Two weeks ago I started the journey to the mysterious world of e-learning on the ONL181 course. I assumed I would find my way with a map and compass as I always have found on my hikes in the wild nature. To be honest, I still don't know if I'm even on the map yet. I feel quite unsure, like I had no idea where I'm actually heading to.In the beginning of the course I was so happy for the good instructions about the platforms and other practical things on the course. It also turned out that I'm having very good company on the journey. All the people in my PBL (Problem Based Learning) group are so nice and supportive. As during any challenging hike, the good company means a lot.
Despite of all the good I sometimes have the feeling I have chosen too challenging route I can't follow. I think the reason why I feel uncomfortable is actually part of the topic of the last two weeks on the course. We have been uncouraged to think about our digital literacy. I knew I'm just a rookie, but I had no idea how much effort it would take to try to hang on. This digital age is not totally weird for me but just now I have realized my journey has been quite simple so far. I have stayed on well-marked routes I know and haven't even tried to learn so much new.
In advance I felt I need to learn a lot about the tools. It's true, I do. For me it's very time-consuming to try, play and learn any new applications, platforms etc. This week I tried for the first time Coggle, a mind-mapping tool. My PBL group chose to use it as a tool for our presentation about the first topic and it was a bit challenging for the whole group, but the result was nice. But, surprisingly the tool wasn't the issue for me. I suddenly understood I never really had collaborated with any digital tool. I couldn't see the joint goal clearly. For me that is definitely the biggest challenge I have to overcome.
This far I have participated webinars and meetings online. I have used digital platforms in teaching. As a private person I have communicated with people in social media. But I really haven't been doing any written group work online before this course. During the online meetings with the PBL group it was fascinating to hear how different thoughts the colleaqueas from the different parts of the world had about the topic. We talked quite much about the instructions of the task and how we understood them. We were not too sure what we actually should do and what to produce as a presentation to the whole community. For me it got even harder when we started to create the mind map with Coggle. The problem wasn't just the tool, it was the challenge to produce and edit the output of so many people with so many thoughts. We managed to do it, thanks to the leaders of the topic and the active group members. I'm not happy about my participation, I should have done more. Somehow I got frozen by the confusion about the goal.
Even if I achieved the first passage with the group, I'm not sure what to expect in the future on the course. Am I on the map? Do I really know how to collaborate online? Or am I just following the group passively? On the map or not, I'm still along. I'm not giving up. The journey might lead trough some swamps but I'll hang on, thanks to the fellow travellers and the duck boards. Maybe I'll find myself on the map and lead the group on my turn.
