Starting the course

This fall I'm taking the Open Networked Learning Course at Linnaeus University. The course uses methods for open networked learning and is also given as an open online course available for anyone here.

The course description can be found here (in Swedish) and states that the course aims to give the participants an opportunity to explore open online-learning and use digital-tools for teaching and learning. 

There are two main goals that we who takes the course should achieve:

• first we should be able to explain different aspects of e-learning such as digital competence, cooperation, open and online-learning.
• second we should critically reflect on questions regarding e-learning and something that I do not get... in Swedish: "kritiskt reflektera över frågor som rör e­lärande i samband med äger praktikinställningar.."  does not make sense too me, google translated? Lets ask Alastair when I meet him.

I searched for definitions for the concepts in the first goal and found the following:

• Digital Competence "...skills and understanding people should have in the knowledge society" - What is digital competence? by Liisa Ilomäki, Anna Kantosalo and Minna Lakkala
  (Sounds like programming, math, and science to me... :)  )
• Open learning "activities that either enhance learning opportunities within formal education systems or broaden learning opportunities beyond formal education systems." - Wikipedia Open learning
  To be true the openness was more due to "...the development and use of open educational resources." and there seems not to be any consensus definition. But I like almost everything open, open source for instance... and most material in the courses I give are openly available. Do we give a certificate to anyone in the ONL-course? Where does the money come from?
• Online Learning "Online learning is a way of studying for an internationally recognised qualification without needing to attend classes on campus." -The University of Edinburgh 
  Seems simple enough!

The course is given over ten weeks and the first meeting will be on Monday. Apparently It will be just me and Alastair Creelman. The following meetings will consist of Problem Based Learning(PBL) work in groups with a topic per week and a given scenario. According to Wikipedia PBL gives the learner not just knowledge about the domain but skills to solve problems, collaborate and also improves intrinsic motivation, Sounds exciting! 

To get the course certificate I need to actively participate in the PBL groups, present findings, write reflective blog posts (400 words) with references to course literature, a summary blog post, but also to give feedback to other course participants!

My main concerns right now is to get my schedule synced with the other course that I take and the courses I give.