Federica Oradini

I am from a beautiful small town on a lake near the Italian Alps. I did my first degree here in London and now I am studying part time towards an MA in Online and Distance Education, online of course. There are no f2f activities programmed into this degree. Support is provided to us through other media, including online conferencing, discussion boards, wikis, blogs and ePortfolios to name a few, which helps me to engage in online activities with other students.

I am currently working for the Online Learning Development department of a London University. I have a keen interest in the pedagogy of e-learning. As part of my job I offer academic advice and technical support to staff in their choice and use of educational technologies in the delivery and assessment of curricula. We also support the development of our VLE, Blackboard, including designing and delivering staff training as well as updating online resources. I like the opportunity we have to experiment with new technologies and support their application in learning and teaching.

I have been involved in developing the use of ePortfolios for PDP. Elgg seems to offer greater personalisation and socialisation which I think will be an important benefit. Also I have been involed in the development of the University's social networking site. From September 2007 new and returning students at the University have had a brand new way of staying in touch with their friends and classmates through Connect(powered by Elgg). I would like to see an effective collaborative and supportive community within Connect used for social and educational purposes.

After living in London for 8 years, I now find it necessary to regularly run back to a small corner of northern Italy.

http://connect.wmin.ac.uk/oradinf/weblog