eLearning Australia - Recently Updated Pages

Moodle

john39 — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 11:51:40 CST

Pros:

Open Source- so learning institutions don't have to purchase it, and it you can edit the source.
Free- see first part of above point. This also means that it's great if you want to experiement with eLearning before you make the commitment to use it with your class.
Popularity- Moodle is one of the popular LMS's which means that there is a wide variety of support available.
Powerful quiz and questionnaire modules
Communicate using forums and chat
Collaborate using Wikis

Cons:

to come.

Links:
Moodle Website.
How To Create A Quiz In Moodle.
What's a good eLearning Layout In Moodle?
How To Add a Discussion in Moodle.
How To Add a Wiki in Moodle.
Manipulating the Header In Moodle.
Moodle Wikipedia site.

Resources

Jabit — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:28:18 CDT

Here are some great resources to help improve your e-Learning site.

Docstart - http://www.docstoc.com/

Docstart is a user generated community where you can find and share professional documents:
* Download Legal, Business, Tech & Educational Docs
* Store Your Documents Privately Online for Free
* Get Your Documents Indexed by Search Engines
* Upload and Share Your Docs with the World
* Get Business Leads by Sharing Your Documents
* Embed your Documents on Blogs and Websites

Viddler - http://viddler.com

Viddler is a video sharing site, similar to the more popular YouTube. Viddler videos are better quality, and can be longer than those on YouTube, which is important when incorporating videos into an eLearning site.

Slideshare - http://slideshare.net

A great online tool which allows you to upload your powerpoint videos, add a voiceover, and embed them into a web page for your students to view in their browser, without having to download the presentation.

Google Chatback - http://www.google.com/talk/service/badge/New

Google Chatback allows your students to chat with you via Google's instant messaging service - Google Talk. It's a browser based widget that can be embedded into your eLearning site, so a student can talk with you immediately, without having to download software, or sign up for an account.
Google Chatback requires a Google Account.
kabo-wiki-hive / e-learning-center-wiki: eLearning-Australia-wiki

Classroom 2.0 - http://www.classroom20.com

Classroom 2.0 is an activesocial networking site dedicated to elearning and is worth a look.

Moodle - http://moodle.org/

Moodle is a free, open source learning management system widely used by a range of educators, from individual school teachers to universities.

Dokeos - http://www.dokeos.com/

Dokeos is a learning management system used in more than 600 companies and public administrations to manage e-learning and blended learning programmes.

Scrapblog - http://scrapblog.com/

A web-based application to create online virtual scrapbooks, using photos, videos, music, text and a huge range of great themes and art.

P-12

lukecarbis — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:51:14 CDT

eLearning in P-12 Education

eLearning in P-12 in most cases is additional to classroom work. The trend has increased in the last few years for schools to have their own eLearning sites which, they use for teaching in the classroom, and for homework.

Add to this: EasyEdit

P-12 eLearning Experiences

I used a virtual classroom with a year 5/6 class (10 and 11 y.o). We used online blogging to record our group's work and progress, and a wiki to bring all our ideas together.
I had youtube videos for them to watch on the subject, and a lot of kids watched them at home, which was great, because they could show their parents what they were doing.

My brothers are in years 10 and 12 at Suncoast Christian College, and some of their teachers use it to put their homework online, and also to put all their task sheets online, so that they can print them off (and not use "I didn't have the task sheet" as an excuse!).

-Talia Carbis

Add your own experiences using eLearning in P-12 Classrooms: EasyEdit

Introductions

Jabit — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 06:15:38 CDT

Hi to All
I am currently completing my Advanced Diploma in Digital Media and have learnt so many interesting subjects in regards to Information Technology since I started attending Tafe in the year 2000.
Elearning - I discovered several years ago was the way I wanted to learn; I like to be able to see how something works with instructions on how to use it.
I seem to be able to retain that information better than by listening to someone garble away how to do things and then trying to figure out what they meant and then getting lost in the process...
I amsure that there are lots of other people out there who need the visual aspect of learning thats why elearning has been such a great success....

Cheers
Jabit

Presentations

sunshinetalia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 22:36:08 CDT

Dodging Bullets in Presentations (slideshare)

Good eLearning Practices (slideshare)

eLearning Australia Home and Information

sunshinetalia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:04:41 CDT

Welcome to this eLearning Australia wiki!
The purpose of this wiki is to collaborate knowledge from eLearning educators from all over the world, but with a focus and relevance to Australia. This wiki will serve as a tool for collecting links, tools, articles, and personal experiences.

