Demystifying E-Learning 2.0
E-learning 2.0 is currently being discussed as the latest addition in the e-learning domain. There have been many issues surrounding e-learning 2.0 and a halo of mystery around it. This post aims to simply and practically examine e-learning 2.0. Though some ideas might be disturbing let me assure you that the article is factually correct. I would love to have your comments and discussions around this issue so that we can reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Before you actually progress to understanding E-Learning 2.0, you need to learn more about Web 2.0.
E-learning 2.0 is currently being discussed as the latest addition in the e-learning domain. There have been many issues surrounding e-learning 2.0 and a halo of mystery around it. This post aims to simply and practically examine e-learning 2.0. Though some ideas might be disturbing let me assure you that the article is factually correct. I would love to have your comments and discussions around this issue so that we can reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Before you actually progress to understanding E-Learning 2.0, you need to learn more about Web 2.0.
The Internet has evolved rapidly from its initial days. It is no longer used only as a medium that allows to remote users to communicate frequently and cheaply. Evolution of technologies such an instant search (Google), video and audio conferencing (Yahoo, LiveMeeting), social networking (Orkut), blogs and wikis (Blogger and Wikipedia), and video/image sharing (Youtube /Flicker) have changed the way people are using the Internet. Consider a scenario where you are a Product Manager in an enterprise and are responsible for launching various products in the market. You can use Live Meeting to demonstrate the product to all relevant stakeholders and customers. You can create a blog for the product, where you can host various articles and whitepapers about the product. People can read these articles and post their opinions and new information in the comments section of your blog. You can also create a social networking forum about your product. Customers would be able to join the forum meet other users, discuss common issues and even troubleshoot many issues without escalating them. You can also create wikis for your product. All stakeholders would be able to read and modify information in the wiki. The wiki could become the one stop reference section for all information about your product. You can finally create some jazzy videos and pictures of your product and use YouTube and Flicker to share them with your customers and market the product. You can use RSS to regularly inform customers and stakeholders about new posts and articles on blogs and wikis. Thus, you can successfully market and release your product at virtually no cost. As an added advantage customers would be able to share knowledge with each other, thus reducing the burden on your enterprise. All the above mentioned tools and technologies are essential components of Web 2.0. Therefore, you can summarize the above mentioned example by defining Web 2.0 as a medium that allows users to utilize tools and technologies to collaborate and share information with each other.
Now the question arises, how Web 2.0 can be effectively used to develop an effective and unique learning experience namely E-learning 2.0?
Let us look at how e-learning has evolved over the years. E-learning 1.0 focused on proving information users in the form of content chunks called modules. The instructional designer created the courseware and used an LMS to deploy the course and monitor student progress. Authoring tools such as Dreamweaver were used for creating courses. Most organizations still follow e-learning 1.0. Then came E-learning 1.3, which was the age of rapid e-learning. Tools such as Breeze and Articulate allowed SMEs to create short and extremely learner centric modules. In e-learning 1.3 the LCMS replaced the LMS. You can learn more about LCMS and LMS from the following link. (http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/dec2002/greenberg.htm). The focus of courseware development shifted from instructional designer to SMEs.
Finally with the advent of Web 2.0 came the evolution of e-learning 2.0. The above mentioned tools now allow users to create their own courses and knowledge chunks. The instructional designer only needs to point the learner to various places such as blogs and wikis where learners can collaboratively create their own learning experience.
Consider an example where you have to train some instructional designers on a tool such as Captivate. The example below would summarize how the three different e-learning versions would be used to create such training.
Creating Training on Captivate
E-Learning 1.0: Instructional Designers would create 3-4 modules on how to use captivate and its various features. There would be some simulations and demonstrations to supplement the theoretical information. The course would be created by using Dreamweaver and published on an LMS.
E-Learning 1.3: A SME who is s Captivate expert would use various tools such as Breeze or Articulate to create a quick course on Captivate. The course would have small modules which would provide only essential information to the users. The course would be published on an LCMS.
E-learning 2.0: The learners would be pointed to a blog or a wiki which already has some information about Captivate and its features. The learners would also be pointed to the location from where they can download the demo of Captivate to use it. Learners can try using Captivate and post their queries and issues on the blogs. These queries would be answered by other learners, thus enabling everyone to create their own learning experience. Once learners have achieved significant expertise on Captivate they can share their experience with others by contributing to relevant blogs and wikis. They can also upload various feature demonstration videos by using YouTube and share them with other users. Thus, the onus of creating the learning experience has shifted from Instructional designer to the SME and finally to the learners themselves. Since each learner would only ask questions relevant to them, their learning experience would be unique and best suited for them.
Thus, you can effectively define E-Learning 2.0 as a concept that allows learners to use tools provided by Web 2.0 for sharing relevant knowledge and creating a unique learning experience. E-learning 2.0 encourages learners to interact with the content and retain only relevant bits of information.
It is important to understand that all the three version of e-learning coexist with each other. You need decide your approach based on the nature of a project. If you are creating training on critical software that would be used by a majority of employees in your enterprise, e-learning 1.0 is your best choice. You can create a robust course that would ensure that everyone is trained and certified to use the software effectively. E-learning 1.3 can be used for providing information on new procedures and processes. Such training can be quickly and effectively created by various SMEs. In cases where you audience is extremely diverse and you are unable to do an effective audience analysis you can use E-learning 2.0 to encourage learners to create their own learning experience. You can to point them to relevant blogs and wikis to ensure a successful learning experience.
