Archive for October, 2007
I’ve just uncovered a really impressive E-Learning community called Tutorom. The site is filled with all kinds of e-learning courses designed and put together by the community itself.
The site is easy to navigate and contain a multitude of categories from cooking to drawing and computers. The course structure is easy to understand even when the amount of lessons exceed a hundred. The courses are rated (5 stars for best) and the learner can even bookmark a course in order to complete it later.
The site also allows teachers and trainers to post any courses they like using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) interface which makes it very easy and simple to put together a course (the designers can either open the course for free, charge a fee or collect 10% of the ad revenue).
I went ahead and constructed a test course. As mentioned, the interface is very simple and quite powerful. The trainer can choose from various tools such as a web page builder, slide show generator, upload media (video and audio), quizzes and more. It toke me only about five minutes to understand and use the tools to construct a (very) basic course, which is still impressive in e-learning terms.
I enjoyed seeing what can come out when combining e-learning and communities. I really hope this is where e-learning is heading as tools like Tutorom can really help us learn from others while contributing and teaching ourselves (when I have time, I’ll defiantly be adding courses for others to benefit from). It is a really positive e-learning tool that everyone should learn to use.
October 28th, 2007
It seems the mobile learning is getting a further push by integrating e-learning into the new Apple iTouch and iPhone. According to the DigMo blog, DominKnow (a company focused on providing e-learning courses) have developed a portal specifically targeted for those two popular products. This may be a move in the right direction, as those products are in fact High-Tech ‘toys’ which can help attract learners and promote more mobile learning; which, according to DigMo is growing with more then 66% of researchers actively focusing on mobile learning and 88% of companies in the field reporting positive ROI (Return on Investment).
Attracting the low attention-span, technology savvy Gen-Y is the focus of the new (relatively) approach to e-learning that discourages page-turners in favor of interactive and engaging Flash content, virtual worlds, simulations and more. Integrating those into next-gen gadgets is a natural next step.
References:
DigMo 2007, ‘iPod Touch E-learning’, DigMo, viewed 28 October 2007, < http://www.digmo.co.uk/ipod/ipod-touch-e-learning/ >
October 28th, 2007
An article in the “Ars Technica” blog points to a different area in the E-learning arena. The article points out that Blackboard (used by UTS itself) was granted a very wide, inclusive patent of “internet-based education support and method tool” which means that it can hold the ‘patent-infringement threat’ over open-source, free e-learning support tools (Paul 2007).
Aside from the legal issues that can be raised out of the article, one issue that can be derived is further proof of how e-learning is increasingly viewed as the future of education and thus a great investment. Emerging technologies or concepts start attracting legal issues (usually in the area of copyrights and patents) as soon as they are seen as worthy of attention and investments of money, time and effort. This would not have happened if the industry did not predict that e-learning would increasing its hold in the education and training sector.
References:
Paul R. 2007, ‘EFF lawyer warns of E-learning patent dangers’, Ars Technica, viewed 28 October 2007, < http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070408-eff-lawyer-warns-of-e-learning-patent-dangers.html >
October 27th, 2007
I haven’t done the VARK test itself, but I have done the learning styles test many times and even used it to enrich my work as a trainer.
My learning style is even (high) in Visual and Kinesthetic. I like activities and interactions with a lot of visual representations and colors.
E-learning is perfect for someone with my learning styles. The ability to run interactive simulations that allow me to interact with the material and actually see it visually is invaluable. I much rather be shown a running video tutorial followed by an activity then read a step-by-step instructions or hear an audio explanation.
A good example is the site ‘HowStuffWorks‘. The site uses simulations to explain the inner workings of hundreds of tools, machines and products that we use everyday. For a more specific example, just look at this simulation of how internal combustion in a car engine works (http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm). This representation is the best way to teach a visual person as you can actually see how the turbine works with appropriate colors and numbered explanation.
October 24th, 2007
