Author: Qusay Hamdan

Insights: What are the most valuable insights you take with you from this course?

One of the most valuable insights I am taking with me is how central trust is in online learning. I honestly had not thought about trust as a design element before this course. Trust is already difficult to build in everyday social life, even with full physical presence, so doing it online is understandably challenging. But after reading Sutherland, Forsyth, and Felten (2024), I now see that trust shapes how students respond to feedback, how willing they are to ask questions, and how much they dare to take risks. For me, this was a new and important perspective.

Another insight is the importance of balancing cognitive, social, and teaching presence in online learning. I realised that I naturally focus more on cognitive presence—clear structure, content organisation, and planning. But the course helped me see how essential it is to design for social presence, interaction, and connection (Fiock, 2020). It is not enough to provide content; students need to feel a sense of belonging, purpose, and engagement.

Finally, the course helped me understand that online collaboration is not simply dividing tasks. True collaboration requires participation, shared meaning-making, and collective thinking, similar to what Wenger (2010) and Ringer et al. (2022) describe. This deepened my thinking about how learning communities are formed and supported.

The ride: How did you find collaborating in an online PBL group?

Working in the online PBL group was a mixed experience for me. On one hand, I enjoyed the opportunity to think together, share ideas, and see how collaboration can happen online. It reminded me of what I wrote in my Topic 3 reflection that collaboration is not only something we do, but something we are together. When the group is engaged, it can feel meaningful and energising.

On the other hand, I also felt some frustration. A few group members did not participate as seriously or consistently as I had hoped. This made the process uneven at times. My experience with PBL in another course was actually better, so I could not help comparing the two. Still, the moments when we managed to create joint understanding and work together were valuable. They showed me that online collaborative learning works, but it depends heavily on commitment, communication, and shared responsibility.

Takeaway: What would you like to take with you into the future?

Going forward, I want to take with me the idea that intentional design can make online and blended learning meaningful, connected, and human. I want to keep focusing on:

• building trust from the start
• creating activities that students cannot complete in isolation
• designing for interaction and reflection
• offering flexibility where possible
• integrating AI in a thoughtful, pedagogical way

I also want to carry the idea that learning is relational. Whether online or in person, learners thrive when they feel included, respected, and supported. This is something I will continue to prioritise in my teaching.

Questions: What questions do you still have?

I still have questions about how to design assessments that make good use of generative AI while keeping the process meaningful. My personal view is that AI today is similar to Wikipedia 10 or 15 years ago. People were scared of it, but eventually we learned how to use it responsibly. I think the same will happen with AI. The real challenge is figuring out how to design assessments that encourage thinking rather than copying, and how to teach students to use AI as a tool—not as a shortcut.

I am also curious about how to build strong social presence when students have different schedules, backgrounds, and preferences for communication. And I wonder how educational institutions can support teachers more in developing online teaching skills, because this work takes time, reflection, and practice.

Reflecting on my current practice and opportunities for development

Topic 4 has helped me look more closely at how I design online and blended learning. The Community of Inquiry framework was especially useful. Fiock (2020) explains how cognitive, social, and teaching presence work together to support meaningful learning. When I think about my own practice, I realize that I tend to focus on cognitive presence by organizing content and activities very clearly. I think course organization and clarity is extra important for online learning. I think I need to improve social presence by planning more interaction, collaboration, and informal communication among students.

The scenario we explored felt very familiar. Balancing synchronous and asynchronous work is something I often think about. Weller, van Ameijde, and Cross (2018) highlight that learning design should help students stay engaged and feel that they belong. This is a difficult task actually, it reminds me that asynchronous activities should not only share information but also encourage reflection and peer discussion.

I also see opportunities to make learning more flexible and to give students more choice and ownership. This fits well with ideas from networked and community-based learning. It might depend on level of educations, so might be more suitable for master and PhD students for instance.

Building trust, support, and scaffolding in online environments

Trust stood out as an important theme. I actually never thought about it this way before in my teaching. Trust is even difficult to build in our social private life with full physical interactions. Sutherland, Forsyth, and Felten (2024) describe how trust influences how students respond to feedback, how comfortable they feel asking questions, and how willing they are to take risks. In online settings, all of that is difficult for obvious reasons and trust needs to be created intentionally. This is not easy at all.

I now see trust as part of learning design. Clear instructions, consistent communication, and timely support help students feel that they are not alone. This connects with Fiock’s (2020) ideas about teaching presence.

Assessment design also influences trust. Being open about expectations and explaining the purpose of assessments can help students feel more confident, especially when new technologies are part of the learning process.

Using new technologies and generative AI in teaching and assessment

Learning about generative AI has helped me understand both its possibilities and its challenges. Alexander’s (n.d.) resources explain how these tools work and how they may affect students’ learning behaviors. This encouraged me to think of AI as something that can support learning when used with clear pedagogical intentions.

Ouyang and Jiao (2021) describe three AI paradigms: intelligent, augmentation, and autonomy. The augmentation paradigm feels most relevant to my work because it focuses on using AI to support and extend student learning rather than replace it. I now see AI as a tool that can help with inspirations, reflection, idea development, or formative feedback.

