Learning How to e-learn EffectivelyPrepared by: Sandra Sembel
for UPH Faculty of Nursing - New Students Orientation Program Jakarta, August 12, 2013 Nowadays, technology has become an inseparable part of learning. In fact the role of technology to facilitate learning is becoming more and more part of everyday learning in all areas and levels of education and businesses. Therefore, it’s high time for everyone be involved in learning to learn how to e-learn effectively.
Effective e-learning requires specific skills, strategies, methods and applications and involves the learners in developing and extending their existing learning skills into new directions. For example, in conventional learning, a successful learner needs to be able to listen to presentations, lectures and discussions and be able to identify the key issues in a reading text. On the other hand, an e-learning student needs to read and analyze from a wide range of sources and media including many small informal e-mail messages. Success in traditional courses does not always translate into success in online courses (Ray Watkins, 2013). Learners need to adopt and adapt new technology, strategies, skills and study habits. Basically, there are two sets of fundamental skills that an e-learner needs to develop in order to learn effectively using technology: 1. e-learning success skills 2. Student study skills Relating Online Success with Traditional Student Success Skills
(Based on the E-learning Companion, Watkins & Corry, 2004) Accessed from: Online Study Skills, college of management and technology, https://online.dacmt-acquisition.org.uk/SelfDevelopment/OnlineStudySkills/tabid/139/Default.aspx) Below is the learner-friendly version of e-learning success skills adapted from Watkins and Corry.
e-LEARNING SUCCESS SKILLS Learning with the support of technology can be fun, fast and effective after you learn the basic technology skills to make e-learner technology literate, which involve the following e-learning success skills. Browsing and searching Abundant information is available online. You just need the right key word(s) to type on the search engine to get you to the site you need. A search engine can help you locate any information about almost any subject you can think of in a split second. For December 2012, the search landscape was like this: 1. Google: 114.7 billion searches, 65.2% share 2. Baidu: 14.5 billion searches, 8.2% share 3. Yahoo: 8.6 billion searches, 4.9% share 4. Yandex: 4.8 billion searches, 2.8% share 5. Microsoft: 4.5 billion searches, 2.5% share 6. Others: 28.7 billion searches, 16.3% share (Source: searchengineland.com, accessed, August 12, 2013, 10:19 am) Accessing Once you get to the web page that you want to explore, pay attention to the accessing policy. 1. Free or Pay to view or download? Some websites require a visitor to pay to view or download information. Others provide information free of charge. 2. Credibility and Privacy Check the credibility of the information provided in the web-site. Here are some tips from Palgrave Macmillan Publisher (palgrave.com) a. Who produced the information? Check the ‘owner’ by clicking the ‘About us’ tab which is usually placed on the home page. b. When was the information updated? Check the published and updated dates of the information you read. Some information is regularly updated. c. What is the privacy or copy right policy? Check the privacy or copy right policy which is usually placed towards the bottom of the web page. d. Are there any Links? Check links to other related sources to help you compare and contrast information. These links are also useful to evaluate the validity of content. 3. Password or enrollment key Some web pages, especially in-house e-learning web pages require a learner to access information with a password or enrollment key. Be sure to ask the lecturer or facilitator of the e-course you wish to enroll. 4. Navigation key and tabs Information in a website is classified into some headings under different ‘tabs’. Be sure to learn the navigation key and important tabs. Downloading To learn more about a certain topic, you may need to download the article for further reading. 1. Study the downloading procedures – some articles are published in pdf, ppt or doc. They need related applications to download. Other movie files require downloading application to be installed before downloading and running the program. Be sure to also check the ‘version’ of the program to run it smoothly. 2. Check the downloading policy: Before downloading any materials from a website, check the copy right policy and take note of the sources (e.g. author, websites, publisher) Communicating Learning using technology may seem like a solitary activity, but just like any other learning activity, e-learning involves communication with people. When communicating, a learner needs to pay attention to communication ethics. 1. Online communication (Chat or discussion board) Online chatting can be synchronous (real-time or live) or asynchronous (delayed communication). a. Synchronous communication provides online experiences that allow immediate responses, questions and comments from others. b. Asynchronous communication offers the opportunity to carry on communication with fellow e-learners or facilitators at times convenient to the e-learner. When taking part in online communication (chat or discussion board) be sure that you can actively contribute in creating good study environment for the chat or discussion, follow the rules, agenda and etiquette guides posted by the facilitator. 2. Email Ryan Watkins (www.how2elearn.com) suggested the following tips for effective and ethical communication using emails. a. Prior to sending email messages, carefully proofread the message. b. In order for the recipient to open a file that you have attached to an email, be sure you saved your attachment using compatible software application. c. Review the ‘To:, CC:, and Bcc:’ fields before sending emails to make sure you send the email to the right people. d. Never leave the ‘subject’ field blank. Type the purpose or key subject of the email. e. It is good online etiquette to ask before sending emails with large file attachments since they may require the recipient to have substantial server space. f. Even when you have prior arrangement to send attachment with the recipient, never send a blank ‘email’ body – always write your message on the body of the email. g. When you are forwarding an email message that contains email addresses of multiple recipients, take time to remove those before forwarding the message and be sure what you are forwarding is appropriate and ethical. STUDENT