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When I reflect on my own learning in this course that I’ve attended, I can think of describing it through the analogy with a steep learning curve (see above). First, I had to go through the change of perspective, that brought me to a more flexible positioning within the context of the digital literacy (White and Le Cornu, 2011). Then, reflecting on the technological development helped me critically evaluate the technological changes vis-a-vis the contemporary system of education and how that will affect teaching and learning in the longer term (Weller and Anderson, 2013; Hopkins 2009). I’ve then been able to compare my own experience with the importance of the social presence in collaborative learning and find a lot of connections between my own learning process and how it can be leveraged and integrated into my teaching activities. Creating knowledge together (on the level of a principle) brought an additional level of understanding of the process of collaborative environment in teaching (Palloff & Pratt 2005). However, during these learning and reflection activities, my proficiency (as compared to learning time) was going up relatively slowly. However, when I was able to contemplate on the blended and collaborative learning designs through the application of different models and theories (Vaughan et. al. 2013; John Biggs 2011; Salmon 2013), things have started falling into place, together with previously acquired knowledge. And my proficiency started to climb up exponentially.
Now, I think, I am still braving that steep part of the learning curve (see above). I have to switch from the proficiency expansion on the theoretical level to the applicability of what I’ve learned in my practice. For now, it seems to be shaped by my conceptualization of the “steps forward” in that direction. I will definitely position myself better as a teacher in the understanding that the digital environment goes beyond digital tools and is framed by digital literacy and its added value to teaching. I now better understand the technological impact on teaching and learning and what that means for me as a teacher. I much more appreciate the need for social presence in digital environments as well as thorough and thoughtful planning of teaching presence with the help of models suggested in the course.
On the other hand, the use of digital tools to enhance learning became a much clearer concept for me. I understand how their use should be limited by the actual learning outcomes and the interests of all parties in teaching and learning. In part, because of the common dependency on digital literacy. And in part also, because of the limitations in terms of the teaching presence, that are a direct result of limited resources (including time). That means, that while using Wooclap, Padlet, Canvas, web-based blogging, etc. can be motivated by the interests of learning, the use of the technologies can meet a lot of limitations in terms of time and proportionality vis-a-vis added value. The cost/benefit calculation will remain, until and unless the limitations on resources will be somehow lifted.
That said, it is high time to include changes in my own teaching/learning environment and the greater inclusion of collaborative activities (webinars, online brainstormings, self-study and reflection groups, etc.) that use digital tools of facilitation (Zoom, Padlet, Word Charts, etc.) can stimulate the transition from emergency digital teaching to real online learning (Hodges et al. 2020), provided, of course, that the teaching presence is taken care of properly.
Make no mistake… I will climb that curve until the summit!
References:
John Biggs, Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Buckingham: Open University Press/McGraw Hill, 2011
Hodges, C., Moore, S., Lockee, B., Trust, T., & Bond, A. (2020). The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning. Educause, accessed 9 April 2020, https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/3/the-difference-between-emergency-remote-teaching-and-online-learning
Hopkins, R. (2009). Resilience Thinking. Resurgence, p. 257.
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Gilly Salmon (2013). E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning
Vaughan et.al. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments, Chapter 1 “Conceptual framework”
Weller, Martin and Anderson, Terry (2013). Digital resilience in higher education. European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 16(1) pp. 53-66
David S. White and Alison Le Cornu, 2011, Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, Volume 16, Number 9 – 5 September 2011 can be found here.