I would like to conclude by saying the E-learning 2.0 cannot flourish in isloation. I think the future is when we combine all the three variants of e-learning to create interactive and effective e-learning courses.
References:
http://www.learningcircuits.org/2007/0707karrer.html
Now the question arises, how Web 2.0 can be effectively used to develop an effective and unique learning experience namely E-learning 2.0?
Let us look at how e-learning has evolved over the years. E-learning 1.0 focused on proving information users in the form of content chunks called modules. The instructional designer created the courseware and used an LMS to deploy the course and monitor student progress. Authoring tools such as Dreamweaver were used for creating courses. Most organizations still follow e-learning 1.0. Then came E-learning 1.3, which was the age of rapid e-learning. Tools such as Breeze and Articulate allowed SMEs to create short and extremely learner centric modules. In e-learning 1.3 the LCMS replaced the LMS. You can learn more about LCMS and LMS from the following link. (http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/dec2002/greenberg.htm). The focus of courseware development shifted from instructional designer to SMEs.
Finally with the advent of Web 2.0 came the evolution of e-learning 2.0. The above mentioned tools now allow users to create their own courses and knowledge chunks. The instructional designer only needs to point the learner to various places such as blogs and wikis where learners can collaboratively create their own learning experience.
Consider an example where you have to train some instructional designers on a tool such as Captivate. The example below would summarize how the three different e-learning versions would be used to create such training.
Creating Training on Captivate
E-Learning 1.0: Instructional Designers would create 3-4 modules on how to use captivate and its various features. There would be some simulations and demonstrations to supplement the theoretical information. The course would be created by using Dreamweaver and published on an LMS.
E-Learning 1.3: A SME who is s Captivate expert would use various tools such as Breeze or Articulate to create a quick course on Captivate. The course would have small modules which would provide only essential information to the users. The course would be published on an LCMS.
E-learning 2.0: The learners would be pointed to a blog or a wiki which already has some information about Captivate and its features. The learners would also be pointed to the location from where they can download the demo of Captivate to use it. Learners can try using Captivate and post their queries and issues on the blogs. These queries would be answered by other learners, thus enabling everyone to create their own learning experience. Once learners have achieved significant expertise on Captivate they can share their experience with others by contributing to relevant blogs and wikis. They can also upload various feature demonstration videos by using YouTube and share them with other users. Thus, the onus of creating the learning experience has shifted from Instructional designer to the SME and finally to the learners themselves. Since each learner would only ask questions relevant to them, their learning experience would be unique and best suited for them.
Thus, you can effectively define E-Learning 2.0 as a concept that allows learners to use tools provided by Web 2.0 for sharing relevant knowledge and creating a unique learning experience. E-learning 2.0 encourages learners to interact with the content and retain only relevant bits of information.
It is important to understand that all the three version of e-learning coexist with each other. You need decide your approach based on the nature of a project. If you are creating training on critical software that would be used by a majority of employees in your enterprise, e-learning 1.0 is your best choice. You can create a robust course that would ensure that everyone is trained and certified to use the software effectively. E-learning 1.3 can be used for providing information on new procedures and processes. Such training can be quickly and effectively created by various SMEs. In cases where you audience is extremely diverse and you are unable to do an effective audience analysis you can use E-learning 2.0 to encourage learners to create their own learning experience. You can to point them to relevant blogs and wikis to ensure a successful learning experience.
I would like to conclude by saying the E-learning 2.0 cannot flourish in isloation. I think the future is when we combine all the three variants of e-learning to create interactive and effective e-learning courses.
References:
http://www.learningcircuits.org/2007/0707karrer.html
5 comments:
That's an interesting read...I do believe that elearning 2.0 cannot be a huge success in isolation. FOr one, the motivational level of the learner differs. For elearning 2.0 to succeed, the learner will have to exhibit a fairly high level of motivation and keenness to learn. At times, employees in the organization and collegiate students may not show the same inclination toward a drab subject. An online course that tracks the learners' progress becomes a boon in such cases.
An informative write up...Keep up the good work!
Very interesting. But tell me something...With the advent of Web 2.0 and e-learning 2.0, where users generate their own content, what will happen to all the instructional designers of the world. Anyone can direct users to links where he/she can find the required information. Does that mean that instructional design as a stream is going to lose whatever little value it has now?
HI Naveen, the last line of the post is very important. Creating customized training will always be a requirement. What 2.0 will help in is to enable collaberative learning. So you dont need to teach generically available content in class. Also, you can setup blogs and wikis where your learners can discuss common questions, answers, and experiances. So i wouldnt worry, IDs will live on.. :)
That is what I am coming to Akshay. With SMEs writing the content for the web, all the required content will be easily available to those who need it. Anyone can pick up the required content and arrange it according to requirements. And that limits the scope of an ID. And setting up blogs and Wikis for users to come together is no big deal. In such cases, what will be the core competency of an ID? Will that not drastically reduce the need to have an ID in the first place. Agreed, IDs would still be required, but will the demand be same?
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