This final topic came so quickly that among our daily duties I suddenly realized it was our last meeting, last webinar , last task to be completed…

When I look back at these hours since February 2022 which I spent on reading , watching, talking and writing I feel  satisfied as well as fulfilled. I haven’t lost this time even though the schedule, my timetable, house and family chores are so tight in my life. Maybe I wasn’t on time with my blog posts, maybe I didn’t read everything the course recommended but I attended most of our PBL group meetings, watched most of the webinars and spent time on organizing my thoughts on blog.

Attending this ONL course was really fruitful period in my life. Among many advantages I can name such as: being in international community for a while, exchanging ideas concerning teaching experience but also learning about problems or obstacles other teachers have in different parts of the world and finally getting to know these online tools I was searching for.

In my case everything what this course predicted or assumed was achieved. So from my point of view it was well organized. During our discussion concerning topic 4 I realized that this course must be the epitome of blended learning. It was well planned – we had a schedule to follow, tasks divided and the final “product” set. We  as participants knew what to talk about during PBL sessions and moreover we had wonderful support in suggested resources material and webinars. For me the most valuable was topic 1 webinar with David White and his idea of “visitors and residents”  because I understood then where I belong to. I also found very informative and practical webinar in topic 4 with Dr. Robin Kay where I discovered this wide range of online tools we can take advantage of in our classes. Some webinars seemed too theoretical and I wanted to focus on practical perspective.

We were encouraged to participate actively in the latter which was also great. Our facilitators  reminded us to take part in webinars or at least watch them and they helped us to stay on track during PBL meeting and not elaborate too long on additional topics. I think they were so much aware of the pressure of time which we-participants did not realize. Our facilitators( and other group members as well) seemed very understanding as for our absence or being late with tasks. It was great because we didn’t feel like scared students who would be afraid of being teased or frowned upon by the teacher. We eagerly appeared during meetings next time.

Working in PBL group was also rewarding for me. I became a student for a while and I could experience the problems of current student generation. Now I know, at least more or less, the assets and drawbacks of challenges contemporary students face. This notion of social loafers which has been omnipresent for centuries did not exist in our group . All of us wanted to contribute or to have a say in talking about the tasks.

Time was the main obstacle in my devotion to the course but I have this feeling even now. Next term I will definitely change my mode of teaching. I hope I will manage to implement some apps in my classes, I will put more stress on group cooperation and I’m going to choose a tool to be in touch with my students-not only via Teams or institution email.

Taking part in ONL course will be really unforgettable experience in my life. I started to believe in my abilities thanks to people I met and learning from them as well as cooperating with them. Maria and Mirko-our facilitators – I hope they enjoyed it. ARES,JIA MIN, KIRSTEN,MAKSAT, MATTI,MELISSA –THANK YOU so much for showing up in my life.

I ‘ m rowing my own boat myself.