Wednesday, February 20, 2008 . 5:54 AM

Effective eLearning: The Third Post

While the Web is good at engaging different types of learners, the core values of learning should not be lost in the process, if there has to be effective learning. There has to be a certain amount of discipline. Respect for a subject is reflected in the way it is learned.

In other words, effective eLearning is a balance of fun and instruction.

Keeping this in mind, what are the crucial success factors for eLearning?

1) An open mindset on the part of the Learner. The term is not eTeaching; it's eLearning. The learner has to get over his or her fear/suspicion of new technologies in order to get informed. A flexible, adaptable mindset is important.

2) More engaging lessons that fully exploits the technology involved. Interaction here is between a computer screen and the learner as there is no face-to-face interaction between peers or the instructor.

3) In terms of eLearning for members of the workforce, effective eLearning also reduces training costs. It also provides a consistent, accurate message. That is, the content should be the same, and if there are any changes, the modified content should be made available to all the eLearners.

4) Effective eLearning is done by understanding how the mind works during learning. The eLearning Guild's Learning Solutions emagazine states that adding graphics to words can improve learning. Furthermore, placing text near the graphics improves learning, too. A right balance of audio and visual input is optimal for learning. Too many graphics- or the other extreme, too many words - can hinder effective learning.

Last but not least, here is a comprehensive overview of the different categories of eLearning.