tarynshae

I used a number of multimedia principles in my course design. In line with the coherence principle, all extraneous words/pictures/sounds/information was omitted as I attempted to make the course and its content as succinct as possible. I proposed to use animation and narration in the online learning modules which were used in the first part of the course. On screen text was excluded however the assessment screens included still images and text and were presented simultaneously. I considered all of the multimedia principles in my course in order to maximise learning.

In today’s e-learning context, multimedia is the means by which we view and use the tools that help us learn. Graphics, images, video, animation, sound, podcasts, etc are all multimedia mediums that we currently use in e-learning today. We use such means via the internet, via CD-ROMS, via DVD’s and also MP3’s. The use of multimedia in e-learning is constantly changing, due to both the nature of technological advances and also due to the dynamic and changing nature of e-learning.

After further looking into my chosen unit of competence and attempting to make design recommendations for it in an e-learning context, as well as applying an appropriate learning theory to it, I realised my original choice was just proving too difficult as many of the skills and performance objectives were personal-based skills and understandings and this was hard to apply to an e-learning context. My new unit of competent, BSBEBU515A: Facilitate e-Learning, is much more appropriate and I chose this over other learning-based courses out of both interest and relevance in the workplace at present. I am very happy with this unit of competence and feel as though I can effectively apply all the relevant principles to it.

The unit of competence I have chosen is Manage own work and learning (CUECOR01B). Essentially, the unit is about learning self-management skills that are needed to perform effectively in the workplace and relates to both personal time management skills as well as the identification and management of personal learning needs. I thought it would be best to pick a unit of competence that I could relate to and understand and I feel as though this topic and context is relevant. It consists of 3 performance criteria:

1. Develop personal time management skills
2. Manage own learning
3. Receive and act constructively on personal feedback

I am unsure which theory will best suit my approach, but as this unit combines both the practical development of skills but also involves reaction to feedback and also forward planning, I am thinking maybe a blend of theories might suit best. More on this later!

An article that recently caught my attention was on the Workforce website and titled ”Chief Blogging Officer Catching on with Corporations” http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/50/77.html.

While it was the title that initially caught my eye, upon reading the article I discovered that not only is it about the technology of blogging but it is about when and where to use blogging and how to market it and use it for the correct purpose in modern organisations today, in particular Fortune 500 companies. It suggests that many people and companies are taking the approach of “We must start using this technology now!” without first researching on their clients and customers and communities and finding out what they want.

Essentially, it says while blogging can be an excellent tool to use, companies and orgnaisations should view blogging as a social media concept that can be used to benefit their brand. It just goes to show that tools such as blogging that we use now in a social and learning context today are now being used in a community engagement context within organisations. Who would’ve thought?!

Meaningfullness, as part of the Cognitive approach to learning, can definitely have an effect on learning. The fact that each and every person has the ability to create their own meaning based on the context and past experiences gives everyone the flexibility of learning and creating meaning in a way that is appropriate for them and that essentially enables them to better understand what is being taught/learnt. While the content or context may be the same, each learner can relate to it in a way that is meaningful to them. In e-learning, as much of the content is or can be self directed and autonomous, this means that individuals have the ability to make the content meaningful to them in the way they understand it best. This can allow the e-learner to learn more effectively.

Insight, to a lesser extent I believe, can also impact e-learning. As insight allows us to solve problems by looking at things from a different perspective through the restructuring and reorganising of different pieces of information, this can be applied to an e-learning context as in many instances of e-learning it can be modular, and by viewing it in this way a learner is able to relate information to the specific context or problem and percieving it in this way can lead to those “light blub” moments or moments of clarity. Learning in other more formal ways may not allow this to happen. 

Advance organisers, who create a “scaffold of ideas” to understand the higher level or more general concepts before they learn and incorporate the more detailed pieces of information into their framework, in an e-learning context can learn effectively through the sequential learning of content in meaningful relation to previous concepts. This allows information and knowledge to build upon those already learnt. In e-learning, this can allow the advancement of skills over time and is also relevant when a learning process or context is long or involved.

While I can’t say that I agree with all aspects of the Behavourist approach to learning, there are definitely parts of it that, I feel, make sense and are relevant and applicable today. I’m not sure if not being able to “stick” to one theory is indicative of the fact that I believe I learn in many different ways for a variety of reasons. In terms of the behaviourist approach, it makes sense that learning is demonstrated by the response or the behaviour of the learner. What I don’t agree with is that learning is based only on cause and effect and stimulus and response. While this is obviously appicable to a certain degree i.e. positive and negative reinforcement, particularly in children, I don’t believe it can account for the way everyone learns. While generalising stimuli and responding according to this is a major aspect of the behaviourist theory, I got a bit stumped when I pondered the effect that generalising might have on e-learning. The only way I can think of that this can apply to is in terms of technology. As the techonology used in e-learning is not something that everyone is comfortable with or accustomed too, an initial reaction of fear or maybe frustration. Bad experiences in the past perhaps with technology could also cause this. I imagine this is really only the cause with older people. While the concept of generalisation suggest the importance of practice in varied situations, understanding that learning can occur in a variety of situations and contexts might assist in dealing with this. Another principle I agree with and understand is how behaviour can be shaped by the reinforcement of responses when learning a new skill/s. It is essential that feedback is given when learning a new skill, and it is from this feedback that we shape the way we practice this skill in the future. Redinforcement that we are doing things the right way or for positive effect will assist this skill to be replicated correctly in the future.

Learning, for me, encompasses knowledge, understanding, practice and behaviours associated with the change in one’s capability and capacity. Learning is a process, and a very involved, complex, dynamic and long one at that! How we learn can be attributed to many things, such as genetics, environmental factors, causal factors, previous experience and our own capacity and abilities. Learning essentially culminates in the change of behaviour, as many formal definititions of learning suggest, and with this change in behaviour also comes a change in internal process, thinking, feeling, reacting, emotions and attitudes. The process of learning can be very different for many people, depending on the age of the learner, what they are learning and why they are learning, though the outcome is generally the same.

A Learner Management System (LMS) is essentially a high level strategic solution for planing, delivering and managing the learning events of an organisation. Learning events includes face-to-face and instructor led classroom learning as well as e-learning and virtual classroom learning. The main aim of an LMS is to track and monitor performance and training levels throughout an organisation e.g. tracking attendance, monitoring competency and booking training activities. The main focus of an LMS is to manage learners and to keep track of their progess and performance across all types of learning activities. An LMS is mainly administrative focus and is not used to create course and learning content.

A Learning Content Management System (LCMS) is alternatively focussed on learning content by providing the means to create e-learning content efficiently and effectively. The main aim of an LCMS is to create content to meet the needs of learners when they need it. It generally contains reusable chunks of training information and learning content. The fact that it duplicates this information means that it can be output much quicker.

While my current organisation does not use an LMS or LCMS and does not, in my belief, need one at this point in time, my previous organisation had recently launched an LMS using the SAP system. It was long overdue and was many years in the planning. The main aim of its introduction was to give users more control over their own learning by allowing them to search for and book their own learning activities and find and complete online training courses. For back end users, the LMS gave us much greater control and tracking capabilities and also allows much more scope for reporting. Training attendance could be monitored and recorded much more easily and all information relating to training could be stored in the one repository, as opposed to many locations such as spreadsheets and physical attendance registers. The LMS that was introduced definitely met the needs of the organisation, however further development and capability was definitely needed in the Phase 2 introduction. I have had no experience with an LCMS in any organisational context and cannot see its relevance or need at this point in time.