How can I contribute?
Step 1 is to EXPLORE! This is one of the easiest, and more fun ways to learn about anything, but particularly with technology.
Step 2 is to contribute. Even if you just introduce yourself and share what you love about technology in education, eLearning, or just learning in general!
Step 3 is to add some useful links.
Step 4 is to invite more people. A community like this only thrives when the people involved in it are willing to share their knowledge, be active in their participation, and are willing to share the good news of this site with others!

I hope this helps contextualise what you're doing here, and what the purpose of this is!! Enjoy!

eLearning Strategies

sunshinetalia — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:04:07 CDT

I found this graphic which I believe accurately represent what we need to do to achieve success in eLearning.

Here are some helpful strategies to do with teaching/ administering/ working with eLearning:

1. Break it down.
Large hunks of text are hard to read at the best of times, so make sure that you have broken up any reading in managable pieces (maybe try some varying fonts, and some bold, or underlines).

2. Link it up.
There is no point having your information online, if you don't use one of the beauties of the internet- links. If you are talking about a subject, provide links to other sites, or wikipedia, or any other online media that may be usefull.

3. Make it easy to Navigate.
Always use a simple navigation system- don't hide pages that HAVE to be found following a maze of links through your site. Just make it accessible on the front page.
If the Learning Management System you're using doesn't allow for that, then create your own 'contents page'

Apprenticeships

lukecarbis — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:24:03 CDT

A lot of people can not see how apprenticeships can use eLearning. But it is probably one of best areas to use it in. Apprenticeships in Australia generally last for 4 years. In this time the 'student' will work full time in their profession, and will 'blocks' of time off work at various times of the year to study.

In this study block the student will go to a TAFE campus and study for a few weeks. This is generally a block of 3 weeks.

When surveying apprentices there is always one thing that sticks out, "I forget what I learnt last year. So when I go to study this year, it is like learning everything all over again".
An obvious solution to this problem is eLearning, for a few reasons.

1. All year access. Students can access the work they have done in previous years until they graduate their apprenticeship. This means that they can be using the information accessible to them all year, when they need, and when they are using it in 'real life'.

2. Taking this one step further is, making eLearning accessible all year round. For example, John Love Electrical apprentices do not take time off from work at any stage of the year for TAFE. Instead, they do their TAFE online, via eLearning, after work and on weekends. The benefits for them are enormous, including extra pay (because they are paid for the hours of TAFE work they do (like they would normally) but it is now on top of their current working hours), and continuity of work. They can also study subjects one after the other, instead of in blocks.

University

lukecarbis — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:21:24 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

TAFE

sunshinetalia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:01:10 CDT

Add your TAFE as a new page on the left and tell us how you use eLearning there!

SkillsTech Australia

sunshinetalia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:59:23 CDT

The company that I (Talia) work for is John Love Electrical, and we have a co-provider agreement with SkillsTech Australia in Brisbane. This means that we train our apprenitces in house, through Graham Rodgers.
We have chosen to create our own eLearning to do this.

SkillsTech does have their own eLearning, which you can learn more about here.

Vocational Education

sunshinetalia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:55:56 CDT

eLearning is used in a lot of vocational institutions around Australia. Add your TAFE/ University/ Other provider in the side, and talk about how eLearning is used, or talk about vocational education and eLearning in a more general way here!

Blackboard

sunshinetalia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:34:30 CDT

Pros:

This is the lms of choice of Education Queensland. So most teachers in QLD are familiar with it.
There is a lot of support from Education QLD- so if people get stuck, they can easily ask someone in that system.

Cons:

It's fugly.
It's expensive- the best way is to get the entire education provider (i.e the Edu Qld) to purcase the licence, and have multiple users (like, thousands), but if you're in a situation where you are pioneering eLearning in your area, then this is not practical.

Links:
Blackboard website.
Blackboard Wikipedia site.

Learning Management Systems

sunshinetalia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:21:13 CDT

There are a variety of Learning Management Systems available.

Please add your favoured LMS to the list on the side, and we will conduct pro and con lists, and also any tips from our personal experiences.

Community

sunshinetalia — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:11:57 CDT

Now that we are on eLearning Australia, we are part of a community! In the thread area below, share with us where you blog, other wikis you might have that relate to eLearning.