Lotta Åbjörnsson, Lars Uhlin, Alastair Creelman, Maria Kvarnström
The Open Networked Learning course is organised collaboratively by educational developers at Lund University, Karolinska Institutet and Linnaeus University, Sweden, with several collaborating institutions in Sweden and abroad, including The Independent Institute of Education/Varsity College, South Africa. Inviting anyone with an interest in the area, the course mixes participants from the collaborating institutions with non-affiliated learners in small groups, working online assisted by facilitators from either of the institutions and co-facilitators who are previous course participants. This structure means each group contains a mixture of people from different cultures and contexts, providing “internationalisation at home” – a great opportunity for all.
The course uses open, free digital tools and social media and covers four topics over eleven weeks: Online participation and digital literacies, Open learning – sharing and openness, Learning in communities – networked and collaborative learning, and Design for online and blended learning. More than 600 people from all continents have participated so far.
The ideas behind the course are manifold: most universities need courses for teachers about using digital tools for teaching and learning, the student body is changing towards greater diversity, and most universities’ strategic documents include a section about the value of internationalisation. Collaborating beyond institutional and geographical borders, this course creates an arena for learning, not only about the use of digital tools for teaching and learning, but also about collaborating and learning in a cross-cultural and -contextual community of peers, thus constituting an example of a truly inclusive learning culture. Course evaluations show the mix of participants to be considered valuable for learning – some examples: “This, if anything, highlighted the value of online engagement as it allows people from all over the world to come together and talk! It was a valuable learning experience.” “Increased the element of curiosity, moved our comfort zone and was interesting to learn different perspectives from across the globe.” “Learning about and appreciating differences in experience and outlook was to a large extent very valuable for my learning.”
