About me

Hi!

I am Karin Bolldén, an open learner this round of ONL and a member of PBL group 14. This will be my learning blog during the ONL journey which I have been looking forward to for a long time.

Karin Bolldén

Professional background

I am working as an educational developer at University Pedagogy Centre, Luleå University of Technology. Luleå is a city in northern Sweden, close to the arctic circle. I was recruited to Luleå late 2016 and is therefore quite new to both the university and the role at the University Pedagogy Centre. My primary interest at the moment is learning environments (both physical and digital) since we are in the process of building a new house at campus Luleå (we also have campuses in Kiruna, Skellefteå, Piteå and Filipstad).

I have a PhD in education with a focus on adult learning from Linköping University. My thesis addressed online teaching practices in higher education. The interest regarding learning and teaching online germinated in early 2000 when studying for a bachelors degree in Skövde and later for a master in Gothenburg in the area of ICT and learning. During 2006-2008 I taught a few courses, and among them were distance education. I also taught in other subjects (e.g. computer science) where the courses were distance courses, so I have a little experience in the area of learning and teaching online, but the years go fast and so the technological development. At that time we did not have e-meeting services as Zoom, or social media as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. So even if I am born in the eighties, I often feel like a dinosaur (old!) 🙂 when it comes to the rapid development regarding new tools on the market that could serve as a pedagogical asset in learning and teaching in higher education. That is why I have been longing for participating in ONL – I think and hope that this course could contribute to my transformation from a dinosaur to a (Twitter) bird(?) 🙂

Expectations on the course

There are so much to learn during this ONL journey, but what I am looking forward to the most is two things. The first is networking on a global scale. I am curious about the participants and facilitators in this course and their professional practice and daily struggles regarding learning and teaching online. Secondly I am looking forward to get an update on online tools that could be used in learning and teaching, and related discussions and conversations on how they could be used in a conscious way to promote learning. When dealing with social media and other apps in a European context, GDPR – The General Data Protection Regulation – is a challenge that I on a daily basis experience stands in the way of new creative solutions that university teachers want to try in their teaching practice. My main question during the whole ONL journey will be: How could we navigate in this new legal landscape whilst not losing the pedagogical inspiration along the way?

Last but not least – hobbies

On the other side of the screen, you find an outdoorsy and a bit adventurous person. Love to be in the sub arctic archipelago picking wild berries and also flying in the wind tunnel sometimes. 🙂 I am really looking forward getting to know you! See you online! 🙂