Topic 5: Lessons learnt – future practice

ONL222 Archipelago

Through my participation in OLN 222, I was able to learn a lot. The interesting approach about this online course is that you don’t just learn how to do it, but you become very active yourself with the different topics and assignments. You really experience how open networked learning works (and where the hurdles can lie).
it is like a journey from the small different islands to the big Archipelago island. But the sea includes dangerous sharks and other obstacles… But also unbelievably great surprises that are very enriching and that you only really recognise when you arrive on the main island.

My learnings through being part of OLN

My biggest findings are that with online courses available worldwide, you can reach very different participants / populations. On the one hand, this is a great way to combine different views / know-how, but on the other hand it also places more demands on the course design / set up. Content / assignments have to be described and formulated really clearly.

On the one hand, this is a great way to combine different views / know-how, but on the other hand it also places more demands on the course design / set up. Content / assignments have to be described and formulated really clearly that everyone understand the task and purpose of it.

What I will adapt in my personal practice

So far, I have enjoyed solving assignments independently or in small groups. But this has now changed! I found it totally inspiring to see how much can be achieved together in a collaborative learning setup. Even if you don’t always take the lead yourself and simply go with the flow, the end result is something to be proud of. This is an important insight for me personally, and I will gladly remember it often in my hectic everyday life and act accordingly.

What I want to change in the development of ZHAW-MOOCs

In the following, I have listed a few points that I would like to suggest for the development of further ZHAW MOOCs:

• Improve educational experience by including social, cognitive and teaching presence
• Use a variety of inclusive methods
• Use of different tools → Strengthen of participant’s digital literacies
• Online course: including blended learning-elements to enrich the course engagement
• If online course only asynchronous mode: Importance of regular and timely feedback as well as clear instructions
• For blended learning big classes: include synchronous elements (for example flipped classroom) to support interaction between online facilitators/teachers and students/learners.
• Flipped classroom: Adds valuable quality to online courses in terms of online socialization, interaction, and learner-centredness.