Online learning
From Digipedia
| How useful is this article to you? 1 (not useful) - 5 (very useful) |
| Current average rating: 0 |
| Please login or create an account to rate this article |
Contents |
OVERVIEW
Online learning or e-learning takes place where resources and learning materials as well as the act of recording learning is undertaken in an online environment. Online learning can be combined with traditional forms of instruction and this is known as "blended learning".
Appeal of online learning
Online learning can take place at a time and place that suits the learner and in or without the physical presence of a tutor, support being made available by phone or via email. The learner is also in control as to the length of time spent online, rather than predetermined class times. Online learning can also be suitable for print impaired readers, since assistive technologies such as speech browsers can help with reading, and currently only 4% published materials are made available simultaneously in accessible format.
As digital natives (those born since widespread use of the Internet) come of age, their expectation of being able to access learning resources in a variety of formats and through a range of devices will become the norm and universities and colleges are already seeing evidence of a shift in demand for online over printed resources.
Digital learning supports the policy of lifelong learning and enables people to continue to hone existing skills and develop new ones alongside their working day as an ever faster evolving world requires them to do.
Infrastructure to support online learning
In 1998 two key developments were announced that identified online learning as a key plank in education and skills policy. The university for industry was to provide bite size, any time, any place learning to enable people in work or unable to commit to the regular classes of their local FE or adult education college to access online learning at work, at home or anywhere with connectivity.
The National Grid for Learning and the creation of regional broadband consortia was to provide connectivity for schools as well as guidance and training for teaching professionals. Alongside this the People's Network in public libraries would provide access to computers, free at the point of use, for children and young people outside school hours and for adults not in work and otherwise without access to computer facilities.
Since then the development of mobile and other entertainment devices that are web enabled has increased connectivity such that at the time of writing two thirds of households in the UK have internet access
Online learning resource providers
The birth of the organisations mentioned above led to an increased demand for digital learning resources and a number of new publishers alongside traditional print media ones have merged over recent years. These include broadcasters, the BBC producing GCSE Bitesize as a revision tool for school children as well as a number of campaigns aimed at adults including WebWise, Skillswise and BBC People's War, which gathered people's stories of the Second World war into a digital archive. Recently Channel 4 have shifted their expenditure aimed at young people (16-35) to the creation of digital and non broadcast services. In autumn 2008 Channel 4 announced 4iP a fund to support new ideas in "public service media'.
In addition to creating an ICT infrastructure ufi/learndirect commissioned learning materials, with a strong emphasis initially on Skills for Life resources. In the workplace unionlearn was created to encourage and support workplace learning and much of their work supports Skills for Life learners. A long standing player in distance learning, the Open University now accommodates online learning in its course delivery.
Search engine Google provides two services particularly aimed at learners: Google Scholar and Google Books. Google Scholar is a search tool that works across scholarly literature (articles) , whilst Google Books is joint project with several American universities plus University of Oxford and other partners to digitize books and make them discoverable and available through full text search online.
Other user generated content can provide online learning resources: Slideshare is a website where individuals can upload their presentations for others to read and use in some cases as webinars. Flickr can act as a source of visual images (especially where Creative Commons licensing permits sharing. Similarly YouTube includes broadcast and video materials that can be used in a learning context.
Related Digipedia articles
Digital literacy
Information literacy
Further information
[[role::newcomer]] [[role::strategy manager]] [[role::policy maker]] [[role::content manager]] [[role::acquisitions manager]] [[goal::developing]] [[goal::audience]] [[goal::education]] [[goal::managing]] [[goal::planning]] [[level::basic]] [[level::medium]]
