Conclusion

Reaching the final stage of this wonderful learning journey, I feel the need to share that it seems to me that it will never have a finishing line. It was just the key to new doors and the path that will lead to new destinations. The skills, attitudes, and knowledge I acquired were the result of a painstaking though well-rewarding path, which involved commitment to my goals, devotion of much time, and putting hard effort. In retrospect, I can now infer that it is not the acquisition of another degree in my portfolio and CV that counts. It brings to my mind the Greek poem "Ithaka" by Cavafy that I much love and make reference to whenever a cycle of activities seems to complete and while reflecting on all the challenges involved till achievement of my goals. It is the journey that matters, with all its valuable learning moments and lifelong experiences that boost one's personal and professional growth. 

"...pray that your road's a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery..."

Referencing Aristotle, "education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity". I chose to enrol in this program when circumstances were favorable enough as to enjoy this learning experience from a number of pesrpectives, though still assuming many roles and having to sacrifice some favorite activities of mine, such as my active involvement in community projects and my time and contributions to my family, friends, and relatives. In retrospect, I feel that it was worth the effort and sacrifices, as, my takeaways are many more than my initial goals and aspirations. Every single course provided me with all these little precious stones as to construct a beautiful mosaic of valuable knowledge. All activities, from the simple tests, forum discussions, collaborative assignments, and cumulative assessment, provided me with the absolute pleasure to delve into theory, reflect, and transfer new knowledge into my own personal and professional context. I had the opportunity to reflect on my past practices and inform my future ones, based on solid foundations and wiser choices. 

Despite my initial fears of a lonely journey given its online nature, my professors and peers, invaluable co-travelers in my learning path, proved my having been wrong, as there was no single activity that I felt unsupported or disoriented. I had the opportunity to enjoy the affordances of self-regulated, self-paced, learner-centered education within a social-constructivist educational framework with the pleasure of sharing experiences in a supportive, always present learning community. 

As presented in my introductory page of my ePortfolio capstone, my initials goals when enrolling in this M.Ed program were to:

• Fulfil my ever-growing inner desire to learn and pursue further studies as to boost my personal and professional growth. 

As an educator, after the completion of my undergraduate studies and though having attended numerous seminars on teacher training for my professional development, I have always had an inner drive to pursue further academic studies. This program, combining learning theories and practice, allowed me to lay the foundations for further achievements in my career and a new perspective and worldview in my personal life. I became more mindful on "how" and "why" rather than "what" in my everyday practices as a result of the demands of this program. Each activity requirement led to my improvement in skills, especially on the cognitive and social level. In addition, my professors' and peers' favorable comments and support in every single step of progress, boosted my self-esteem and confidence and my desire to keep trying as to achieve my full potentials. This encouragement was the force that led me to consider pursuing further studies when time allows. 

• Get acquainted with an international learning design framework. 

My recent collaborations and networks with colleagues around the world driven by my desire for the realization of projects beyond borders and my voluntary work with diverse groups of people, led me to decide on pursuing these studies beyond the Greek educational institutions, despite offering the same program. My goal was to get acquainted with an international learning design framework that would allow me to delve into my partners' practices and smoothly collaborate and live up to their expectations. My goal seems to have been achieved, as, at the moment, I have accepted proposals for future collaborations with very prominent partners on the educational field, given my theoretically and practically well-grounded justifications of my suggestions.

• Explore various learning environments and computer-mediated studies.

Before enrolling in this program, I had the opportunity to attend both online and blended learning courses which raised my interest in learning more about the principles lying behind the design of such courses. Almost all courses in this program provided me with the knowledge and skills of the core values and principles as to actively get involved in the creation of such learning environments, with the pleasure to apply theory, design, and create a module based on my interests and future plans. Additionally, the collaborations that this program fosters, along with the computer-mediated communication, either synchronous through the Adobe Connect sessions or asynchronous through the forum discussions, proved the establishment of a learning communiy with common interests and academic pursuits that for me was beyond expectations. I never felt a lonely traveler in this challenging journey. The establishment of a Community of Inquiry had such an impact on me, that, apart from diminishing transactional distance and allowing for fruitful collaborations to flourish, I have already had the pleasure to work with my peers beyond the program requirements. More particularly, while writing this last page of my ePortfolio, I am working on a co-authoring paper with regards to our recent presentation.

• Establish my own positionality and voice in an internationally networked learning community.

Before entering the program, I was informed that it involved forum discussions that were an indispensable part of the studies, much challenging for the Greek participants, given the diversity in demographics and language barriers. The truth is that, despite it seemingly been of minor importance, it became one of the reasons I chose to enrol in this program, as I thought of the opportunity to experience this as an affordance rather than challenge. Having travelled to observe educational practices abroad, I thought that it would further provide me with the chance to interact and exchange views with colleagues worldwide, establishing my own positionality and voice as an educator and learner in an ever-accelerating global learning community. It is true that this, despite my initial fears of getting less than expected, was a very important part of my studies. Beyond expectations, and a bit reserved at the beginning while trying to understand my peers' context that was quite different from a number of perspectives, I succeded in not only presenting my own context, but also attracting their interest and attention in my elaborating and supporting my thoughts and beliefs. This accomplishment lies on the very successful and all inclusive instructional design that the program fosters, along with the professors' scaffolding and support at all levels. 

• Get acquainted with new educational trends facilitated by new technologies and digital environments.

Both core and elective courses in this program were much informed and based on the demands of a new era in education and learning that the well-designed activities familiarized us with the affordances of new technologies. I was very impressed by the fact that they were not just presented on a theoretical level, but we were actively involved in getting acquainted with their practical use and mainly the learning outcome they serve. I had the pleasure to learn how to employ and leverage software programs and applications, such as Cmap, Prezi, Padlet, AnswerGarden, LearningApps, Remind, blogs, social media, just to name a few. Additionally, I got acquainted with LMS platforms, such as Moodle and Canvas, as well as OER Commons platform that allowed me to learn how to design and create my own courses. Above all, though already working with mobile technologies on an informal level, I had the opportunity to inform my practices and learn how to leverage their affordances based on theory, be aware of their limitations, and exploit future opportunities for their meaningful implementation.