As a student, NGL has been useful to me
In developing an awareness of NGL comes the confirmation that I have already been using a lot of what I am learning about in prior online education and using various learning platforms and networks in the process. This first assignment has been an eye-opener for me, although having begun as a latecomer to the course it has also been more than a little challenging and with a few bumps along the way in terms of me wondering if I have indeed been on the right track and also if I am doing enough to catch up.
From having recently studied online pedagogy and learning design I thought I understood the concept that online learning is much more than about applying technology to education, I realise that I now understand it even more, and wish that I had started all of my study by learning about NGL first! I feel I now understand what it means to successfully use it, despite having been using it for quite some time, mostly ineffectively! My understanding so far is that interactivity is the key to online learning (Pelz, 2004) and with that interaction comes a deeper learning experience (Rourke & Coleman, 2011). In order to facilitate this, learning has to become more learner-centred than instructivist (Reigeluth, 2012). Within NGL, an important part of the interactivity is that the correct connections are made and nurtured to facilitate learning (Siemans, 2005).
Digital Literacy plays a huge part in all of our online interactions, and yet I wonder just how aware we all are of the concept of digital literacy, which is outlined in the very short video above from Deakin University. Those of us who would most likely consider ourselves as digital natives (Selwyn, 2009) may not think too much about the literacy skills involved in simply communicating with others online. I have been made aware several times throughout my learning journey as a student of USQ online just how important digital literacy is from the viewpoint of safety, conscientiousness and effective learning. Having to turn on my filters as a part of my responsibility of being a digitally literate individual is a concept made all the more relevant by Clay Shirky in his video on spam management.
I have also been able to practice skills in my ability to use online tools to manage information that I have never before used, such as Feedly and Diigo, as well as choosing content from others’ blogs to help me to develop my own meanings. Whilst it took me some time to get used to using these new tools, now that I have learned how to use them I will certainly be continuing to do so in the future. Learning to blog has also been a new experience for me, because although I have been assessed in my production of a blog before, it was not something I used in a fluid way, revisited or reflected on, but something that I created and submitted for assessment and did not share with other course participants. Studying NGL has for me, created an opportunity to reflect on what it is that I actually need to learn, exploring the concept of personal knowledge management (PKM) was the main way in which this came about. I wrote down (PKM-EDU8117) what I intended to do with my management of this course, using the Seek, Sense, Share framework (Jarche, 2014) and the reality is that it went exponentially differently to how I planned it, but the fact that I have been able to reflect on that is proof of how useful this process has been to me.
I have realised a few things about my learning style too, which I am not convinced is the correct way for me and although I still have a way to go in learning how to be a “better learner,” I am finding being able to have a space to write down thoughts, go away and think about them, re-read them and think about them again is so much more useful to me than writing notes on paper strewn around which become lost and forgotten. Blogging is an enormously efficient way to be able to access earlier ponderings and stretch possibilities in different directions on revisits. I have discovered a new way for me to actually be able to work on my bizarre ponderings and will continue to work in this manner. I was initially very hesitant about blogging and found it too difficult to do at first because my motivation was sitting a little below what it should thanks to feeling a little vulnerable in my inexperience and the fact that I was sharing in a public space.
Once I managed to get my head around the fact that I am just one of a network of others all working in the same arena, it became a little easier to write. I have studied enough theory to understand that collaboration is the key to successful online interaction, but putting this to practice in new environments that aren’t safely tucked into the course pages and moderated by the course facilitator proved to be quite the challenge again. Facing up to a lot of new things within this course was a scary prospect. As a self-criticism I have noted from my own participation in this course, I realised quite late on that I had become so consumed with feeling vulnerable about what to write in my own blog pages, that I was neglecting to communicate with others on theirs. I forgot some of the key principles of networked learning and of Connectivism which is to connect. By becoming less consumed by trying to catch up on the course outline and writing my own blog, I would have made the process so much easier by focusing more on making connections with others within the group. Understanding NGL has absolutely changed the way in which I will approach learning in the future as a self-directed, lifelong learner (Steinbach, 2000).
A quote that struck me as I stumbled across it within Steinbach’s book was:
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists” -Eric Hoffer
References
Jarche, H. (2014. March 05). What is Your PKM Routine? Retrieved from: http://jarche.com/2014/03/what-is-your-pkm-routine/
Pelz, B. (2004). Three Principles of Effective Online Pedagogy. JALN, 8(3) 33-46. Retrieved from: https://www.ccri.edu/distancefaculty/pdfs/Online-Pedagogy-Pelz.pdf
Reigeluth, C. (2012). Instructional Theory and Technology for the New Paradigm of Education. RED: Revista de Educacion a Distancia, 32(1) 1-18. Retrieved from: http://www.um.es/ead/red/32/reigeluth.pdf
Rourke, A.J., & Coleman, K. (2011). Authentic Assessment in E-Learning. Reflective and Collaborative Writing in The Arts. In G. William, P. Stratham, N. Broom & B. Clelands (Eds), Changing Demands, Changing Directions. Proceedings ascilite Hobart 2011, (pp. 1089-1095). Retrieved April 2015 from: https://www.academia.edu/1070118/Authentic_assessment_in_elearning_Reflective_and_collaborative_writing_in_the_arts
Selwyn, N. (2009). The Digital Native- Myth and Reality. Institute of Education, London, UK. Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives 61,4 DOI: 10.1108/00012530910973776. Retrieved from: http://comminfo.rutgers.edu/~tefko/Courses/e553/Readings/Selwyn%20dig%20natives,%20Aslib%20Proceedings%202009.pdf
Siemans, G. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Retrieved from: http://er.dut.ac.za/bitstream/handle/123456789/69/Siemens_2005_Connectivism_A_learning_theory_for_the_digital_age.pdf?sequence=1
Steinbach, R. (2000). Successful Lifelong Learning: Ten Tactics for Today and Tomorrow. Rev.Ed of The Adult Learner. Retrieved from: http://library.books24x7.com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/assetviewer.aspx?bookid=2613&chunkid=883111908&rowid=3
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