a.
Teaching and learning styles
Learners need to be able to access learning and
information in different ways, principally Visual, Auditory, and Kinaesthetic
(movement). This allows all learners, no matter what their preferred style,
the opportunity to become involved. Presenting information to learners in
their preferred learning style provides a learning impact more quickly, with
learning easier to retrieve, easier to apply, and more deeply understood. The
use of technology can enable the delivery of learning to achieve this, for
example:
Visual - graphic software, mind mapping software, browsing the internet,
video, videocasts
Auditory - voice recognition software, digital voice recorders, forums,
podcasts, chat rooms, blogs
Kinaesthetic - general computer usage, software games and quizzes,
interactive white boards, mobile learning.
b.
Electronic availability of learning resources
Electronic learning resources are learning materials that have been produced
for use on digital equipment and can be classed as static; they emulate the
paper based resource, dynamic; they change their form and appearance - but
not their content and living; they are able to
change their information content.
These learning resources can be made accessible to learners via:
-
The organisations network,
website or virtual learning environment (VLE)
-
Data storage devices: CD
ROM, memory stick
The electronic learning resources can range from a presentation used
in a formal session, or interactive quiz, to a course covering a complete
technical certificate.
Consideration should be given to the quality assurance of electronic
learning resources and the appropriate mechanism for retrieval and
distribution of the resources.
c.
Using the internet for teaching and learning
Using the internet brings the
'real world' to teaching and learning and gives the learners an opportunity
to explore learning in a different way. It's a dynamic medium involving
movement from site to site, promoting decision making and learner
independence. Teaching can be
supported by several uses of the internet:
-
On-line group communication and collaboration
-
Finding materials and information
-
The publishing of e-learning resources
Firstly consideration must be
given to learner accessibility to the internet, including the work place if
internet links are to be used in remotely accessing learning resources. Then teaching staff should plan, and
include in schemes of work, the appropriate use of the internet, which could
be via an interactive whiteboard or through access from an internet enabled
computer or mobile device such as a laptop or Personal Digital Assistant
(PDA).
d. Re-engineering
teaching and learning provision
As an organisation introduces and
implements e-learning/ILT into their learning programmes they should be able
to identify how blended models of delivery and improved accessibility to
resources provides more flexibility to learners, employers and staff. As this becomes embedded across the
organisation's learning programmes, with schemes of work and relevant
strategies and procedures reflecting the changes, the offer to learners and
employers will be considerably different.