The learning experience I had from the course, and how it could help shape my future practice is elaborated below.
I took the lead in discussions for Topic 1: Digital literacy. I believe it had some impact on the group, and I would like to believe that my initiative, along with my partner in crime – Sana helped the group take off. It has certainly improved my confidence in taking on challenges.
Improved digital literacy of tools – tried a number of new tools such as Padlet, Blog (though I had some experience before, but never used it seriously), Twitter, Prezi, Simpleshow, Thinglink, etc.
I enjoyed the numerous discussions we had in our PBL, which were very enriching. John and Cecilia were wonderful facilitators, and my PBL-mates Tayo, Ossi, Krysz, Helena, Sana, and Svenja are all wonderful additions to my network from different parts of the world.
I certainly got more open about sharing, and have a better feel of the benefits and challenges. I will be sharing a lot more of my materials and thoughts so that the larger community can benefit from them. I am also a lot more aware of the need to have an appropriate license specified for all the materials I share.
I am an engineer at heart, and writing non-technical stuff doesn’t come naturally to me. However, this course has enhanced my confidence and motivation to write more on learning and pedagogy. I will continue blogging even after the ONL course is over.
This course helped me understand digital literacy, challenges of openness, cooperation vs collaboration, blended learning, personal learning network, etc a lot better.
Some scenarios for PBL discussions felt a bit ambiguous. We felt a bit lost at times, but the facilitators helped us get back on our feet and cruise along. They also mentioned that the ambiguity is intentional, and gave a wider scope for discussions. In retrospect, this was indeed the case.
I was not able to go through the works by other teams as much as I should have. I will do a ‘catch-up’ soon, now that I have a bit more free time in between semesters.
There were also topics where I could not be as active as I should have, especially on Topic 3.
Overall, my thought process regarding teaching and learning has improved significantly through the course. It is certainly a landmark in my journey to be a better educator.
