Learners
eLearning is not for
everyone. This brief questionnaire
helps potential eLearners screen themselves. Also, succeeding
in distance learning tells what it takes.
What
makes a successful on-line student?
- Be open minded
about sharing life, work, and educational experiences as part of the
learning process.
- Be able to communicate
through writing.
- Be Self-motivated
and self-disciplined.
- Accept critical
thinking and decision making as part of the learning process.
- Be able to think
ideas through before responding.
Profile of the most
likely to succeed (from the Illinois
Online Network)
Attitude, skills
and commitment determine whether the student will be a good candidate
for the online experience. The student must be mature, open-minded,
self-motivated, accepting of critical thinking, willing to work collaboratively,
and trusting of the online experience. Good written communication skills
and a minimum level of technological experience is necessary. Finally,
the student must commit the time necessary (four to six hours per week)
to stay current, and he/she must have access to the necessary equipment.
Students who usually
sit in the back of the classroom and avoid speaking in class blossom
in the online environment. Participants are more willing to risk written
participation than spoken, perhaps partly because they can rethink and
edit email before sending it. In the online environment, the visual
barriers that hinder some individuals in expressing themselves are largely
eliminated.
Presented with an
electronic book, people over 30 ask, "Why would I want to read a
book on screen?" Presented with a paper manual, people under 30 ask,
"Why isn't this on screen?"
Free
agent learners.
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