EDU 336 Assessing E-Learning

Chapter 1

• What is e-Learning?
• As instruction designed to be delivered on a digital device that is intended to support learning.
• Asynchronous e-learning is designed for self-study.
• Synchronous e-learning is instructor lead presented at a fixed time

Types of e-learning

• Perform
• Designed to build a specifically related skill that is performed in a course.
• Inform
• Developed primarily to provide information which could include a Perform related tax.

Define e-Learning

• Stores and transmits lessons in electronic form on external devices
• Include content relevant to the learning objective
• uses media elements
• May be instructor-led
• can create synchronous learner collaboration as in breakout rooms or asynchronous collaboration on discussion boards
• Helps learners build new knowledge and skills linked to individual learning goals

Is e-learning better?

• A review of online learning by Tallent - Runnels, Thomas, Lan, Cooper, Ahern, Shaw and Lin (2006) concurs: " Overwhelming evidence has shown that learning in an online environment can be as effective as that in a classroom.
• Classroom instructor-led training offers high social presence and opportunities for hands-on practice, but is instructor paced and content invariant, requiring all learners to proceed at the same pace and review the same content.

The promises of e-Learning

• 1. Customized Training
• Self-study asynchronous e-learning has the potential to customize learning to the unique needs of each learner.
• The customized training we mean tailoring content, instructional methods, and navigation based on the needs of individual learners.
• The learner control is asynchronous which e-learning permits learners to progress at their own pace and select topics and methods that best meet their needs.

Promises of e-Learning

• Engagement in Learning
• Behavioral and Psychological Engagement
• Behavioral - any overt action a learner takes during an instructional episode
• depress learning compared to methods that involve less learner activity
• Clicking on-screen objects to reveal definitions or playing narrative based instructional game are two examples of active engagement that may not promote learning.
• Psychological - cognitive processing of content in ways that lead to the acquisition of new knowledge and skills
• For example: paying attention to relevant material, mentally organizing it into coherent representation, and integrating it with relevant prior knowledge.
• E-Learning intended for prime psychological engagement includes adding relevant on-screen visuals, including worked out examples or problems to study before practice and asking pertinent questions during an online presentation.
• Goal: To use media elements and instructional methods that promote psychological engagement that leads to the achievement of learning objectives.

Promises of e-Learning

• Multimedia
• Combining text, audio, as well as still and motion visuals to communicate your content and help learners acquire relevant knowledge and skills.

The promises of e-Learning

• Promise 4: Acceleration of Expertise Through Scenarios
• Studies of experts across a wide variety of domains show that about ten years of experience are needed to reach high levels of proficiency (Ericsson, 2006)
• Troubleshooting equipment, some failures are infrequent and may require considerable time to resolve.

The pitfalls of e-learning

• Promise 5: Learning Through Digital Games
• Adding games as a form of engagement
• Rule-based simulated systems
• responsible to the player
• challenging
• cumulative, allowing for assessment of progress toward goals
• inviting, offering appeal and interest for the learners.
• The goal of gamification is to provide learning experiences that are motivating, engaging, and effective.

The Pitfalls of e-Learning

• 1. Too much of a Good Thing
• Due to cognitive system limitations and when it comes to instruction, less is more.
• Learners learn more when there is less glitz.

Pitfalls of e-Learning

• Pitfall 2:L Not enough of a good thing
• Wall of words approach ignores opportunities to leverage relevant visuals by providing explanations that use text and more text.
• Page turners, omit interactivity other than the forward and back button.

e-Learning Architectures

What is effective e-courseware?

Learning in E-Learning