What is elearning?

Pedagogy

Elearning or e-learning, is a word used to describe a particular pedagogical approach to the delivery of education using modern technology. Elearning has in recent times become a "catch-all" phrase for just about any educational resource uploaded and accessible on the internet. However, the word elearning should not be misunderstood, abused and/or used incorrectly applied in a way which would "water down" substantially the strong educational methodologies elearning can in fact yield when applied appropriately with studied methods. “e-Learning should be used strategically and not just as a tool that everybody uses” - Interview with Tony Bates, professor at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia ).

Why is elearning not more widespread?

For instructors elearning educational models require far more work (at the beginning) than traditional educational models. Generally traditional face to face (f2f) professors and lecturers are not in a position to be able to deliver successful courses through elearning mechanisms due to the lack of their pedagogical training. They find it increasingly difficult to change or to re-think their educational delivery methods. To deliver an elearning program successfully requires a complete re-think, and unless specific elearning teacher training has taken place instructors simply get it wrong and students fail drop-out and completely miss the mark. Audicourses.com has been built purely on that elearning pedagogical training and our students are highly fruitful and achieve targets beyond their peers in the f2f world.

Isn't elearning just a way for students to access materials online?

No, and we repeat that no. This is one of the greatest misconceptions regarding the term elearning, probably due to the fact that elearning is in fact a very young subject in its own right. The term elearning can be considered a step on from the terms, distance-learning or correspondence courses, but it is an all together different generation of technology and approach than those two terms. Elearning is about a whole different approach to education which places the student firmly at the center of their own learning and places the instructor at the side of the elearning student as a guide. Many instructors find this letting-go of "I am the font of all knowledge" title extremely hard and their academic background has led them to believe that is how they as an instructor should be perceived by their audience. This is fundamentally incorrect for elearning pedagogy, which by default is all about the student experiencing and formulating their own learning paths.

Does elearning empower students to learn when convenient for them?

Yes this is true and we are finding many of our students are in fact in either part-time/full-time work and/or have a busy life. Here we can see one of the great strengths of elearning in that it can and does empower students to accommodate study into their lives. Elearning is not just about a geographical extension which can reach out to remote areas where schools do not exist. Elearning IS an alternative even to those students with colleges and schools in their home towns. This is a departure from the terms correspondence, or distance-learning course as elearning is not to be confused with learning at a distance. With modern computer networks the learning environment is in the students home.

E-Learning implies a degree of digital literacy

This is certainly the case because the majority of current elearning courses utilize the PC. Therefore it is paramount that potential students are aware that their elearning program will require a certain level of IT literacy. To disregard this would be a potential problem and Audiocourses.com recognizes that a number of students will require non-content related IT support in order to aid the student in making the elearning environment seem fairly transparent.

Elearning social networks?

Instructors working within elearning environments need training in order to be able to create digital social networks which eliminate students feelings of isolation. Audiocourses.com places the learning community smack-bang in the center of its elearning models, realizing the significance of shared-learning or social elearning. We find students motivation is increased significantly because of our applied social learning concepts.

What is elearning Constructivism?

Constructivism is a term that we at Audiocourses.com whole-heartedly promote. The term challenges the concept that learning is a packaged transferable commodity. The term constructivism does not mean we can buy a learning package and have all of its contents transferred to our mind, so we then own that "knowledge". For us at Audiocourses.com we see the knowledge as being constructed by the student and the use or prior experience essential for the collaboration with peers. The learning goals are to a great extent constructed by the student and students are encouraged to develop their own critical and creative thinking. We do not give you a fish so you can eat for one day, we in fact aim to develop your fishing skills for life.