The end of the first topic in this course is getting closer. It has been an interesting start of the course, getting to know my group members, becoming acquainted to the materials and trying to figure out how the course is structured. The first webinar was an interesting experience, since I have never participated in such a big group meeting online. I like the break out room function very much; it is exciting to see whom you pair up with! The insight I got during the webinar, is that interaction in large groups online doesn´t work very good, e.g. answering questions in a chat. Interaction is more rewarding in smaller groups.
PBL-work has been motivating and fun. It is a privilege to have two truly dedicated facilitators. It is rare to have an opportunity like this – to be the student yourself and have two helping mentors! I though think, we still need to develop our group work, and find strategies that works for us.
We have been discussing a lot during our meetings, not fearing to dig deep. We have had both an ethical and philosophical approach to the topics, discussing how we define and recognize knowledge in the online landscape of today, and a more practical discussion about professional vs private appearance online. I think people in general are aware of that what you share online stays online forever, and are thinking about their personal brand or reputation. Schools in Finland are quite good at training students in responsible media behavior. What I personally worry more about, is a lack of knowledge of what stylistic level one should use when communicating online or even writing essays. I see that many students have a vague perception of the difference between informal and formal language.
The most interesting question for me is what digital literacies I need as a teacher in an open learning environment online. I really like Dough Belshaw´s list of digital literacies, which in the picture is presented as elements in the periodic table. The elements summaries the core of good pedagogy, which is reinsuring since I strongly believe online teaching and learning has to build upon well- thought out pedagogy. The tools or platforms we use are important, but they are still secondary to didactics and pedagogy.
- Watch the TedTalk: https://youtu.be/A8yQPoTcZ78
- Read more by Dough Belshaw: The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies
http://www.frysklab.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Essential-Elements-of-Digital-Literacies-v1.0.pdf
Mägs´ ThinkCorner 
Thank you for this discussion Mägs! It actually made me think a little more. In our group we were wondering how to overcome the fear of using new IT tools in our teaching and how digital literacy differ between teacher and student and could in a way feed this fear from both side: “Brrr they/he/she know(s) more than me about this tools, I don’t want to use it and feel ridiculous!” . Your text made me think that we as teachers should not be so worried about using new tools, we could use them in the simplest ways we find, but we should always pay attention of how we use them, and always with a ‘well- thought out pedagogy’, to copy you!
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Thank you for leaving a comment! I am happy to hear, you cheer on quality pedagogy as well! I used to work with younger kids for several years, and I believe you discuss pedagogy strategies more in that environment, than in the academic world!
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Hi mag, thank you for your interesting thoughts on the first few weeks of our course. I agree that PBL group meetings as well as the larger events like webinar and tweet chat were very interesting and full of exciting thoughts and new information. I am also glad that you thought that the work in the group was enjoyable and effective. Any suggestions as to what could be developed further in that regard?
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Hi and thanks for your comment! I believe one idea with this course is, that the participants together should figure out how they are going to collaborate and work as a group. However, I think our PBL-group would have benefited from a little bit more directions or “rules” in the beginning.
I wish you all the best for the next couple of weeks! 🙂
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I feel totally the same. And I hope that group dynamics will be a bit better in next weeks. At least I myself feel more confident now after the first week’s experience.
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Hi! I think it is a great learning experience for all of us! I have really enjoyed these first weeks, though it is quite energy consuming! 🙂
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Hello! Thanks for sharing – and quite a few comments already😃. This course I think is always, and for all, more time consuming than you’d ever expect – there is literally no end to what you can explore and read and… It’s difficult too to plan your engagement and time since the whole idea is that you play around and see what you come across that is interesting. I like the idea of a walking along a path in the woods sort of absent-mindedly and just curious about what I’ll see after the next bend or hill – but then it takes time… About work in the group I think we already saw some development yesterday and again it takes time – trying on different ways and reflecting to find a mode that works for this specific constellation of personalities. It’ll be interesting to see the development in coming weeks!
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