The features of online learning environments
Learners need to feel in control of their learning environment, not controlled by it, so it’s important that they can customise some basic features. One way to do this is to provide a customisable homepage for every learner, giving them easy access to all the tools that they’ll need to use.
It is important that the learner can customise this space. They’re going to be spending a lot of time here, so simple controls to allow them to change things like onscreen colours and the ability to upload photos to the homepage can help foster a sense of ownership.
Just as important is a feeling of control over a programme of learning. An online calendar embedded in a personal homepage is an organisational tool that can be used to track all elements of the blend. Course moderators can prepopulate key dates, such as exams or face to face sessions and can include hyper-links to date sensitive online activities. The learner can then add to this list by including their own personal study plan, and could even add important personal events such as business trips and family birthdays. After all, these events often have an enormous impact on a success of a self-directed learner!
Finally, the platform can act as a communication tool allowing the learner to build an online support and study network. Chat rooms and discussion forums can be used to stimulate debate on current learning topics. This can help to alleviate the sense of isolation felt by many independent learners and can be a real benefit to those who are hesitant to contribute during face to face sessions. Relationships built up online during training courses can develop into important networking opportunities.
Delivering online learning content
Effective online content should be delivered in chunks of no more than 20 minutes. This can lead to an unmanageable number of learning objects, often given obscure names and held in never-ending menus. A well-organised learning platform can give structure to the whole course, without imposing rigid paths through the learning. There are a number of ways this can be implemented. Each course could have its own homepage that acts as a gateway to the learning. Alternatively, courses which use online activities as pre-work for face to face sessions could link them directly to a learner’s calendar. The platform can also clearly mark which objects have been started and completed.
Once learners get to grips with the material there are two classic offline learning techniques that a learning platform can bring to the online world: bookmarking and note-taking. Bookmarking allows the learner to mark a page within a learning object so that they can easily return to it later. Usually this is used if a learning session is interrupted, but it could be used to create lists of pages that the learner feels may be particularly useful in the future for activities such as revision.
Note-taking allows the learner to add notes to the pages they are working through. When they return to the page they can access the note again. This is particularly useful in a business environment when they may wish to reflect on how the material they are working with can apply to the workplace or could be shared with colleagues.
Supporting the online environment
A learning platform will work best when it is properly supported by a moderator. Ideally the moderator will be someone closely involved with the course, such as a tutor, rather than an IT specialist. The platform allows a moderator to keep track of learner’s progress and to support them via email. Moderators can use the discussion forums to draw out key learning points and develop points raised in face to face sessions. This aligns the online elements with other areas of the learning blend, creating links between online and offline activities.
Conclusion
Learning platforms can be used to enhance the overall learning experience and can pull together online and offline events into a coherent blended course. For this to be successful the learner needs to feel that they are in control. Learner’s time is important so the platform has to provide the tools that learners need to make sure that they get the best possible experience for every minute they spend with it. The moderator can ensure that this happens by tailoring discussions, hosting chats and personalising the online elements in line with face to face sessions.
About the author
Christopher Gritt is an E-learning Producer at Digitalbrain and has designed and developed blended and online learning programmes across the public and private sectors, including CIM’s CIM City portal and the CIM Online Professional Diploma in Marketing e-learning content. |