The scenario raised an important concern: how to use AI positively while keeping assessments meaningful. This reinforces the need for assessments that focus on thinking processes, authentic tasks, and reflection.

Insights from my experience as a learner in the ONL Course

Being part of ONL has shown me what online learning feels like from the inside. The PBL work, the group collaboration, and the combination of synchronous and asynchronous activities helped me see how community can be built online. This experience made me more aware of the social and emotional sides of learning.

From this, I have identified areas for my own development:

• Creating stronger social presence through planned interaction
• Designing more flexible tasks
• Including more opportunities for reflection
• Developing assessments that include AI in a responsible way

Overall, ONL has shown me that learning design is ongoing and that it relies on trust, openness, and active engagement. One frustrating thing about it is that few group members did not take seriously. Frankly talking, my experience with PBL group learning was better in a previous course than on the ONL course.

Concluding reflections

Topic 4 has helped me understand how intentional design supports engagement, trust, and community in online and blended learning. It also reminded me that new technologies, including generative AI, should be used to enhance learning rather than drive it. I hope to continue developing designs that support collaboration, inclusion, agency, and critical thinking.

References

Alexander, B. (n.d.). What should my students read about emerging AI? Blogpost.

Fiock, H. (2020). Designing a Community of Inquiry in Online Courses. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 21(1), 135–153.

Ouyang, F., & Jiao, P. (2021). Artificial intelligence in education: The three paradigms. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 2, 1–6.

Sutherland, K. A., Forsyth, R., & Felten, P. (2024). Expressions of Trust: How University STEM Teachers Describe the Role of Trust in their Teaching. Teaching and Learning Inquiry, 12, 1–15.

Weller, M., van Ameijde, J., & Cross, S. (2018). Learning Design for Student Retention. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 6(2).

Networked Collaborative Learning – Reflection on Topic 3

Qusay Hamdan

My understanding of collaboration

My understanding of collaboration begins with the idea that human interactions exist along a continuum. This continuum ranges from conflict to competition, then to cooperation, and finally to collaboration. Collaboration represents the highest form of interaction because it fosters mutual benefit, shared purpose, and collective flourishing. It enables communities, organisations, and systems to reduce suffering, enhance well-being, support well-becoming, and protect the planet (Hamdan, Sebhatu, Hammedi, & Fisk, 2025).

I think about collaboration not only as a way of doing things together, but as a way of being in the world. It shapes how individuals relate to one another, create meaning together, and contribute to systems that support human dignity. For me, this is why collaboration is so essential for education. It helps learners practise responsibility, generosity, and wise engagement in an increasingly interconnected world.

Collaboration, learning, and the development of learning communities

Education plays a vital role in supporting the human capacities that underpin well-being and well-becoming. When learning is relational and participatory, learners begin to realise that knowledge is not simply delivered to them. It is something they help create. Wenger’s work reinforces this point. He explains that learning is fundamentally a process of participation in social practices and that individuals develop identities through engagement with others in communities of practice (Wenger, 2010).

Understanding learning as participation clarifies why collaborative environments matter. They create spaces for belonging, dialogue, and shared inquiry where learners can see themselves as active contributors. This fosters empathy, humility, and shared responsibility. These qualities reach far beyond the course itself and influence how people act in communities, workplaces, and society.

In this sense, collaborative learning supports well-being, but also well-becoming. It encourages learners to engage thoughtfully and collectively with the complexity of the world.

Addressing the scenario: moving beyond dividing tasks

The scenario describes a familiar challenge: students often view collaboration as dividing tasks rather than learning together. I have seen this pattern many times, and it often results in superficial interaction and minimal shared learning.

To shift this, learning activities need to be designed so that learners cannot complete them meaningfully in isolation. Wenger’s notion of participation is helpful here. If meaning emerges only through interaction, students are naturally encouraged to engage more deeply with one another.

Ringer, Gordon, and Vandenbussche (2022) describe this deeper interaction as “igniting the collective spark.” They argue that groups tap into collective intelligence when they think together rather than work in parallel. This spark emerges through attentive listening, curiosity, and a willingness to build on other people’s ideas. When learners experience this, collaboration becomes something energising rather than something to endure.

Motivation, engagement, and the conditions that support collaboration

Wlodkowski’s model of adult motivation helps explain how to create environments where collaboration can thrive. His framework identifies four essential conditions: establishing inclusion, developing positive attitudes, enhancing meaning, and engendering competence (Wlodkowski, 2004).

• Establishing inclusion helps learners feel respected and psychologically safe, which is essential if they are going to participate openly.
• Developing positive attitudes requires experiences that are meaningful and relevant. When learners understand why collaboration matters, they are much more willing to engage.
• Enhancing meaning emphasises the importance of inquiry, dialogue, and reflection.
• Engendering competence assures learners that they are progressing and that their contributions matter.

What I appreciate in Wlodkowski’s work is how directly it connects emotional and relational conditions to motivation. These conditions are exactly what collaborative learning relies on.

Fostering generous and supportive interactions in online spaces

Networked online spaces offer remarkable possibilities for collaborative learning, but they require thoughtful design. Technology should support the learning process rather than overshadow it.

