Learning Online

Learning Online

Learning online is quite a recent development.  The internet and being online is still a very recent phenomena. The idea of the internet was first published by Leonard Kleinrock’s in 1961 and by the 1990’s we had email and the world wide web. Today,  the internet is booming and providing the world with a fantastic and extremely fast communication system.

Just like Leonard Kleinrock’s envisaged, the internet today is a daily flow of up to date information from one network to another. Anyone who taps into this flow of information  has the latest world wide news at his fingertips whatever the subject. The information is sorted into subjects and categories by search engines. Just tap in a question into any search engine like Google, for example, and hundreds if not thousands of articles or answers will appear with the latest news on the subject in question.

Learn online

One can find information and/or study material on just about every subject on the internet. Whether you are into gardening , want to learn  about photoshop, need more information about  the credit crunch economy or learn a language you can find information about any of your favourite  subjects online. Schools, colleges, universities and industries have adopted the use of the internet to facilitate learning for students and employees. Learning online is often refered to as e-learning and when used on mobile devices a M-learning. Learning on the run!  

Methods to learn online

Todays technology gives us the opportunity to employ various ways to learn online.  Not everyone learns in the same way. Some learn more easily with visual displays others prefer audio to hear the spoken word, others are happy to learn just by reading. Online we can choose the method that suit us best. There are of course the traditonal text versions  of  any information but many authors these days also use video, audio and graphics to support their work. Web 2.0 has opened up the interactivity aspects of learning and allow for collaboration and the interactivity between students and teachers online,  for example to receive instant answers to questions.

Webinars or Seminars

Webinars make use of online conferencing that facilitates the attendance of many students to attend a live training session online where guest speakers present their material.  A very easy way for students to attend a course without actually leaving home thus opening up the opportunity for many more people to  learn even in the far flung corners of the earth. Eg. a student in New Zealand attending an international seminar on ’WP Shop’ presented by a speaker sitting at his computer in Greece. Seminars like these bring students together from different countries and cultures  to learn and discuss their ideas.

Web conferencing not only include features like interactive audio and video, but depending on the software used,  may include desktop sharing, whiteboards and file sharing. Workshops are a common feature at seminars where students are encouraged to actively participate and produce results that can be immediately corrected by the teacher.