E-Learning Promises and Pitfalls

I enjoyed reading Chapter 1 in the text, "E-Learning Promises and Pitfalls" I feel as if it gave me a solid foundation of some of the core values of e-Learning. Some of the information presented I was somewhat aware of but there was a lot of beneficial points that were made and I would like to discuss a few.

As you design an e-Learning tool according to the text the most important aspect to consider is what are your primary goals for the training. The text concludes that there are three structures of design for e-Learning; receptive, directive, and guided discovery.

As a special education teacher when designing e-Learning activities I believe that I need to concentrate my designs to Near Transfer Learning. Clark and Mayer explain that "We Distinguish between two types of perform goals" (1) procedural, also known as near transfer, and (2) principle-based or strategic, also known as far transfer." Procedural lessons are designed to teach step by step processes while Principle-based lessons are designed to teach a principle the learner must learn and then generalize to different settings or situations. In my classroom I think that designing more procedural learning tasks toward the front end of a lesson or unit is much more beneficial for the learner with disabilities. Once they have grasped the concept you might be able to do a principle-based learning and see how much was learned through the procedural process. On the other hand if I were teaching classes with advanced students and learners I would design mostly principle-based e-Learning's, I feel as if these would provide wonderful open ended class discussions where the learners would be able to generalize and apply the principle that was being taught.

Based on the text I feel more and more confident that the potential of e-Learning is limitless. I think the beauty of e-Learning is that it can be adapted to any learner young or old. Clark and Mayer explain that "Four potentially valuable instructional methods unique to e-learning are (1) practice with automated tailored feedback, (2) integration of collaboration with self-study, (3) dynamic adjustment of instruction based on learning and (4) use of simulation and games" (p. 22). One of the most valuable points that they make here is the ability to tailor instruction to the individual learners needs. Over the years we have found out much more about learning styles and how people learn. All learners are different and when trying to meet the educational needs of students with disabilities this is very important to remember. A lot of teachers struggle with trying to find ways to differentiate their instruction to meet all learners needs. E-Learning provides the instructor with so many different ways to differentiate their instruction making it easier to meet the needs of all their students.

Currently, I teach a Math Study Skills class and the students use a program called Cognitive Tutor through Carnegie Learning Online. The students in the class have all been identified as at-risk students in danger of failing math class. The program has been wonderful because it aligns with the curriculum but adapts its teaching style to each learner. If a learner misses a question it will automatically go back and force the student to master the particular concept that caused the student to miss the problem. The structure of the class allows me to individually work with students on particular assignments from their math class. This program is a great example of effective e-learning taking place in my class.

I also really found a lot of the information from the article "Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning" very informative. I thought that it was interesting on what the article said about quizzes not providing the best feedback on learner progress. At my school in the math department the county is obsessed with us giving Common Formative Assessments and they feel like it provides the best feedback and data to make decisions about the unit. I'm sure they would be shocked to read the article.

References

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2007). E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Pfeiffer.