Task 2
Hello again…
So this is Task No. 2…
Here I first want to talk about what E-Learning is about, secondly, list advantages and disadvantages in eLearning and last, name setting, situations and content where e-learning is suitable…. (note: if people can’t agree on spelling they might not agree on one definition….?!)…
Big Brother (:) Wiki defines E-learning as computer enhanced learning which includes every learning situation where a computer is involved. The instructional material can be on a CD-Rom, a DVD, a local area network, the internet… Interestingly, the definition is less on the learning (how is the learning organized, how is the learning process…) but on the media used. So it seems to me that “E” defines the term more than the “learning”. ???
When choosing a media it is supposed to be the best choice. This also applies to e-learning. But how can I choose the best media? Is there a list which media is the best for which learning situation, setting and content… Most likely not… if you got one… I’d be interested…
One HUGE advantage of e-learning are the costs (how unpedagogical)! I guess, that is one reason why e-learning has sucessfully found its way into almost every on-the-job and off-the-job training. It is an investment to implement e-learning but later running expenses are low. E-learning generally offers easy access to information and far more ways of action than some traditional methods (applying, discussing, creating…). E-learning can be used anywhere, anytime. It offers good tools for constructivist learning as we define modern learning. Last, e-learning offers a good opportunity to adress the new generation and might help to reduce drop outs and disengagement (for the last argument see: “Educationg the Net Generation”, B. Pletha, Santa Monica Press).
Despite from all the advantages e-learning is NOT the solution for every learning situation. Especially motivation is a problem for e-learning (don’t remember where but I once read a study on that). Although it is possible to do it anywhere and anytime people don’t do it all the time. As with every learning situation there needs to be a little motivational support (or pressure) to get it started and to stay tuned. This is one big disadvantage of e-learning. The social aspect of a traditional leanring situation should not be overlooked. It might be interesting to chat with a person but still it is different from talking person-to-person. So we use these different ways of communication for different situations and with a different motive force.
To be more precise I would suggest to use e-learning for certain settings. This could be the preparation for a seminar. It could be useful to use it for special situations: like training people from different countries on the same topic where it is inefficient to get them together (Australia’s outland, international companies…). Using e-learning in classroom should be a good addition to other methods (by the way: is e-learning a method by itself???)..
Waiting for your comments…
Trying to create another trackback…
Juliane
http://loveitorchangeit.com/seminars/summer2008/2008/04/08/task-2-what-is-elearning/
