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.

The path of learning which starts from  group learning and moves to individual learning and then move back and forth from group to individual is a continuous action in circular motion  which never ends.  The day we are born till we stop breathing, we keep on absorbing like a sponge from our environment and search answers from the environment, ponders over our observation  and then our actions reflect our learnings. The strength of our learnings is decided by our engagement with our tribe, its culture, beliefs and  our untiring reflections on the entire system, sometimes supporting the systems ( social, political, cultural) and when not satisfied with these systems we rise and change.

Similar is the experience ONL team tried to build in the course by weaving the learning intricately in the threads of collaboration, cooperation and co creation, the true essence of learning. This is our journey of social becoming as a teacher and taking with us the experiences of the ONL course in our classrooms and systems, our reflections motivating us to bring or strongly push changes in our own environment.

The book, “ Igniting the Collective Spark: The Nature of Thinking Together” examines the concept of the “collective spark,” detailing how teams can transition from simple cooperation to a unified social mind that fosters creativity. Together, these materials advocate for a student-centered approach that prioritizes emotional connection and professional development to ensure academic success. A learner recognizes the value of a learning community and experiences the benefits of social learning through a process of identity transformation, mutual recognition, and the realization of collective intelligence that exceeds individual capacity.

The other resource by Dr. Etinenne Wenger presents his social learning theory, which challenges traditional views of learning as merely the acquisition of information. Instead, he defines learning as an inherent, social process rooted in everyday experience and stresses that curriculum is living not static which keeps on growing and changing its shape based on the shared practice and beliefs of people engaged with it. Its not just one community which engages for knowledge generation rather the layers of interaction between multiple communities create a landscape of practice where they navigate through complex information to produce Knowledgeability ( ability to navigate this complexity) in vertical (expert-defined facts) and horizontal landscapes (meaning-making through experience).

Looking back to ONL, the learners are from different disciples, different institutions an different countries which gives ample space to explore complexities and jump from vertical to horizontal whenever needed.

Dream: A ONGU( Open to Nations Global University)

For a long time, I have lived my digital life as a Visitor—logging in for specific tasks like course creation (I have created few online courses), then leaving without leaving a trace. However, I have realized this approach restricts my social capital, the resource built through networks and interactions that is essential for professional growth.

The discomfort I feel about being a digital being is a common struggle with public visibility and balancing personal and professional identities. Today’s postdigital era, these boundaries are increasingly blurred, as online and offline environments are “woven into the fabric” of our reality. I feel our presence; personal and professional which was earlier in real time has now shifted to digital time where you are present round the clock with blurring personal and professional lines. However, it has a cost on professional social capital.

To bridge the gap in my digital persona, without feeling overpowered, I am focusing on building my online social presence—the degree to which I am perceived as a “real person”—is vital for building belonging and connection. Creating digital presence will require: Boundary Setting between my private life and my professional identity as a researcher and educator;  building a small, purposeful professional profile, using a short bio and reflections focused on learning rather than personal overexposure; navigate digital spaces with care and judgment.

Stepping into the digital spotlight feels overwhelming for a reserved person like me. Yet, by taking intentional steps, I can connect with a worldwide community while protecting my personal space. This is about finding my “headspace” in an interconnected world.

Hello Everyone,

I am a believer of collaborative learning ( co learning and co sharing and co creating), being part of one such  purposefully crafted course is a great experience. It’s a new experience especially when the learning expands beyond  contexts (country, systems, voices). PBL 3 is a vibrant group with experienced moderators and participative team. For the topic 2 of second week : Sharing and Openess, I have written my thoughts as below:

Humanity shaped its spirit into rules of its own,
Drawing circles tight, to stand guarded, alone.
Yet time would turn—and a restless stir would rise,
The walls grew narrow, yearning for open skies.

At times the circle, at times the boundless air,
At times a longing with no name to declare—
So onward it weaves, through the known and the new,
Chasing horizons it never quite knew.

Let not these creations be caged or confined,
Nor claimed by a few, leaving many behind—
Let them flow like light, unbound and free,
So all may partake, so all may see.

Let every mind gather, let every voice belong,
Let shared wisdom rise, resilient and strong—
Till all of civilization blossoms anew,
Creating, becoming… forever in view.