When people think of eLearning, they think of distance learning. Flex. They don’t think of the benefits that eLearning can have IN your classroom or learning environment.

1. Dynamic, interactive material geared toward visual learners.

The internet is home to a wide range of web-based applications which can have endless potential for positive learning experiences. A good example of this is Google maps, which allows student to zoom into geographic locations, get directions from one place to another, find the distance between two points, and even view and navigate certain areas in a panoramic view, with the new Google Street View technology.

Further to this, mash-ups allow integration between online applications, allowing for almost unlimited learning possibilities.

2. Access to a variety of multimedia to cater for all learning types.

Aural and visual learners: eLearning gives teachers and trainers a great opportunity to present visual explanations. Imbedding youtube or viddler videos that highlight your lesson, or even making your own screen casts, or video recordings. For subjects  like maths, display the equations on the slides, and for subjects like science, you can give visual demonstrations of what has to be done, or reactions that can happen!

Kinsethetic learners: Having interactive quizes is one way to get kinesthetic learners DOING SOMETHING. A lot of the time people use eLearning to give students pdfs and word documents, but this just won’t cut it for these learners. Getting kids to make photostories displaying how to make something, or write a story through photos. Even getting them to create a powerpoint presentation. All these involve getting kids to go out and take their own pictures, and then compiling them, and then sharing them online, in the virtual classroom.

3. Homework.

Why would you give kids their homework online instead of in real life? Well, imagine how much easier it would be! You could get them to do a short quiz on the day’s work, or get them to reasearch a topic, bookmark them in delicious, and then add the link to the virual classroom.

Why not get students to post an entry in their blog on the virtual classroom, or to submit their assignment topic in the forum?

4. Lesson Planning.

When I taught prep last year I used the virtual classroom as a safe way to store everything I needed. I could have my lesson on the world planned in the virtual classroom, and then using a smart board (or just a projector) I could navigate down the page, with screenshots, links, videos etc. even  embed google maps  into it. It was all ready for me.

5. Using ICTs in a meaningful way.

By getting students to collaborate together on a class blog, or in a forum, or just putting their work online, means that they have to use technology to do it. They are using it with a purpose. Instead of doing a typing course, they learn to type through writing things in their blog.

Another great thing about using ICTs meaningfully is that it is completely open ended. If a students wants to write their own html coding in their post, then they are free to! If they want to embed some flash animations, then they can! If they want to change the colour of things, then they are free to do that as well (within the parameters you set in your virtual classroom).

So here are some ways (and reasons why) you can use eLearning in your classroom, not just as flex.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!