Creating the open course Flexible, Distance and Online

Learning (FDOL) – a collaboration between educational

developers in the UK and Sweden Lars Uhlin1, Chrissi Nerantzi2, Neil Withnell3, Maria Kvarnström1

1Unit for Medical Education, Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, 2Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester 3University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom

Conclusions Creating open online learning communities provides good

opportunities for collaborative learning and can offer an important

arena for educational development across borders.

Evaluations show that this open approach gives teachers new

perspectives and increased competence to develop technology

enhanced learning in their own professional context.

Lessons learnt have relevance for open course designers

who consider collaborating with colleagues in other

institutions and countries.

Figure 1 The FISh model:

a simplified PBL step-

model for small group

inquiry.

Presenting authors

Maria Kvarnström and Lars Uhlin

Educational developers

Unit for Medicial Education (UME),

Dept. of Learning, Informatics,

Management and Ethics (LIME)

Karolinska Institutet

Stockholm; Sweden

Aim To develop an open course for Continuing Professional

Development for teachers in Higher Education (HE) in

the area of Flexible, Distance and Online Learning.

E-mail:

maria.kvarnstrom@ki.se

lars.uhlin@ki.se

Telephone:

+46-8-524 836 24 (MK)

+46-8-524 838 07 (LU)

Figure 2. Illustration

of the design and

organization of the

FDOL132; groups,

participation modes

and tools used.

Design of the open FDOL The pedagogical design is a simplified model of

Problem-Based Learning to support Collaborative

Open Online Learning; named FISh; Focus,

Investigate, Share (figure 1).

The course was created using freely available

technologies without relying on technical expertise and

support resources.

Focus was how available digital technologies

underpinned by a pedagogical design, can support,

extend opportunities for connection, engagement and

collaborative learning beyond institutional, disciplinary

and geographical boundaries.

Implementation Flexible, Distance and Online Learning (FDOL)

fdol.wordpress.com is an open course for course

designers, Educational Developers, Learning

Technologists and Teachers in Higher Education.

Three iterations of FDOL during 2013 (131, 132) and

2014 (141) have been offered (the organisation of

FDOL132/141 is shown in figure 2).

In total 282 participants from all over the world

registered for all three FDOL iterations. 175 of them

joined the FDOL community. 29% completed the

course. 54% of the 87 participants who joined PBL

groups completed. 92% of all participants who

completed and got certificates studied within a PBL

group.

“I must say, the FDOL course I’m taking now really

gives most of the control to the learners, and I’ve

appreciated that quite a lot (although it is quite

challenging)” (FDOL participant)

“I have realised how important socialization is

for the collaboration and that collaborations

doesn’t just happen. This I will work with and be

more supportive with”

“It feels like that community buzz has been

created amongst colleagues in this course,

but across geographical boundaries”

Homepage of the open FDOL course (fdol.wordpress.com)

“This FDOL141 course was

the best continuous

professional development I

have had for many years!“

“Learning is where people are. We need to

sharpen tools and course design to meet a

new world. This course showed me ways,

and left me eager to learn more”

FDOL

participant

voices