MOOCs, E-learning, and Instructional Designer
In general, MOOC was considered a significant step forward by many active learners because it enables more learners to recognize the outside world and provides learners with an opportunity to explore different subjects.
I think the reform of many teaching methods cannot improve the students' learning effect. For example, MOOCs, for the people who have high learning ability or the active learning ability, it provides more opportunities and choices. But for the learner who lacks learning ability and learning enthusiasm, their ability to tackle transformation is limited, in this kind of change is more be taken by surprise. And it is more different for those people to pay their attention to online material and instruction.
A recent edX study on student attention spans, which it pegged at 6.5 minutes. Many students believe “they are the world’s best multi-taskers,” according to Stanford President John L. Hennessy, but “in fact, they aren’t very good at it.” If online education is to succeed, “you have to make sure you get students to pay attention to the material.”
Besides, another research indicated that compared to e-learning setting, mentoring, coaching and faculty interaction is essential to success in schooling environments, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
As a future instructional designer, is there any way that we can improve the e-learning forms to suit the learners from different backgrounds? And also, how can we draw more learner’s attentions significantly at e-learning platform?
I think the reform of many teaching methods cannot improve the students' learning effect. For example, MOOCs, for the people who have high learning ability or the active learning ability, it provides more opportunities and choices. But for the learner who lacks learning ability and learning enthusiasm, their ability to tackle transformation is limited, in this kind of change is more be taken by surprise. And it is more different for those people to pay their attention to online material and instruction.
A recent edX study on student attention spans, which it pegged at 6.5 minutes. Many students believe “they are the world’s best multi-taskers,” according to Stanford President John L. Hennessy, but “in fact, they aren’t very good at it.” If online education is to succeed, “you have to make sure you get students to pay attention to the material.”
Besides, another research indicated that compared to e-learning setting, mentoring, coaching and faculty interaction is essential to success in schooling environments, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
As a future instructional designer, is there any way that we can improve the e-learning forms to suit the learners from different backgrounds? And also, how can we draw more learner’s attentions significantly at e-learning platform?
One of the challenges facing MOOCs was the voluntary nature of learners. Signing up for a MOOC is like checking out a book from the library -- you're interested, and maybe you'll start it, maybe you'll finish, but no big deal if you don't.
ReplyDeleteYou provide an interesting way of looking at things here, and it's like a chicken/egg situation: who is in charge of a learner's attention, the learner or the instructional designer?