Posted on November 28, 2018 by Grant What are the most important things that you have learnt through your engagement in the ONL course? Why? Bringing PBL to life. During my daily work and studies, this approach gets a lot of airtime as a leading pedagogical approach, and therefore it is highly beneficial for me to be ‘on the other side.’ Online collaboration. Each of us did not only need to collaborate, but had to collectively learn how best to do so. This has implications for tool selection and logistics. All-in-all, from the messiness to the ordered and routine approach that emerged later in the course, we learned how best to manage time, and consistently deliver on required outputs. Listening and taking the role of the student in a edtech space. This was a great experience for me as a reminder of how it feels to be a lecturer being trained, and being pushed to confront new tools/approaches from this different angle. How will your learning influence your practice? Similar to the above, one of the most valuable experiences for me was understanding from the angle of a student, how such a pedagogical approach really works. This will greatly inform my thinking in lecturer edtech development, and how I lead my own classes. I also find that I my motivation to explore and use new tools has been heightened by the spirit of experimentation nurtured in this course. This is the ‘spirit’ in which I want to approach my courses at Varsity College. What are your thoughts about using technology to enhance learning/teaching in your own context? The affordances of online tools for collaboration and exploration are paramount in both the development of strong self-directed learners, and the production of true 21st century academics. Having said this, I believe true knowledge in this space means understanding when and why to use a tool (not just a tool for tool’s sake). Going forward, and identifying a gap in my current teaching practice, I will look to use online tools as a means of reflection. This might take the form of a continual requirement to write a blog/journal or contribute to a discussion board, or something more create (depending on the cohort) such as using Flipgrid. What are you going to do as a result of your involvement in ONL? Why? Given the aim that I co-facilitate next year, I really needed to (and have ) learned best practice through our facilitator and co-facilitator for this 181 iteration. This would include (and is certainly not limited to ONL only!) helping students: Navigate the feeling of being ‘lost’ and ‘overwhelmed’ Connecting key concepts Encouraging critical thought on leading pedagogies and tools Creating cohesion in the group Managing the level of tasks and discussion to be inclusive yet developmental What suggestions do you have (activities and/or in general) for development of eLearning in your own teaching or context? In my work context; creating more personalised learning. This aligns well with the general direction of teaching and learning development at the IIE, where there is a move away from tasks, and towards individual evidence of growth. This narrative fits into the PBL/networked learning paradigm, and as such I expect this experience to be highly informative going forward. Topic 5 – Reflection