Thursday, June 17, 2010
E-learning can make lectures easier.
With all the visual aid we have today it will be possible to give the students all the material schedule, all the material uploaded such that they will be able to access it. Moreover convert the lessons into tutorials and set the dates for the assignments. In this way the students should be encouraged to work harder and achieve better results.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with what John is saying; e-learning accommodates different learning styles like for example the learning styles of auditory learners or visual learners and offers individualized instruction, which the printed media cannot provide. E-learning can target the specific needs of various individuals and since it can be self-paced, learners are allowed to speed through or bypass instruction that is redundant while novices slow their own progress through content, eliminating frustration with themselves, their fellow learners, and the course. This I believe will motivate students even more and eventually lead to better results.
ReplyDeletee-Learning accomodates to various learning styles, and I think that it introduces a new dimension to teaching and learning. Namely interactivity and the use of technology. If students cannot keep up then they can go back to the lesson and retake it. If there are points which need clarfications then one can send mails or join user groups to help out with any difficulties. Many universities, like that of Hertfordshire in the UK encourage this type of attitide where students have an on-line life.
ReplyDeleteStudents with disabilities are also helped too. They can use devices that assist them to use a computer and participate with other students on-line or through assisted learning software.
While I agree with what John, Chris and 3M are saying, we must keep in mind that it is not always so easy to put everything online and expect all our students to access it.
ReplyDeleteImagining a predicament that I will soon be in, and altering it to the student life. I am moving house, and I am possibly facing at least a couple of days without internet. What will I do? I have no car (in the students' case) and nowhere to download and print the information the teacher wants me to print? What will happen, get punished for something which is not entirely my fault?
So my point is, that whilst e-learning is beneficial we have to be aware of circumstances where students may not have internet access. hence we need to prepare a mixture of both online resources and class resources.
Continuing with what Leanne is saying, e-learinig can be beneficial even in cases where the student cannot be physically in class. Even better this would help due to the fact that the student can learn at his/her own pace, so if this week the student has no access to internet, or is sick, or whatever, he can do this week's lesson when it is convenient later on. Effectively there is no loss.
ReplyDeleteObviously we are assuming that all students have internet access, which is not the case even nowadays. This is something that should go hand in hand with the transition to an e-learning system, that is making sure that students are provided with the necessary equipment.
An interesting elearning suggestion via the simple cheap, and available cell phone.
ReplyDeleteCheck out “Paris Hilton style elearning”. This suggests that millions of people look up to Paris Hilton as a role model. Thetechnological gadget which personifies her and this societal group is the cell phone and it keeps them connected to their circle of friends. All students are likely to have one. So the author’s challenge to LMS vendors was directed at putting SMS technology on the educational platform. Push technology not Pull it. Push the content to the student. What is suggested? SMS students if they haven’t submitted their assignments; SMS them to communicate course announcements from the lecturers, SMS simple pop quizzes to keep them on their toes. The downside is the sms charges of course!
Implementing eLearning : "Paris Hilton style Technology enhanced Learning” http://www.thelearnedman.com/implementing_elearning/
Being an ICT lecturer, I look forward to being able to posts lessons and interact with students online. However, as Leanne well said, we should not expect that all students will access the material. We all know that the majority of our students, especially the younger ones, need the “teacher’s push”.
ReplyDeleteDuring the current year, I have been teaching programming to Foundation students. I have compiled and uploaded notes and worksheets on Moodle, which tool we, at ICT, have been using for the last couple or so years. The majority of students never accessed the material. I had to specfically allocate time to make students access Moodle and download all the notes. Many of them gingerly stated that they never accessed the website before, not even for other modules!
In my opinion, e-Learning requires self-discipline and time-management from the student’s end, something which many of our students cannot boast about. Hence I totally agree with Leanne when she says that “we need to prepare a mixture of both online resources and class resources”. I also think that the teacher’s physical interaction is still important for the success of the students.
