In our first seminar for this particular module, we were introduced to the concept of a SOLE (Self Organised Learning Environment) a method used to encourage student-centred learning. This is an effective approach towards learning as students are given the opportunity to generate their own personal views towards a question without teacher involvement, and therefore enables them take responsibility for what they’ve discovered.

We were asked to form groups of 5 and create a poster to answer a question which was “What have you learnt from your experience of online learning?”. However, it was made clear our poster must only portray pictures and not words, and so we discussed a range of different ideas to contribute to the question. Each member in the group had a particular role; one was assigned to use a device to research any information that could be useful, and others were to draw and create their images to be later presented to the rest of the class. I took on the role of drawing the images along with two other members of the group and found it quite difficult to keep up to the level of drawing that others had the ability to do, though they kindly taught me how to draw specific things I was struggling to complete. Despite the difficulty of drawing, this task enhanced my communication skills with other people and allowed me to reflect on my own ideas as well as consider the personal experiences others had during their online learning.

In my group, we found that online learning benefitted our digital skills which meant we became more comfortable when using different online platforms offered to us to complete work. This can have positive implications for the future in technology and for upcoming students. Furthermore, learning online saves money and is less time consuming as students didn’t have to commute to and from school, gaining quick access to laptops and phones to attend live meetings. Although, this may be a disadvantage to those who don’t have devices and struggled to attend lessons and complete work. Additionally, online learning allowed for more introverted students to feel less intimated and perhaps encouraged them to contribute openly to discussions with other people and confidently answer questions asked by teachers as they no longer have to physically see people. On the other hand, this could be an issue for people who enjoy social interaction and being isolated from other people may have affected their contribution and perhaps they struggled to engage with activities.

During the group presentations, we were introduced to their experiences of online learning. For example, one group mentioned the many distractions that can occur including noise levels and so it was difficult to remain focused on the work, others pointed out that there were connectivity issues when attending lessons and WiFi would immediately cut off, as a result this created issues with punctuality and difficulty to keep up with work set by teachers. The value of human presence became apparent during digital learning and allowed us to consider more deeply the importance of the teacher so that we understood exactly how to complete work and to ask for clarification of information we don’t understand, therefore physical presence was a key factor for both teachers and students which largely affected learning.