Week 4 Reflection – Theories of Online Learning, Grand Challenges, and Inclusive Digital Design
This has been a week of deepened insight into the places where theory, access, and inclusion converge in online learning. Centring on two key theories—Connectivism and the Community of Inquiry (CoI)—I was assisted to see beyond content delivery in online learning. Connectivism emphasizes learning in networks, relationships, and information flow. Reflecting upon typical learning management systems versus more openly networked approaches highlighted the limitations of the former. Tools within LMSs are ordered, safe, and predictable, yet often ensure a silo effect in learning. Networked learning fosters openness, connection, and co-creation of meaning—concepts which strongly resonate with and reflect how most learners actually learn online.
Equally compelling was the keynote by Dr. Thomas Reeves, who spoke on the grand challenges in online learning: equity, quality, digital literacy, and evidence-based practice. Perhaps the most compelling of the ideas was that it is not technology that improves learning, but intentional design and meaningful human connection. Many of the challenges are systemic, not technological, and require long-term investment, collaboration, and institutional commitment.
Lastly, Dr. Jean-Paul Restoule’s presentation on Indigenous-centered online course design asked me to think about what inclusion and decolonization mean in digital spaces. In face-to-face learning, space, relationships, and land-based practices are more organic for an instructor to modify and shift. Online spaces often revert to standardized Western academic structures. Restoule reiterated that Indigenous virtual learning requires different approaches: community voice, relationality, cultural grounding, flexibility, and respect for diverse ways of knowing. It struck a chord, reminding me how limited most online course designs still are and how much work remains to create digital learning that is truly inclusive rather than merely accessible.
The week overall helped me to see how theories shape design choices and how digital learning can either widen or close gaps in access. Inclusive online education requires more than adding content; it requires the rethinking of structures, platforms, and relationships so all learners can see themselves reflected and supported.