Sanna KT2

I`m sorry that I am a bit late with this week 3…

I have participated in a few courses before I started to study educational technology last autumn. I remember something about courses that didn`t work. If the course technic doesn`t work, it is hard to start study and be motivated. My experiences of elearning have been various. In some courses the course environment have been so muzzy and unclear that the course environment.

Fortunately I have also good experiences of elearning. For example one Habbo-course which was based on problem based learning. We worked in groups in Habbo hotel and there we discussed together different subjects. Before Habbo discussion every groupmember had watched stimulation video from Internet and took some notes from it. Throughout the different cases we move a head with problem based learning footfalls. That course was good because I learned new good way to study and the whole course was good-humoured… But the main reason why that course was good was that the environment worked well and everybody were active. Course design was also thought through.

First challenge is group building. How to create groups? My opinion is that, if the students are for example from same University it is easier to find workable groups face-to-face. That’s because if you know already somebody who you would like to work with, I think it is easier to find a way to get the group working quick. Online group building is troubled, at least I think so. Each student has a own way to go ahead with studies. Some student don`t worry deadlines or so on…

When the group works, everybody have great feeling and motivation to work in that group. Every group needs to decide common rules, roles and responsibilities. Every group member have to follow common rules that group can generally work together. I think that before you can work together as a group you must know each other in some way. It is easier to start conversation if you know your fellow students.

Nowadays e-learning is very popular in schools, why? I think that the reason why e-learning is so popular is that you can do your ”homework” where ever you want in the morning or even if at night. You must have only a comuputer and Internet and a lot of motivation of course. .I mean that e-learning offer to you flexibility of access from anywhere and usually at anytime . Anyhow to me it is easier to find time to do you homework in the evening because I also work a lot during daytime.

E-learning is also good way to have some international conversation and interaction. For example this course is a very good sample of that. Early computer learning systems were designed based on a behaviorist approach to learning, nowadays the vision is different. In this time in e-learning the learner itself is the center of the learning, with the instructor playing an advising and facilitating role.

It is very important to the course designer to think a few things before arrange e-learning course.

I list few things below.

• e-learning course must promote learning

• learning strategies should be selected to motivate learners

• e-learnig must allow individual differences

• course desing must encourage interaction

• what tools students use during the course

• and to whom the cource is aimed for…

  …and many many other things…

What was the most important thing you learned this week?

I learned some new words.

What was particularly interesting/boring in this week?

It was nice to read alternating articles.

Was there something you didn’t quite understand and want to know more
about it?

I think that the ground of e-learning is so extensive so it is hard to understand everything. I used many times dictionary while reading.

What kind of questions/ideas/experiences this week’s activities raised for you?

In which countries e-learning is the most popular in Europe? Are we finnish students pioneers in e-learning…?

Which tools did you use this week, explain what was the purpose of using these tools (eg. social talk, to regulate my team activities, to work on documents)?

As I wrote above, I used dictionary and I talked to my self alone. It was funny but helped me to understand english text better.

With whom did you communicate during this week, how many times, with which tools, and for what purposes?

I worked all by my self. Although I read other students blogs.

Hello, my name is Sanna and I`m from northern Finland. I live in town called Kempele – something about 15 kilometres from Oulu. I`m 23-year-old, 4th year student in The Faculty of Education at the University of Oulu. In future I´m going to work with children as a primary school teacher.

My hobbies are working in Expert ASA Oy (home electronics), all kind of sports and – of course – studying. I go to work something about 15-30 hours a week and almost every saturday. It´s sometimes hard but most of the time very rewarding – fortunately.

I have some experience of e-learning. I have used for example wikis and blogs during my studies.

I hope I get new international friends and that my english get better during this course. I think this is the best way to practice it.