In today’s digital age, students are no longer bound to desks that point at a teacher with the expectation to learn at the same pace, style, and manner. Online educational courses, such as eLearning classes, allow for the student to virtually “attend” a class.
This new style in learning isn’t only affecting the students. Instructors are better equipped to gain more interaction and participants, and they are essentially able to reach a global audience. How cool is that?
Since we are such big fans of eLearning, we wanted to give both the instructors and users cool insights and advantages of online electronic learning.
Global Opportunities
This one is huge for instructors. Your audience size can be as large or small as you want, while you are able to reach a broad range of people from all over the world. While there are many advantages to having a global “classroom,” it needs to be done correctly for effective use. When you want to reach a wider audience, you should take these steps when creating eLearning courses:
- Content
While creating the instruction for your course, you should keep in mind that when you want to reach a global audience you should write with the knowledge that you will need the material translated.So, try to avoid culturally specific references, jargon, and slang that will not translate over to another language/culture.For the best and most accurate translation, seek a professional service that is knowledgeable in the area of your instruction and languages/cultures around the world. - Images
Like with the specific jargon, try to avoid images that have culturally specific images, gestures, and models. Think of your audience. A thumbs-up gesture does not mean the same in every culture; neither does a handshake.For the most effective learning, try to pick neutral images that will not confuse your international audience. - Video/voiceovers
For any videos, audios, or voiceovers, you should provide your translation service with a script if possible. Make sure you think of you audience when you ask for an accent, male or female speaker, subtitles, etc.Depending on the culture of your audience, each of these will prove to be more or less effective when used. Do some research on your target audience and inform the translation service of your wishes.
Personalized Learning
One awesome thing about eLearning is that the curriculum and learning environment can both be tailored to meet the needs of each user. Students find this refreshing, and they often excel in this style of education. The student or user can personalize their courses and curriculum in these aspects:
- Individuals can adjust the pace of instruction to their desired speed for better comprehension.
- eLearning courses allow the users to choose their own path of learning.
- Instructors are able to modify their approach to accommodate users and/or to separate themselves from other instructors. This makes it easier for students, enabling them to choose the best instructor and course to meet their learning needs.
- Content is tailored through the use of audio, video, images, and text.
- Courses aim to influence student interests and opinions.
