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Topic 1: Online participation & digital literacies
Where am I in the digital world? An immigrant or a native? I feel like an immigrant. We can also use the terms visitor or resident (1). Then I am definitely a visitor that really tries to develop. Trying to deal with Digital Literacies to improve my life in the digital world, how to learn and how to work within it. In this context there are the seven elements model presented (2). I am familiar with my computer and have a lot of technical support and that is the basis for my computer life. In my work as a teacher I can relate to some of the different literacies when leading courses online. Like being familiar with different tools to use to present lectures and to record lectures and also to make this lectures public – at least for the students on the platform used for the specific course. It is not comfortable for me to publish anything outside the student groups. Making the records completely open. To leave that kind of footprint is really scary. If I switch to the students’ point of view I always let them be just visitors. Leaving no footprints at all. Everything happens in the closed group. Maybe due to my own fear. It could be interesting to make projects leading them to publish something that could be used by other students in their learning processes. I hope that ONL181 gives me the tools and courage to do so.
I read from another blogger, Marcus in this course, that when an online course starts you can maybe give the new participants a short course about online learning. Interesting thought really. You can find it here. One step making the students feel more secure.
What to do with my fears about the digital world? How to deal with different students fears? There are many types of students with different fears. How to create an environment to feel comfortable for most of them?
In our PBL-group we focused on different fears across generation of learners. We are afraid of doing things wrong. So we need to create a learning environment that feels safe that also allow mistakes. Take small steps on the thin ice and learning by doing. This will for the moment be good enough. And taking this course is a good start.
1. White, D. & Le Cornu, A. (2011) Visitors and residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9).
2. JISC (2014) guide. Developing digital literacies. http://web.archive.org/web/20141011143516/http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/
Good point about preparing students for online learning. My experience is that very few students know how to learn online and need a lot of guidance at first. Most of our distance courses have guides to online learning as part of the course introduction and many claim that this is why many students drop out. They drop out because they don't understand what they should do or they don't feel part of a group or community. How can we help them?
SvaraRaderaDo as You let us do in this course? Be a part of the course early? Have to contribute early and not wait until the final examination? I think that the students needs to be seen and to feel connected and also be needed in som way. To be a part of something meaningful.
SvaraRadera