, acutely relevant, not the least within academia. 

The task provided was to create a learning blog, and to reflect on the issues of private versus public digital media presence and digital literacy. Another event we had this week was a tweetchat. I participated in that I followed along in the discussion, but I did not post anything. I’m quite active on twitter, and I see twitter as a professional outlet, where I can interact with colleagues in my specific field, and discuss field specific research issues. I dont see it as a place for self reflections.

Along the same lines, I’m reluctant to publish an open blog, sharing my musings on a topic in which I have no expertise or authority. 

That said, here it is!

In our PBL group we have discussed four main issues. 

1. How to increase student engagement online. 

2. How can we as teachers combat the loneliness that many students experience from online only education. 

3. Which tools can we use. 

4. Role ambiguity.

What are then the solutions to the issues? Well…I dont think we have come up with any magic bullets, but perhaps a few simple tricks. Make use of academic quarter, be there early, and use that time to chit chat with the students, on anything they want. This time fosters cohesion, and enables the students to ventilate any issues they might have. Use interactive tools, and enlist students as moderators and have them e.g. monitor the chat channel for any questions. I have greatly enjoyed our discussions, and many of my colleagues in the group are much more versed in online tools than I am. I would have rated myself as highly proficient in all-things digital, but now Im not so sure…