exemplary elearning solutions

12 06 2007

over on learning circuits blog, the big question for june is: “where are the examples of elearning?” in my last post, what is a “good example”, i outlined a set of criteria that outline what an exemplar of good elearning would meet. in this post i’ll introduce three elearning examples using those criteria.

xblogs

I wrote about xblogs in my post entitled xblogs: the road less traveled. kim and jason kotecki created a pedagogical scaffolding to be used with a blog or blogs to help deliver learning in various content realms. you can read my previous post for the details. what makes xblogs special in my mind is that they’ve taken a very rich, but very amorphous technology – blogs – molded them to the specific goals for learning – particularly complex learning – yet kept all the essence of blogging.

criteria	evidence
solves a common problem	aiding the learning of ambiguous, higher order skills and behaviors
applicable to multiple specific situations	new employee orientation, leading vs. managing
how and why must be transparent	the tasked-based nature of the activities scaffolds the learning and design, its exploratory nature draws upon existent organizational knowledge
learners must feel they have a choice	the learner chooses how they execute the task
no learning curve for the technology	blogs in general has a low usage-threshold: basic data entry, copy and paste, wysiwyg interfaces
clearly visible, multiple means of support	facilitators (called sherpas) are available, previous learners’ content is available as example work, subject participants in tasks provide guidance
appropriate use of the technology	presentation-reflect-react are core blog characteristics
results in the desired learning	dialogue enables building of higher-order skills via negotiation of meaning

w3schools

this free site is absolutely the primer for learning anything related to building and managing websites. from html to webservices, rss to .net asp w3schools provide content in logical chunks that are digestible by anyone who has a general understanding of how to use their computer. there are thousands of examples – most of which can be altered as practice allowing for hypothesis creation and testing and trial and error. they also provide immediate and real opportunities to practice the principles being presented in each section. all of this content is available 24/7 as a reference and refresher to anyone who needs it. if you are just looking for a few solutions to tidy up a website or if you are seeking certification in one or more categories, w3 schools is a solid foundation for your learning.

criteria	evidence
solves a common problem	learning the terminology, systems, and standards required for the proper execution of a role or skill.
applicable to multiple specific situations	1) coding, programming and designing a website. 2) learning of pharmaceutical terminology, medical benefits/side effects, and regulation regarding products by pharmaceutical sales representatives. 3) learning terminology, taxonomies, and legal processes by insurance coders.
how and why must be transparent	highly structured segments of content presented, prioritized, reviewed, quizzed, practiced, and shared.database of content is cross referenced to demonstrate connections, relationships, and dependence between the chunks of content.
learners must feel they have a choice	what and how the learner choosed to go through the content is total up to them. the learner has complete control over how deep they go on a topic.
no learning curve for the technology	content is called and presented to learner who uses point and click on an outline, index, and/or search.
clearly visible, multiple means of support	highly structured organization provides a scaffolding of the content for the learner.user forumsexample code providedfull source documents onlinecontext like history of xml and web usage statistics
appropriate use of the technology	well designed relational database allows user guided selections, potential pathways, and meta-organzers amongst the chunks of content.examples and their manipulations require the ability to enter text.quizzes are simple and formative in nature.
results in the desired learning	besides having over 2 million page impressions a day as a sign of success. Here are a few customer quotes as evidence: In just under an hour I learned more than I did in a five day class. Finally it all becomes clear! XML- nothing to it after reading the tutorial on your site! Thanks very much for the lessons – am about to change my whole website by using style sheets.

trailfire

trailfire fits in a class of web 2.0 applications that allow a person to place notations directly “on” a web page. trailfire not only allows you to share your notes with others, but it also allows others to make comments on your notes. in effect, a microblog post each time you leave a note. notes, called trail marks, can be strung together in a trail which can then be linked to as a guide through the trail marks. see my review of trailfire on eelearning wiki for more details.

criteria	evidence
solves a common problem	sharing content found on the web with others you are working with and/or learning with.
applicable to multiple specific situations	sharing foundational resources with colleaguesframing options and concepts to create common ground for group decision making.present pre-requisite knowledge for new group members.
how and why must be transparent	The basis of the solution is the blog structure of post-comment.the content is attached directly to the content being discussed providing full context.the trail structure provides summary capacities to tie trailmarks together.
learners must feel they have a choice	learner has full control over which trailmarks to read, how much of the related content to explore, and if and how they respond.
no learning curve for the technology	creating a trailmark is a simple process with embedded guides.skills required are basic browswer navigation, basic data entry, point-and-click.
clearly visible, multiple means of support	in-solution forum guide use through creation of trails and trailmarks. learner clicks reads clicks writes.
appropriate use of the technology	utilizes rendering technologies to present easy to use forums.the share-reflect-respond format of a blog is translated well in to a micro-blog format.
results in the desired learning	the solution supports collaborative construction of knowledge at multiple levelsit immerses the learner in context an approach well supported for increased retention of target knowledge.