Blog Entry
Subject matter experts from a variety of fields are turning towards online learning as a way to serve a wider constituency of learners. Some get on online learning projects because of grant funding and the originality of their expertise. Not all who get on projects particularly believe in online learning. As a matter of fact, some approach online learning with mixed emotions and attitudes. In a team that works well, these concerns are surfaced and addressed incrementally.
One positive byproduct of an online course build involves the complex learning involved in building a course for online delivery. There are the various methods and tools—the stylebook; the policies for intellectual property and accessibility; the scripts for videos; the story-boarding (where necessary); the rich uses of learning / course management systems, and other elements.
A faculty team learns about the affordances and limits of the technologies at present. They discover open-source digital contents.
On a team, the members get a better sense of each other’s personalities and talents. They interact over different aesthetics. They have different work approaches. However, if I’ve learned nothing else, it’s that professionals are still professionals at core. Even if they have different timelines for work, the pros still deliver and still come through. Also, there’s a sense of collegial behaviors as well.
Professional connections can also be long-lasting and persistent…and remembering the importance of these relationships over time is critical.
The team’s learning continues well into the delivery of the course. Here, the development team of faculty may see how live learners respond to their handiwork. The lead instructors may see how students interact, and if they’re paying close attention, they may emerge with solid suggestions for improvement, based on the learner experience.
Comments
vander 4 months, 2 weeks ago
I think E-Learning is very good at applying it in education especially in countries such as United State Of America where the Internet has reached almost every home.Addition, U.S. culture is ready to accept changes.But it is difficult in the application in developing countries where the computer network infrastructure and their culture is not ready. I have confidence that E-Learning can be applied in developing countries it has only time matter.Some E-Learning project has been running in a developing country such as Malaysia and Indonesia and growing rapidly enough.
BannerHero 4 months ago
there have been some efforts to introduce e-learning in developing countries. I've heard about OLPC project (one laptop per child) which consists in give poor children a laptop device to help them learn better and also as an introduction to the computing world. but personally, I wodner if making of learning just a fact of being online wouldn't damage social relationship development since learners seem to be more excited by learning through a computer than through a normal class with a real teacher.
Eruditio Loginquitas 4 months ago
Hello, BannerHero: I would agree that learning should never be through one medium or one dimension. Learning should be rich, continuous, lifelong, multi-channel, and inclusive. Social relationships are important--in face-to-face and mediated ways.
I read recently that many developing countries have hand-me-down computers, too, because of the quick turnover of one computer model to more updated ones. However, that doesn't mean that there's the wired or wireless infrastructure for Web connectivity.
It's cool to read about the hand-crank powered laptops and other cool designs that have been part of projects out of MIT and other endeavors. One day, I hope to be able to design some learning for those simpler contexts. Glad you brought this up. :)
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