This is the meme that my group, PBL5, created for the final artefact of Topic 5. And what a swim it has been. What I liked best about this journey was the community that we built. Meeting up twice a week certainly helped, as well as having like-minded team members who were experimental and adventurous when it came to teaching and learning, and also willing to share their experiences. Everyone brought something different to the team, and it was the diversity of insights — so difficult to acquire in an echo chamber where everyone thinks the same — that was the result no doubt of our very different contexts, that led to the richness of the discussions. I faded away a little towards the end (second half of topic 4) but was glad to be able to comeback for our final meeting.

I think what I would add to the meme is that it’s much easier to jump into the water when you’re with a group of friendly individuals who are jumping in with you. So we learnt so much more as we used various tools together (SimpleShow, Thinglink, Miroboard, Persusall, Learning Designer and so on) and when we were able to discuss the webinars as well.

I also appreciated the use of blogging as a means to pen our thoughts down not only to remember what we thought at a specific moment in time, but also to gather what our other PBL group members were thinking about the topic and the experience. Having to comment on the blogs as part of what we were assigned helps because even if you’re very interested in what is going on our busy work lives clamor for our attention and setting these targets definitely motivates (albeit extrinsically).

So finally, as a running theme in this blog I write of my interest in Knowledge Building (Scardamalia and Bereiter), and the individual parts of learning when combined here surely exceeded the sum of these parts. The blogs are also outward facing and can be viewed by other learners, and the communities that they belong to.

But I am also aware that S&B’s theories fall within the wider arena of knowledge building and also that teaching and learning somehow don’t figure as prominently as they should. The structured nature of ONL211 speaks to T&L: direct instruction has a place and how that is facilitated within KB is significant. And the facilitation was through the PBL group. The way forward with what I have taken from ONL211 is that communities of learners, no matter how small, make a huge difference when it comes to learning — the diversity of perspective, as well as kinds of (knowledge/ skill) contributions that each individual brings, and the spirit of the team all come into play. So here’s to Andrea, Christian, Kadriye, Nils, Wee Khee and our facilitators Hans and Bianca, thanks for a rejuvenating swim.