Learning Objects

Many people have been using different learning objects nowadays, especially from multimedia presentations. I believe many management major students have been using the online center website to practices the exam problem. When teaching in the classroom, many educators try to make the content relate to the real live and make it fun for learner. There are many ways to make the learning more interesting. It is getting more popular that games embed learning objects in classroom, especially in K-12 education. This method could draw learners' attention on the learning process. Here is website (http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/play/caveart/) that educator could use game embed learning object to teach young kids in the classroom. In this learning object, educator could easily assemble different teaching materials and present them to students in an effective and interesting manner with less effort.

On the other hand, I am advocate of using flash learning object. Materials in a flash format could be even convenience than using other multimedia type. As I have mentioned in my previous post, I have been downloading different small pieces of flash tutorial from the web to facilitate my self-learning of Adobe Photoshop. I found it is very convenience this learning object is small in terms of its volume size and I could play back and forth on the flash to find the needed information. In the classroom, teacher could use a flash learning object with sound embed to present in the class. For example: http://www.theatlantic.com/slideshows/fallows-china/.

Text Processing

From my understanding, Text Processing is about to make the intended audiences to fully understand the message tossed from the author to the viewer. In education, it is about to make the learners crystal-clear with all learning contents. I have some insights after reading the article "Text Processing: implications for online learning". First, create a good miro- and macrostructure, we undergo this process is to make it the learning site much easier to navigate and the content could be easier to understand. It is similar in a writing course that the instructors always require everyone to write essays with strong coherence and smooth transition from one paragraph to another. Second, speaks in the readers' language when teachers composing the expository text. It is a good idea to link the new knowledge with learners' background and previous knowledge.

I had taken an online course before. As the first time in an online setting course, I felt I had fewer patients when I do a course an on-site. I don't like to read the long paragraph on the monitor screen, so every time I have to read through a long article, I printed them in a hard copy. In the previous online course I have taken, I feel uncomfortable with the long instructions on the web page given by the instructor. It took me very long time to read through many paragraphs until I could reach the main point of the instruction and got to know what exactly I need to do. In the online teaching web page, it is very important that to make the content short and right on the point and avoid the information overload. If the information on the web page could be shorter and concise, learner would be easier to grasp the gist of the knowledge and feel comfortable/confident in the learning process. In addition, online instructor could make the content more related to learners' back ground, so learner could be more familiar, comfortable with new knowledge and develop his/her thought smoothly. For example, in this module 3, Dr. Beauain give a instruction "1) Gives an insight into 'text processing' and how you think that affects you as an online learner or how this will impact the development of your web pages (for personal, school or business use)", this instruction gives management students opportunity to better apply personal experiences into new learning concepts.

In developing the web page for business use, the concepts from "Text Processing: Implication for online learning" could be well applied. For example, web developer should make a clear site map for reader to navigate the web. More specific ways of creating business web site could be found on the following link: http://jlconsulting.com/articles/key-elements-of-a-good-website.php

SDL and Online learning in management perspective

Thanks to the flexibility and autonomy, the online learning education becomes more popular in the high education. For example, online MBA gets more popular among many busy individuals in the world. As a result, Self Directed Learning also becomes a core topic in the online learning. Applying the management perspective on this topic, I believed educators should tailor/establish more personalized online learning environment/context to cater for different learners/group of learners' attributes and needs. Coincidently, it has the same purpose of segmenting target customers in the marketing strategy to better serve the needs of customers and successfully deliver the value to customers (learners/students). Motivation is a key in self directed learning. By making the analogy with the marketing promotion method, educators could see themselves as a marketer in the promotional campaign. Through out the campaign (delivering the online course), educator may use various method to give more incentives to learners to motivate them become less procrastinated and be more active/participated.

On the other hand, in order to motivate learner to be more Self-directed, educators could utilize more other media technology such as flash and vedios. Here is links to two web sites in Chinese language(Sorry I couldn't find any web site like this in English version) which provides free tutorials of using computer software.

• Flash tutorial for Adobe photoshop: http://www.jcwcn.com/swf/newflashplay86.asp?url=/swf/qilianshan/shouhui/yuncai/jiaocheng/&num=001

• Flash tutorial for version of Microsoft office 2007: http://www.enet.com.cn/eschool/zhuanti/offices2007/

Blog and online learning

Please click to enlarge the picture

I have known and used blog when MSN introduced its blog to its msn users couple of years ago. The original purpose for its existence was to let people establish an online community to network with his/her friends as well as to express personal feelings. Using the blog in the cloassroom is a new way to exploit the information technology. I believe the most significant feature of blog is sharing information in a most convenient way. In the tradition way of online learing/education, one wish to share his/her information with others, who has to email every individuals the sender want to share with. With bloging, one can host a virtual space with no monetary costs and can share the information with other users with minimizing the email exchanges. Thanks to the nature and the function of blog, the information is stored in an unique virtual space. It will insure the integrity and consistancy of information to all viewers and viewers or selected viewers could be notified when there are new updates on the blog. Online Learners would be benefited by receiving instant update notice which will reduce the lead time; therefore increase the learning efficiency and even makes the online learning/education much more flexible. On the other hand, blog could get students' voice in his/her community. Without face to face conversation and interatcton, on one extreme, a student who has very introverted personality might feel more comfortable communicating with peers or teachers in a blog instead of in a classroom settings. It helps teachers easier to get to know every students and students could receive fair attention from peers and teachers.

Bloging is not only serving and enhancing the quality of distance learning that learner with limited access to on-site learning, but also serving the on-site learners to make their education more personalized and efficient.

Welcome to my blog

Hi all, my name is Jimmy Yuan. I am a 4th management student, focus in Marketing and Human Resources. It is my last semester at the U of L. I am looking forward to start a new life in Calgary in January.