[BLANK_AUDIO] Hi, my name is Jansen Hews. I'm currently studying a master of arts e-Learning. And as part of that subject I have to do quite a lot of online involvement in terms of. Posting to a forum peer feedback and, and certain weeks, moderating those forums. So there's a whole lot online content and that is augmented by face to face teaching once a week. I think online learning is particularly important and relevant, especially as we go into. The 21st century and, and the, the rich information age we live in. I think, it's really important professionally because I think whether, whatever field you might be working in, digital is really important. I look at online learning as having various, professional outputs. Whether it be enhancing training and learning helping me establish, communities of practice within my workplace where I can, enhance my and other colleagues' professional understanding, and learning a bit more about how to use technologies in that online, online spaces is a benefit. In terms of study, currently digital technologies have helped me. Source information, be able to locate information on the move and also pick that up and read it and digest it and then do something with it at any given time. I work fulltime at the museum, which is anywhere between 40 to 50 hours a week. I'm studying one to two subjects per semester at any given time. Having that flexibility to, to pace my own learning is, is a massive benefit. Also, in terms of actual coursework being able to choose when I contribute to forums and how I contribute to them, has been a massive timesaver. And I'm not limited to certain hours within a particular day or time. And that's been hugely beneficial. Learning is very much a social thing. So, and particularly the way I learn it is, is very much social learning. So, that means negotiating meaning and understanding with my colleagues. There's a comfortability that it, it provides. Where I, I feel like it could be comfortable to ask those questions. And question some, some of the ways that they going about things and vice versa. And I think that the online learning means that you've got it in one context but, the further you go online the wider and wider those networks become. So it goes from, what might be you and a friend talking about it to you and your classmates to, you and your work context and broader. As, as that expands and, and the insights and understanding that that provides is. all about that social interaction. One of the greatest challenges I find with, with online learning, especially around group work, is the lack of social or face to face contact that you might otherwise get. And the challenge there is that sometimes simple things like communicating an idea. Takes that much longer. And is that much more difficult. Sometimes with online learning, you, I might feel a sense of isolation which doesn't ordinarily happen in a general classroom setting. Technology is a great device in terms of the affordances it, it provides for learning. I think what needs to, to be there is support in terms of. How to use those technologies effectively. because there is just so much there. How can I utilize it to, to the best means for the student. In, in terms of digital literacies and, and the teaching of digital literacies, a lot of what is done within the coursework is pointing us to great material and, and readings on that sort of thing. And there's a lot of material about what it means to be digitally literate and engaging with technologies. But, in terms of how you actually go about it and, and achieve that literacy it's something that's largely self directed, I'd say. And just involves a lot of critical analysis and working out where and which materials is going to be most relevant for, for what I'm needing to do. What I use at university in terms of tablets, smartphones, is something which is very much bring your own device type model in terms of how that might integrate into coursework is, is left to your discretion. There is the idea that students will need to often find their own solutions and sometimes. Those solutions mean going outside of various portals whether it be learning management systems or other. So for example when we found some of those LMS systems too prescriptive or, or limiting, what we'd often do is, is find our own forums, our own means of. Communicating outside of those. Everything's pretty much online. It'll be very rare that I'll walk to into a, a library, whether at university or elsewhere. And, and pick up a book. Because I'll invariably, often be able to find the chapter from that book online, if I, I look long and hard enough. In terms of researching particular topics The journal articles that, that we're given provide a, a really great understanding and, and often difficult and complex understanding that involves a lot of reading outside of that. What I do find from the students' perspective is there's a lot of information. So the idea of knowledge is there. It's, it's very tangible, and is able to be, gotten and, and taken. How to do that is another thing, and, currently in the coursework it wouldn't be something that's necessarily taught. What I will often do is go through the reading list and, and the majority of those are available in the library as PDFs. And, and the majority of those will be journal articles. Some will be links to particular web pages. And what I will often do is take all that information, download it to my tablet, and then as I'm reading it, I'll, I'll use various tools to annotate that. And, I'll use Google, I use Google Docs quite extensively when I'm doing assignments because it allows me to pick it up wherever I go. Whether it be at work, or at home, or elsewhere. When I'm, given a particular assignment, I'll often use Google Scholar and just troll the web for, for related material. And I'll I find that particularly useful because you can see how much that article or that author has been cited by others. And I find that, peer supported idea really important in terms of okay, this resource is obviously a valuable one. And I'll utilize the, the university's forums in terms of getting information from other students and what they've found. And similarly sharing those so that that can be a benefit to the cohort. Other forms of online resources that I use are blogs quite, quite extensively. And I'll subscribe and follow those particular blogs. Or I'll, I'll actively seek those out. Other ones will be various videos I find through a lot of the content. They'll often be a talk or a presentation related to that. So, some of those channels include YouTube, Vimeo some of the I, iTunes channels, as well as say TedX. The use of open source technologies and, and how I use that as a student I'm, I'm. Very much in favor of because I think, what you actually bring to the table people can augment and add to and, and, and further along what you've developed. And I'm very much interested in promoting that for example, I'll make a lot of my photos and images open source so that they can be repurposed and reused. and, we'll often use Creative Commons licensing that have acknowledgements that allow people to do that. And I think that, that whole movement of open source is ultimately a positive thing, especially for education with, the access that, the access that students have to some these technologies. It needs to be opened up. [BLANK_AUDIO] Some advice I'd have for teachers in terms of using technology in the way they deliver their teaching and learning is, not to be afraid of it. And to, bring to the, to allow students to enhance that experience and, and bring solutions where possible. And allow them to steer the conversations in, in navigating the use of that technology. because in some instances you'll find that the students will be far more able and, and willing, and capable of doing that, than you are. So don't be afraid to, to let them lead those conversations. [INAUDIBLE] that's pretty much it. It's not massive. It's a good thing. Yeah. [BLANK_AUDIO]