STUDY SKILLS Once you get access to the materials you need, you can now apply the following e-learning study skills: Study habits a. Time Management Habits need to be developed. Thus, you need to allocate certain time that is most convenient to you for online learning. o Sufficient study time: Be sure to allocate sufficient study time for online learning: 30 minutes to 1 hour would be ideal. Beyond that will be tiring, thus needs breaks. o Time of day: Some people prefer to study very early in the morning because it is the best time for them to concentrate. Others prefer to study in the afternoon or late at night. o Important dates: Be sure you are aware of important dates, such as dates for course registration, deadlines of assignments, tests, quizzes, and online communication. You can keep your online organizer ‘on’ to remind you of the important dates. There are many applications that you can use to help you with this: student.collegeboard.org, onlinestudentplanner.com, myschoolbinder.com, google.com/calendar, doodle.com (for group learning). b. Setting environment Another important element for developing study habits is the study environment. Prepare healthy and comfortable learning environment for optimum result. o Place Choose the most comfortable place where you can sit and learn. It can be in the comfort of your own bedroom, or a corner in the library. --> Next column, please! |
o Lighting
Adjust surrounding lighting to well fit your preferences. Some like to have a beam of light focusing the learning area, others like to have the room brightly lit. o Keep the Monitor on eye-level Keep the monitor on eye-level so you can comfortably see the screen. If it is below eye-level, you may put your neck at risk. If it is above eye-level, you may sit at a strange angle, even slouch—this may eventually give you back pain. Another thing to keep in mind, is to maintain distance between the eyes and the monitor at a comfortable distance. o Minimum Distraction Be sure to keep the distractions minimum, for example: put your mobile phone on silent mode, turn off chat mode, keep yourself away from online game sites. Self-Discipline and motivation In conventional learning, you learning time and classroom sessions are clearly timetabled for you. In addition, the lecturers may remind you of assignments, quizzes and tests. Learning online requires you to have self-discipline to complete tasks, take tests, and submit assignments on time. So, get organized and remain positive to develop self-discipline and maintain your motivation to complete all tasks, tests and assignments. Independent Learning and Critical Thinking
In conventional way of learning, you can directly ask your lecturer or fellow students if you have questions. In e-learning, you need to rely more on your critical thinking skills to be independent learners. Some basic critical thinking skills that you may need to apply are as follows: a. Learning goals and questions Before you even embark on your e-learning journey, it will be helpful to start with goals and questions in mind. These goals and questions can serve as guidelines to search for information, select important key ideas and structure your learning accordingly. b. Organizing Information is abundant online. You need to organize the information to help you understand and remember better. Organizing information requires you to sort, group, and select important ideas to fit your learning goals. There are many tools that you can use to do this. One way of organizing information is using mind-mapping. Effective Reading Skills In e-learning, you will need to read a lot of materials: articles, videos, powerpoint presentations in limited time. Thus, you will gain a lot if you apply effective reading skills. a. Previewing Before you start reading, preview the title, subheadings, introduction and conclusions to get the overview of what you are going to read and to locate the information you need. b. Deciding what to read After previewing you can then decide whether you need to read the article or find another article that fits your learning goal. c. Identifying main ideas The next step is identifying the main ideas of the materials you wish to learn. You can organize these ideas in an outline form, list them down, or make an outline. d. Paraphrasing As you read the article, you may find important part to record as it is or paraphrase in words that make more meaning to you. e. Identifying facts and opinions Information that you read consists of facts and opinions. It is useful if you can distinguish facts from opinions to help you understand the article better and make better judgment of the issues discussed. f. Summarizing One way of recording the information read is by summarizing. Summaries help you recall the important points later. Note-taking When learning online, note-taking (which is also part of effective reading) becomes an important part of learning to record information and to help you internalize what you read by putting them into your own words. This will help you remember the materials better because you have actively thought about them as you take notes. Things to remember: When taking notes, there are some things to keep in mind. 1. Personal The notes you make are personal to you, so they need to be in a format that suits the way you learn. 2. Clear The notes help you to remember information. Thus, they need to be clear, easy to read and accurate. 3. Comprehensible The notes should help you understand information. Therefore, it is necessary that they be well-organized (use a system to record information) to be easily and comprehensibly retrieved. 4. Brief You need to make your notes brief without losing the meaning and value of the information recorded. 5. Examples and illustrations Be sure that you note down examples and illustrations that help illuminate they key points that you wish to learn Ways of taking notes There are two ways of note-taking: passive and active note-taking. a. Passive note-taking When you take note passively, you do the followings: (1) Underlining and highlighting information (2) Cutting and pasting information (3) Copying direct quotes or texts b. Active note-taking Active note-taking involves critical thinking and effective reading skills (1) Asking and answering questions (2) Identifying main ideas (3) Organize ideas (4) Comparing and contrasting ideas/information (5) Evaluating and commenting on issues discussed Methods of note-taking Note-taking is personal, thus, there’s no right or wrong way of taking notes. However, there are five methods from redlends.edu (http://www.redlands.edu/docs/StudentLife/1Five_Methods_of_Notetaking.docx_UPDATED_7-09.pdf) that are given here as examples. Choose the one that fits your style. 1. Cornell method This method divides your notes into two columns. The first column is for the key points. The next column is for the examples or brief explanation of the key point in the first column. 2. Outlining Method In outlining method, you can list down the key points and their brief explanation in an outline form. 3. Charting Method The charting method enables you to group information in table or chart form to make it easy to read and retrieve. 4. Mapping Method Mapping method organizes information in the form of a mind map. You can also use free online mind-mapping tools to help you make effective notes. Here are the top three free mind-mapping tools suggested by imdevin.com:
