Blog Post #2 Pedagogy and Instructional Design in Digital Spaces

Liam, I really enjoyed reading your Blog Post #2. Your experiences and insights made me think about these issues in new ways.

In particular, I was interested to read about how online learning in 2020 evolved your learning and helped you gain tools in open learning platforms and online conversation. I, too, learned a great deal by connecting with peers online, at first through email forums and then, when social media came into existence, through online groups. I agree that the added perspectives and resource networks are incredibly valuable.

I’m curious what you mean by Network Pedagogy becoming something you need to search for yourself. Are you saying that each student needs to find the online tools that work best for them?

Your view of the role of the instructor as one who “send(s) the students down the path of success” also piqued my interest, and I liked the way you articulated that. Often as teachers, we are focused on helping students learn and the different ways we might enhance their learning, but from a student perspective, instructor appreciation of what they have learned is an important motivating factor. Paying attention to detail and transparency in expectations and being flexible in how we see accomplishment in an online setting not only supports students to be fairly graded but supports a successful social exchange in which the student meets the teacher’s expectations and is rewarded with approval.

Thank you for your thoughts. I look forward to reading future blog posts!