So why have we gone down an eLearning route?
To better serve the different needs of teachers. A number of teachers have told us they are time poor and want to be more self-directed in their learning experience. They want to do training at times that suit them. So we are looking to cater for these needs.
For a new school using LearningField we have already used a range of training options: face-to-face training, How to Videos, User Guides, our support knowledge base with its FAQs and our help desk. We have had a focus on training teachers in face-to-face training sessions. Whilst this style of training works well, and will continue to do so for a lot of people, we wanted to be able to cater for other individual learning preferences and styles better.
We wanted to provide a training option that was not restricted by time and place, but one, which removed or reduced any barriers to the learner’s accessibility to training and in turn gave teachers more control over their own learning.
eLearning can be used as a Pre-Learning activity, ahead of a face to face session, where teachers have a choice, once they’ve completed the online course, whether or not they want to continue to the face to face session. It is also a great tool to add to assist new teachers coming into the school throughout the school year.
eLearning simply becomes another option in a suite of training methods that a school can chose to adopt.
How did we develop our eLearning and what the are the ongoing plans?
Developing eLearning has been an exciting and challenging project for the LearningField team. We have used a collaborative approach, working with external eLearning designers, instructional designers and most importantly a number of our existing LearningField schools, to help us create our first eLearning course. We will be using this as an extra training approach for teachers familiarizing themselves with LearningField in term 4.
Based on your feedback our eLearning journey won’t end here. We will be extending the courses offered into 2015; initially focusing on the improvements and changes that will come with our new platform.
So as you experience our eLearning we would really welcome your feedback from the survey link at the end of the module. It’s from hearing from you that we can improve what we do.
Wendy Kennedy
Victorian Support manager