subject: Supporting Teachers And Students With E Learning Systems [print this page] I have just finished reading a very interesting blog about informal learning in an e learning systems context, and it's effectiveness as a teaching tool when compared to a more formal style of training, which aims to teach a set curriculum, in a classroom-style environment. By it's nature, formal tutelage is more rigid and can therefore, be less specific to an individuals needs.
This got me thinking about how e learning courses compare to these two different styles of teaching, and what is the most effective way to impart information and create understanding.
A few years ago, I set about the first part of diversifying my career path by starting a teacher-training course. As part of the course requirements it was necessary to have in place a certain amount of teaching hours for the coming year, before you commenced the course. At the time I thought this a most peculiar concept that anyone would hire a teacher without training and more to the point that I would be able to teach without training.
As difficult as it turned out to be, I cannot deny that learning on-the-job was the most effective way of understanding not only what I was being taught, but being able to cherry-pick from information that I learned in class and support and build on knowledge and experience already present.
However, with such a steep learning curve to climb, I found our e learning resources at the college, invaluable. The e learning content provided an equally valuable resource, and the LMS not only provided a back up to my workplace learning, but enhanced the effectiveness of any training by providing consistent reference material and the ability to re-visit a lesson as often as needed and at a pace that suited me.
The students that I were teaching, all around sixteen and seventen, relied heavily upon their college LMS for keeping up to date with anything from course work deadlines through to social gatherings and the library.
I myself used the online facilities for class register aswell as reference materials for the course guidelines.
The ability to provide an e learning platform that gives flexibility, and can provide clear evidential learning resources is surely an asset to any company organization or individual, and one with the ability to work for both student and teacher alike can only add to the benefits an e learning solution is able to provide.
