As you can imagine, there are as many definitions of eLearning as there are articles about it. So I am going to restrict my context to how eLearning enhances the learning opportunities for the very able child:
eLearning is the application of technology to enhance learning, offering online and multimedia access to a world of anywhere and anytime resources.
But of course it�s much more than that. It�s a revolution which is opening up a new world for many, and particularly for the more able.
Today�s society is becoming more and more knowledge-based. The leaders of tomorrow (our children) must develop independent learning skills, flexibility and competence in information technology if they are to rise to the top of this increasingly competitive environment. For a while now, governments have been putting money into new technologies in schools, in the hope that schools will adopt innovative teaching and learning opportunities. Whilst the adoption has been slow (probably due to teachers� resistance to change, trust in traditional methods, lack of time, lack of support etc) the potential and emerging benefits for the able learners are phenomenal.
We are witnessing a cutting-edge revolution in learning, in which communities of young able learners are collaborating in a global classroom, with other students who have the same abilities and interests, where there are no distractions, no-one holding them back and no intellectual limits. Collaboration and discussion are such powerful motivators for these children � they articulate their ideas to each other, test out theories, introduce each other to new areas of knowledge, explore new horizons, support each other with feedback and consolidate and create new learning. These �connected� learners are raising each others� expectations, setting their own standards, taking responsibility for their own learning and liberating themselves from the constraints of conventional classroom expectations.
Comparisons are often made between the merits of �face to face� versus the virtual environment. However, eLearning is not replacing conventional study, but enhancing it.
So what exactly do the children do in a virtual classroom?
eLearning courses are provided on a �learning platform�, which is essentially a closed website, in which only the enrolled students and their tutors can interact. The learning platform is accessed by a unique username and password and is monitored and moderated to ensure that it is a safe place to learn.
In comparison to the traditional classroom, where the teacher plans for a whole class and �differentiates� for different levels of ability, the digital learners of today have access to bespoke eLearning �tools� which include discussions, video and audio podcasts, interactive quizzes, simulations and collaborative wikis. An eLearning course is thus a portal to a connected world of students and academics who share the same goals.
Typically, on a short course, new tasks are presented each day, which might include a collaborative research activity, a short assignment, a challenge or an investigation. These activities will take up about an hour of the student�s time during the day, but of course, many of them will want to research further. They receive personalised, encouraging feedback from the tutor, to facilitate further progress. Then each evening, the students get together online for a tutor-led, synchronous discussion, analysing and consolidating the learning of the day and influencing the tutor�s choice of learning material for the following day. Thus the course is dynamic and responsive to the abilities and interests of the particular learners on the course.
Frequently the students will introduce topics of their own and lead their own evening discussions, creating new material for the next set of students on the course. The knowledge-bank is being created for the students and by the students and merges the boundaries between learners and teachers.
For able and increasingly digitally literate children this is a very motivating and liberating opportunity - an opportunity to take control of their own learning and to break away from the boundaries of the traditional classroom.
We are just scratching the surface of how we can make use of eLearning technologies, but what is emerging is that technology offers an exciting future for these liberated learners. Our 21st Century students have access to more knowledge than ever before. It is our task to ensure that they have the learning skills to exploit the opportunities on offer.
Last edited by Sync; 10/03/10 11:33 PM.
