Podcasts.. learning of the 21st century

Podcasts are probably one of the most efficient ways to enhance online learning for online classes. This allows for students to hear their professors and maybe even see them, if the professors creates a video with the podcast, giving them a sense of who the teacher is, what they sound like and making them more familiar then just someone with whom you correspond through email. It gives a familiarity aspect to the whole atmosphere of online learning.

Another really great thing about podcasts is it allows for students to listen to the podcast as many times as they would like. Which gives many of them a chance to really understand what the professor is talking about and maybe pause the podcast if they have something they need to write down and don’t want to miss out on anything the professor is saying. This is a very cool thing, because you don’t always get the chance to revisit what the professor is teaching and sometimes end up missing out on some key concepts as you were paying attention to another thing which was said earlier.

Text Processing

Text processing is crucial to my online learning. If things are too small or two crowded on a screen it makes it hard for me to read and follow what is happening on the screen. I personally usually just print off the pages which I have to read if they are more then 2-3 pages online, as I find I can’t stare at the screen for too long. I also highlight the sections which helps me to follow along on the page which gives me a better understanding of the content.

If things aren’t clear on a screen ( ie text too small) or things are hard to navigate through ( can’t find the buttons to go to the next page, then I find that I am more concerned with getting through the page then actually reading the information on the page and I don’t learn much at all. I truly believe that text processing is key for any individuals learning if they are learning anything on the web and those who are creating the website should really make sure that they know how to properly make a website, otherwise they will loose their audience really quickly

SDL a cool new way to look at learning

The article “A conceptual Model For understanding Self Directed Learning”, is very interesting and really got me thinking about online courses and learning by yourself.

SDL isn’t a new thing for me. I have taken online courses before when I was in college. I find them very useful as they allow me to add an additional course to my course load without having to worry about the time spent going to class. I can do the work on my own time, as long as I am meeting the deadlines each time. I don’t have to worry about missing a class, and finding myself behind. This class really fit into my crazy busy schedule this semester, as I am working and taking a total of 4 classes as well as organizing a huge business conference which is coming to the university in January. So it really helps when I can do my assignments and blogs on my own time not worrying about the time constraints of attending a class.

SDL however isn’t for everyone. People, who take online courses, should be very motivated and willing to do things on their own and who do not require a classroom setting to learn. If they require the structure of a classroom and a teacher, the obviously SLD isn’t for them. But for those who have a busy schedule and want to take more courses and are self motivated, the online courses and SDL is very handy for them.