Synopsis

The way I understand elearning technologies is they are to be used to make learning effective. Effective is the key word, here. Learning is more effective with the use of elearning technologies than it would be without their use. However, the only disadvantage I can see about using elearning technologies is they can be exclusive. They can be to some extent exclusive of learners who are not or cannot be digitally literate for one reason or another - of those with intellectual disabilities, for example. In this case, the teacher should have a back-up plan not involving elearning technologies so the learning design is inclusive of everyone. With that said, it is back to putting elearning technologies in education...



Learning is operated on the computer over the net. The technologies are not solely for education, and education is just one application for them. The teacher can use the technologies in the design stage, and learners can use the technology in the delivery stage. Elearning technologies apply to learning in many respects. They engage learners, they involve Active Learning strategies, they encourage higher-order thinking, they connect learners to outside-of-the-classroom influences. They encourage creativity. They can teach declarative knowledge in interesting ways. From the teacher's view point, elearning technologies make design and delivery easier. Time is saved for other teaching tasks. Teachers can use the technologies for assessment, portfolios, and reporting. In summary, elearning technologies can be incorporated into any key element of a Learning Design Construct/Framework, that is, Tasks, Resources, or Supports.



The elearning technologies I investigated for this assessment are SlideShare; WIKIPedia; Really Simple Syndication; WebQuest; PowerPoint; MediaFire; Music on the Web (Incompetech); Google Earth; iTunes; Quizzes; e.Portfolio; Flickr; Blog; WIKI; YouTube; and Voki Avatar. As well as from my own investigations, I learned about these technologies from my lecturer and peers (my peers postings on the discussion forum and their blogs). Although some procedures were unclear and frustrating, I came to be, in the end, somewhat enthused by what I learned. It was apparant to me immediately how I could use each technology in line with Dimensions of Learning and the theories my lecturer has given us to study (see blog posts).



So, which elearning technologies would I use, and how would I use them to enhance student learning and make my teaching more efficient? I would use all of the above in my teaching. They all - although unequally because they have differing functions and purposes, and I would use them accordingly - enhance student learning and would make my teaching more efficient because they, fundamentally, engage learners, and keep them engaged. That is the biggest hurdle taken care of right there. Engaging the learner eliminates behavioural problems and saves learning time. Alternatively, the technology is the teacher, and the teacher is now the 'learning manager', there only for support. Concurrent with Marc Prensky's "Engage Me or Enrage Me. What Today's Learners Demand", is that not who (or what) today's digital native would rather be taught by?



Prensky, M. (2005). Engage me or enrage me. What today's learners demand [Electronic Version]. In Educause review. September/October, 2005. Retrieved July 2009, from Central Queensland University, FAHE11001-Managing E-Learning moodle website
http://moodle.cqu.edu.au/

Learning Design - The Project. (2003). Learning design framework. Retrieved July 21, 2009, from
http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/project/learn_design.htm