“Today’s reality – online learning is here to stay. It is not a fad or a trend.”
(Betts, 2017, January 10)
Working through subjects in an online learning environment has been a challenge for me. As a social person, I find it isolating not meeting my fellow students face to face. That said, I love the freedom that an online digital learning environment provides. I am a learner that finds online learning great, but perhaps not ideal.
However, online learning is my reality, and most likely will be my student’s as well. ETL523 Digital Citizenship in Schools has been a great to learn online. I have really enjoyed the modules and being introduced to all the wonderful digital tools educators can now use. ‘Meeting’ fellow students through FlipGrid and Padlet was a great opportunity to connect with classmates and provided experience with tools that can be easily used in the classroom. The discussion forums provide another chance to connect with peers by reading and responding to key topics. The course work we have been reviewing has taught me the importance of Digital Citizenship concepts.
In World without walls: Learning well with others (Richardson, W. 2008) it states teachers are ‘connectors first’ and that philosophy is evident in how we are learning in ETL523. The concept of working on a collaborative Wiki was very daunting. We had been shown a number of tools, asked about areas of interest and grouped together. We were then sent to work. We were learning about the creation of a digital learning environment (DLE), while creating a digital environment! It was a lot to take in. I was fortunate; I had a wonderful group to work with. Both Amy and Kate were passionate about the topic we were working on and hard workers. We shared Padlets and Google Docs, we used the subject meeting room and the discussion feature of the Wiki. We shared and commented on each other’s work. We worked as a team. We did have to face challenges; no face to face interactions due to locales (and Skype being banned in Dubai), we lost a team member early on and we had additional time constraints due to pre-booked holidays. However, these issues were not insurmountable and showed us the very real nature of collaborative learning in a digital environment.
The task of creating or learning through something like a Wiki is one that I can see could easily be translated into a school environment. Working for the NSW Dept. of Education my fellow teachers are already used to learning online. By introducing a learning environment similar to the one we created, I believe we could show teachers how these could be used and created by students. Using tools like Wiki’s in conjunction with traditional learning environments would provide students with an ideal learning environment. An environment where they are provided the opportunity to interact with their peers (by creating a DLE, as well as participating in non-digital based learning activities) and being able to complete self-paced learning activities (by learning from a Wiki or the like). Online learning is the new learning reality, as educators we need to embrace it and immerse our students in it in order to give them a full, meaningful and 21st century relevant education.
Word Cloud created using Jason Davies Word Cloud Generator
References:
Betts, K. (2009) The growth of online learning: How universities must adjust to the new norm. Education Drive, Retrieved from https://www.educationdive.com/news/the-growth-of-online-learning-how-universities-must-adjust-to-the-new-norm/433632/
Family Online Safety Institute (2009, September 29). What is Digital Citizenship? [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0I13tKrxcA&feature=youtu.be
Richardson, W (2008, December 3) World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others. From Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-will-richardson
