In this last blog post for ONL192, I’ll begin by briefly explaining how we came up with our meme. I will then summarize the most significant ways in which the ONL course helped me.
The image we had selected for our meme features 3 minion cartoon characters – one minion is pulling on a piece of rope while the other two are chatting nearby by. The message we wanted to convey was that we survived ONL because, even though some of us might have been struggling a bit more than others, we found as a group enjoyed great collective strength. I happened to stumble across the minion picture during one of our PBL meetings in the 2nd week. After unanimously agreeing as a group to create a meme, our facilitator suggested that we take a break from synchronous discussion for 10 minutes in order to look for a photo and/or think about a statement for the meme. Those of who needed the break had the option of muting their mics and switching off their cameras. For me that particular meeting was a more challenging because I was attending a conference and the venue was quite noisy and the internet connection wasn’t very stable. I wasn’t too optimistic about finding a good picture or coming up with a statement in those 10 minutes. It was during the last minute of our break that I found that picture! Talk about working on the edge! I And the group loved the photo! As for the text of the meme, another member suggested “ONL – Working on the Edge”, which turned out to be a perfect fit for the picture. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting all of us to be in favour of the meme, let alone having one ready by the end of that meeting. It never ceases to amaze me what you can achieve as a group!
At this point I’d like to convey my deepest thanks and gratitude to the ONL192 organizers, our facilitators Diane and Sinako, and all the members of PBL Group 10! I still find it hard to believe that despite our diverse backgrounds we found common ground in ONL. I never would have thought it possible to collaborate with people from such diverse fields. I hope we can all stay in touch (perhaps through Facebook or LinkedIn?).
I especially enjoyed to try out new things, including new tools (Microsoft Sway, Prezi, Padlet, and Canva) and new modes of presentation (the meme!). For every topic I was looking forward to trying out a new tool and everyone else in the group seemed to be quite eager too! We’ve used or explored tools that I don’t think I would have had the chance learn about otherwise.
An interesting thought just crossed my mind – at the end of the ONL course, was I experiencing emotional presence more than before? According to Cleveland-Innes, emotional presence is “the extent to which learners and teachers adapt their behavior to accommodate the overt and covert presence of emotion” (presentation slides from ONL 192 webinar). In an attempt to clarify the distinction between emotional and social presence, one of my colleagues in the PBL group quoted a reading that characterized social presence as “being there” and emotional presence as “being together”. It’s only when we’re “together” that emotional presence comes about. And I think that’s what I felt especially strongly in the last 2 weeks of the ONL. Perhaps that’s what the organizers had in mind? 
ONL has widened my online teaching and learning horizons. In terms of teaching, I am now in a much better position to recommend tools to my own students. In terms of learning, I feel motivated to explore online learning further. The past 3-4 months have radically challenged and even changed my assumptions about learning. When a group of people have the right combination of interests, tools, technologies, motivations and leadership skills, traditional boundaries and limits don’t seem to matter anymore and the group is thus capable of great things! This is perhaps the most valuable lesson that I will carry forward into future practice!
ReferencesCleveland-Innes, M. (2018) Community of Inquiry and Teaching Presence: Facilitation in online and blended learning.