The main issue of e-learning very commonly discussed amongst educators, is that e-learning tries to practice face-to-face units on web. This can be viewed as a reading experience rather than a learning experience. With a heavy use of e-learning methods, students may lack engagement to their course content. In order to achieve the desired outcomes, students must dynamically engage to the subject and it’s content. Therefore, the ideal situation would be one were a blend of e-learning methods and other traditional teaching methods are used together to give the student a more holistic pedagocical experience.
ReplyDeleteSome of the main difficulties in e-learning are:
· Relative isolation of many students
· Lack of immediate interaction with teachers/lecturer and other students
· Assumption of autonomy of the student -
· The attendant responsibility for taking the initiative and self-discipline to listen to lectures
· Engage with the course materials
· Complete the set assignments
The difficulties listed above should not disencourage us to use e-learning methods but should serve us as guidelines in how we should use e-learning methods to implement our curriculum. E-learning can't replace teaching in class, it can only make teaching much more interactive and adds flexibility to the teaching process.
Whilst certain content has to carefully be explained in class, other more straight forward content can be distributed for students to see and learn comfortably at home. Moreover, e-learning sessions can be simply stored on one's computer and reviewed by students at a later time, when students do not have the possiblity to review it in class. E-learning simply makes things much more interesting and in specific areas, it makes things easier to understand.
Mariella
I tend to agree with what Leanne is saying. E-learning has the possibility of reaching everyone because of the different teaching styles that one can use and all the material is available for the student at any time. S/he doesn't have to take the hassle and attend lectures at a particular time and therefore everything is done from the comfort of their home.
ReplyDeleteHowever, having the chance of studying by distance learning, I must admit that at times I still needed the face to face interaction with the tutor. It doesn't mean that even though they have all the necessary material students will actually understand everything. How are we going to cater for students with different levels of abilities? Do we have to place activities at different levels? Is everyone going to understand the method? Or some of them need to have a simplified method? I remember when there were times that even though I had a telephone contact with the tutor, it was still difficult because he was not actually showing me and I couldn’t really point out where I’m finding it difficult. This is the only factor that is still not convincing me about e-learning.
I must say that the issue of access to the internet, computers and printing is not much of a concern in MCAST's case students do have access through the library and various computer labs.
ReplyDeleteThis, some might say that this would defeat the whole purpose of e-learning as it requires students to be present on campus. My point however is that if they need to there is an option. Secondly, most of the students do have their own personal computer at home especially since they haved their smart cards which they can use for this very purpose.
Most localities are now having internet hot spots in public places which students can avail themselves of.
Making use of e-learning would be the catalyist that encourages those students that have not yet adopted the technological mentality to do so. The options and opportunities are there theyt just need to avial themselves of them.
I agree with Nadia that sometime not having a face to face interaction might be difficult and though different applications such as Skype and Elluminate can help, still it is not the same as having a real chat with your tutor.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Christine that not all students will access the material and do their work from home. We have to keep in mind that most of our younger students, especially in ICT are attending MCAST as they are not prepared for the world of work or else their parents/guardians pushed them to continue to study
The majority of successful e-learning courses are against payment. Students who pay money to follow an online course will do their best and work hard therefore it’s the student decision and most probably students who follow an online course are more mature.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt is my opinion that elearning complements lectures but does not necessary make them easier. Preparing elearning material is no easy task. We all know that not all students are of the same level of literacy. This is reality. Some students struggle to understand in class. Some would not kno what hit them. I cannot imagine these students alone infront of a computer trying to understand an elearning lesson. I think that it is our duty towards these students to stick to conventional teaching methods as I think it is the only way these type of students casn learn. It is our duty to give them the opportunity to as questions on the fly during lectures. It is our duty to help these students understand better by writing and drawing on the board. With all this in mind , I honestly think that elearning does not make lectures easier in the students point of view. If we teachers are going to give as much dedication towards teaching as we should have, we should avoid certain statements that elearning makes lectures easier. This is my humble opinion.
ReplyDelete