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What Makes e-Learning FUN!

Article excerpt - Elearning and Fun: A Report From the CHI 2005 Special Interest Group

By Lisa Neal
Originally distributed elearningmag.org

Much of the focus on eLearning centers on the experience of students, not on that of online teachers. What makes online teaching fun, and how does that impact students?"

There are many differences between teaching in the classroom and online. Teachers may be uncomfortable initially because they don’t know how to transfer their skills effectively and, unable to see students to gauge their reactions, they receive less feedback to help them tailor their lecture or tweak their performance. Practice helps, as does experience, and techniques such as envisioning an enthralled audience, which is sometimes better than what you get in person, helps with initial discomfort.

eLearning, Fun, and Group Discussions… people to talk about what makes e-learning fun and, conversely, what makes it tedious or dull. Four dimensions emerged across the groups.

The first could be characterized as rigidity vs. spontaneity. “Fun” experiences were seen as the result of situations that were surprising, playful, and challenging.

Online Learning Games can be set up with ease with the Training Departments' custom games within the e-courseware. The development of the games can be fun for both the online teacher as well as the students.
The second dimension concerned the communication mode. Unidirectional messages from “teacher” to “student” were perceived as undesirable. Interactivity was prized.

Training Department has Instant Student Administration that lets online teachers communicate with students and visa-versa. Students request courses, check progress, take courses and quizzes, send e-mails, "Ask the Expert" and more.
The third dimension was related to the nature of the social experience provided. Working in isolation was felt to be “not fun.” Working collaboratively was felt to be fun or engaging.

Online Forums - easily promote interaction among the class, trainers and adminstrators.
The final dimension concerned the flexibility of the program. Fixed programs were seen as inferior to programs that contained user customizable features.

Online teaching can be fun and flexible with Training Department's Course Authoring - besides being easy it's robust - the e-course developer can add and edit the course by entering content, images, games, tests, videos, vignettes, audio clips and more.

As the session drew to an end, the group moved towards one additional realization, that the dimensions that make e-learning and e-teaching effective are, in essence, the same as those that make any learning and teaching situation effective. However, virtual environments can be used in ways that present new opportunities and which provide new ways to enable experiences that have been shown to be effective in face-to-face learning situations.

Training Department has the e-course developer, trainer and managers in mind. We know how time consuming e-course developmetn can take and we have a host of FREE online courses in our library to help with this process.

Lisa Neal, Editor-in-Chief, eLearn Magazine and Lorraine Normore, Librian, Center for Early Literacy Information . For the Complete article.