For more information about suggested free mind mapping tools, click the following link: imdevin.com (http://www.imdevin.com/top-10-totally-free-mind-mapping-software-tools/) 5. Sentence Method In a sentence method, the information is written in sentences. Each sentence or group of sentences can be numbered or bulleted. Test-taking Another important skill of effective e-learning is test taking skills. a. Timed tests: In e-learning, the tests are usually timed. b. Objective tests: Many of the tests are objective tests (Multiple choice, drag and drop, filling in the blanks, or True/False statements) c. Essay tests: Some tests require you to write your answer which will then manually graded by the evaluator. d. Instructions: Before you take the test, be sure you understand the instructions well. The important issue to remember about e-learning is that it is LEARNING. Only that it is facilitated by technology. So, the soul of e-learning is LEARNING. Learning is successful if it involves changes. When you e-learn, be sure it involves changes to make you better. All the best. God bless you! Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, (Proverbs 1: 5) Click the following icon to download this article.
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Learning: What, Why and How?
Indeed, education cannot be separated from learning. Thus, everyone who is in education is very much involved in learning. But, do we really know what learning is? Why learning is important? and How do we promote effective learning?
What is Learning?
When I googled this question (What is learning?), I got a lot of definitions about learning. Below are some that I find interesting.
"Learning is often defined as a relatively lasting change in behavior that is the result of experience"(Kendra Cherry, http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/g/learning.htm).
"A relatively permanent change in behavior (sic.; it's American of course) that results from practise." (Atkinson et al 1993).
From these two definitions, we learn that learning must involve change, and change is the result of a number of activities, such as experience and practice.
Why 'Learning' is important?
From any definition about learning, the word "change in behavior" seems to be the common core that binds all definition. It shows that without learning, there is no change. Or in other words, with learning there is change in behavior. I don't have any objection to this statement. But for me, learning doesn't just stop at demonstrating a change in behavior. It's more than that. The ultimate purpose of learning should be a change in mindset and value. Only then, learning can transform the learner to bear fruits of innovation and better life.
How to enable effective learning to take place?
Learning is not just an event, a lesson or a session in the classroom. Learning is a process that should take place throughout our life-time. Kenneth Y T Lim, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in his article The six learnings of Second Life: A framework for designing curricular interventions in-world (http://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/index.php/jvwr/article/view/424/466) shared his in-dept analysis of six learnings framework:
1. Learning by exploring;
2. Learning by collaborating;
3. Learning by being;
4. Learning by building;
5. Learning by championing; and
6. Learning by expressing.
UNESCO proposes the four pillars of learning (described in Chapter 4 of Learning: The Treasure Within (http://www.unesco.org/delors/fourpil.htm). which are important to make one's life-long learning meaningful and fruitful.
1. Learning to know
2. Learning to do
3. Learning to live together
4. Learning to be
What is Learning?
When I googled this question (What is learning?), I got a lot of definitions about learning. Below are some that I find interesting.
"Learning is often defined as a relatively lasting change in behavior that is the result of experience"(Kendra Cherry, http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/g/learning.htm).
"A relatively permanent change in behavior (sic.; it's American of course) that results from practise." (Atkinson et al 1993).
From these two definitions, we learn that learning must involve change, and change is the result of a number of activities, such as experience and practice.
Why 'Learning' is important?
From any definition about learning, the word "change in behavior" seems to be the common core that binds all definition. It shows that without learning, there is no change. Or in other words, with learning there is change in behavior. I don't have any objection to this statement. But for me, learning doesn't just stop at demonstrating a change in behavior. It's more than that. The ultimate purpose of learning should be a change in mindset and value. Only then, learning can transform the learner to bear fruits of innovation and better life.
How to enable effective learning to take place?
Learning is not just an event, a lesson or a session in the classroom. Learning is a process that should take place throughout our life-time. Kenneth Y T Lim, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in his article The six learnings of Second Life: A framework for designing curricular interventions in-world (http://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/index.php/jvwr/article/view/424/466) shared his in-dept analysis of six learnings framework:
1. Learning by exploring;
2. Learning by collaborating;
3. Learning by being;
4. Learning by building;
5. Learning by championing; and
6. Learning by expressing.
UNESCO proposes the four pillars of learning (described in Chapter 4 of Learning: The Treasure Within (http://www.unesco.org/delors/fourpil.htm). which are important to make one's life-long learning meaningful and fruitful.
1. Learning to know
2. Learning to do
3. Learning to live together
4. Learning to be