To nurture online learning communities, it is helpful to include:

• Shared reflection and dialogue
• Peer feedback focused on growth
• Activities that rely on joint inquiry
• Norms that encourage respect, curiosity, and generosity
• Multiple modes of participation so that all learners can find a way in

Facilitators play a significant role in shaping these conditions. Through modelling and guiding interactions, they can help learners experience online spaces not as task platforms but as communities where learning happens together.

Conclusion

Collaboration is, for me, an ethical and relational commitment to collective flourishing and well-becoming. When applied to education, it transforms how learners understand themselves and how they engage with others. Drawing on Wenger’s social learning theory, Wlodkowski’s motivational framework, and Ringer and colleagues’ insights on collective thinking, it becomes clear that online environments can foster meaningful collaboration. When learners experience the value of belonging to a learning community, they carry these capacities forward into their personal, professional, and civic lives.

References

Hamdan, Q., Sebhatu, S. P., Hammedi, W., & Fisk, R. P. (2025). Service Ethics for Humanity: Wiser Engagement for a Collaborative Future. In J. Ul Islam (Ed.), Customer Engagement and Digital Business (1st ed., pp. 60–81). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003508083

Ringer, M., Gordon, R., & Vandenbussche, B. (2022). Igniting the collective spark: The relevance of thinking together. In The collective spark: Igniting thinking in groups, teams and the wider world (pp. 8–21). Grafische Cel.

Wenger, E. (2010). Communities of practice and social learning systems: The career of a concept. In Social learning systems and communities of practice (pp. 179–198). Springer London.

Wlodkowski, R. J. (2004). Creating motivating learning environments. In M. W. Galbraith (Ed.), Adult learning methods: A guide for effective instruction (3rd ed., pp. 141–164). Krieger Publishing Company.

One of the most meaningful challenges I experience in teaching and educational development is the tension between being open and protecting my work and identity. I am very interested in the principles of openness: sharing knowledge freely, inviting collaboration, and contributing to the wider educational community. To me, openness feels ethically right. Education, at its core, should be about breaking down barriers, not building them. When knowledge is shared openly, it becomes a public good rather than a private possession, and that resonates with how I want to teach and learn. I also see openness as connected to social justice, because it challenges existing inequalities in access to knowledge and learning opportunities. As Bali, Cronin, and Jhangiani (2020) argue, open educational practices have the potential to make education more inclusive and equitable by reducing structural barriers and amplifying diverse voices that are often left out of traditional academic systems.

However, I often find myself in a difficult position. The more open I become, the more vulnerable I feel, both professionally and personally. Sharing materials or ideas publicly can mean losing control over how they are used or interpreted. I have had experiences where people reused my work without acknowledgment or adapted it in ways that I did not intend. This kind of free riding makes openness feel one-sided at times. I give freely, but not everyone gives back or even respects the basic norms of attribution. This tension makes me question where the boundary between generosity and exploitation lies.

This dilemma mirrors what Cronin (2017) described as a constant balancing act between privacy and openness. In her study, participants also struggled to maintain boundaries between their personal and professional identities online. Many wanted to be open and networked educators, but they also needed to protect aspects of their personal lives and professional integrity. The study showed how digital spaces blur these boundaries and how easily the personal and professional, or the teacher and the learner, can overlap in ways that feel uncomfortable. Like the participants in Cronin’s work, I also try to manage these boundaries by being deliberate about where and how I engage. For instance, I might use certain platforms, such as institutional learning environments or professional networks, for open sharing, while keeping my personal spaces private.

In a sense, this dilemma is not only about technology or copyright; it is about trust and values. Openness depends on a shared understanding of respect, reciprocity, and ethical use. When that understanding is missing, openness can quickly become risky or discouraging. Yet, I still believe that the answer is not to close off, but to be more intentional about how I practice openness. Creative Commons licensing helps to some extent, as it communicates the conditions of sharing clearly, but the social norms around open practice need to grow alongside the technical tools.

Ultimately, I am learning that being open does not mean being unguarded. It means finding a thoughtful balance: sharing knowledge generously while setting boundaries that protect both privacy and authorship. My ongoing challenge is to cultivate this balance in a way that keeps openness ethical, sustainable, and emotionally safe for everyone involved.

References:
Bali, M., Cronin, C., & Jhangiani, R. S. (2020). Framing Open Educational Practices from a Social Justice Perspective. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2020(1), 10.
Cronin, C. (2017). Openness and Praxis: Exploring the Use of Open Educational Practices in Higher Education. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(5), 15–34.
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Overall, I find the course very useful. The PBL groups are also helpful, as they make it easier to share experiences and learn from others. That said, I have felt a bit confused at times and hope that things will start to feel more organised as we move forward.

I am happy to be part of this course and to learn together with everyone.

I have some experience using Wix, which I find much simpler than WordPress. Still, I can see that WordPress is a powerful tool that can be useful for much more than just building websites. Being provided access to the course’s locally hosted WordPress was a great help, as it made it easier to explore and experiment without worrying about technical setup.

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