ONL211 has been an exhilarating experience. I leave this course only to take with me all that I have learnt in the hope that much of it will be put into practice.

I came into ONL mostly out of curiosity around concepts, best practices and current challenges in blended learning, the philosophy of open resources and tools to approach contemporary teaching and learning. I intentionally placed myself in the uncomfortable situation of learning in a new territory.

The beginning was perhaps a scramble of sorts, with too much to absorb, but somewhere along the way that turned into an easy rhythm. The journey was enhanced tremendously by my fabulous team, PBL03. The hard work, humour and supportive spirit helped each of us find our way and define for ourselves what open networked learning meant. As we worked with ease and a sense of purpose there was much give and take to help us achieve both team and personal goals.

I can safely say that my awareness of the practices of openness and applicability of technology tools for teaching and learning has increased tremendously. Both learner and educator face different challenges in successfully engaging and learning in blended environments. I will be cautious in how many tools I use as the last thing I’d want is to overwhelm the learners with unnecessary technology.

A key takeaway has been perfection is enemy of good. There are many ways to contribute meaningfully without feeling the anxiety of a perfect delivery. The exploratory nature of the course allowed me to make meaning of every activity. Being a TBL expert, this experience has made me reflect on pros and cons of both TBL and PBL. As we all know, teaching can be done in so many different ways.

Looking forward to taking all this further in many ways.