My journey into online course design began in 2017 when I developed two online courses for the UNESCO-supported OE4BW project. Since then, I have also mentored several other online courses and educators. Over the years, this experience has helped me understand one critical truth about online education: learner engagement is at the heart of meaningful online learning.

One of the biggest challenges in online programmes is learner retention and dropout. Through both my teaching practice and my recent experience as a learner in the ONL course, I have reflected deeply on the reasons behind this issue. While there are many contributing factors, course design plays a major role. In many online courses, the teacher continues to occupy the central stage, leaving limited opportunities for learners to interact, collaborate, and actively participate in their own learning process. As a result, learning becomes passive, repetitive, and disengaging, often leading to frustration, dropout, or superficial learning.

Reflecting on My Current Practice

In my own online and blended courses, I have consciously tried to move beyond content delivery and create interactive learning experiences. I integrated several digital tools and activities to enhance learner participation and engagement, including:

  • H5P
  • Edpuzzle
  • Padlet
  • Jamboard
  • Mentimeter
  • Kahoot!

I also organised weekly synchronous sessions with experts from the field to provide learners with authentic exposure and opportunities for dialogue. Importantly, the assignments in my courses were designed around real-world problems so that learners could connect theory with practice.

Reflecting through the lens of the Community of Inquiry framework, I realise that I have actively worked toward strengthening:

  • Teaching Presence through facilitation, structured activities, and guided interaction,
  • Cognitive Presence through authentic tasks and reflective assignments,
  • Social Presence through collaborative discussions and synchronous engagement.

The entire journey of designing the courses was and active display of community of  practice as we got to learn from other practitioners and adopted what we believed in which kept on evolving throughout the journey of last 8 years.  the course design, However, despite these efforts, my experience in the ONL course helped me identify an important missing dimension in my own courses: collaboration through Problem-Based Learning (PBL).

Learning from the ONL Experience

One of the aspects I appreciated most in ONL26 was the emphasis on collaboration and co-construction of knowledge. Working in groups, discussing ideas, and collectively solving problems created a strong sense of community and deeper engagement. It reminded me that online learning should not merely replicate classroom lectures in digital form; instead, it should create opportunities for learners to learn with and from one another.

This experience also made me reflect deeply on the importance of building trust in online and blended learning environments. I realised that meaningful collaboration can happen only when learners feel supported, heard, and psychologically safe to express themselves and participate actively. As an educator, I believe trust is built gradually through regular and empathetic communication, timely feedback, continuous facilitation, and by creating opportunities for collaborative learning. Providing appropriate scaffolding at different stages of learning, encouraging peer interaction and peer support, and creating an inclusive and respectful learning space are equally important. My experience in ONL26 reinforced for me that online learning becomes truly meaningful when learners feel connected by the efforts of facilitator and moderator. The functionality of group depends entirely on the facilitation and an experienced moderator for setting rules and create a positive learning environment is the backbone of PBL and collaboration.

Ultimately, this reflection has reinforced my belief that effective online and blended learning is not about technology alone. It is about designing meaningful, engaging, and human-centred learning experiences where learners feel connected, supported, and empowered to actively participate in their own learning journey.