eLearning a Foundation for Future Learning

Scotch OakBurn College, Australia : eLearning a Foundation for Future Learning (pdf)

Part of the Article (page 14-16)

Chris Laycock introduced the terminology ‘e-learning’ to Scotch Oakburn College. But what does the word actually mean in the education system?

“E-learning is a generic term that simply indicates the application of computer technology in the education sphere,” said Chris.“A web forum is a good example. Web forum boards are used on the Internet by interest groups. I was reading one the other day about free-to-air digital television, where people talk about their set-top boxes, reception and the like. 

In an education sense, a teacher can use educational forums to discuss, for example, texts they are reading - literature circles. Junior School teacher, Ben Green, is presently investigating a communication, or a web forum, with a group of students in Malaysia. He will take a traditional Internet application and manage it in an educational context. 

Chris said that ‘communication and collaboration’ are probably the two most important features that the Internet offers at the moment. The product generated is content.

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“Ten years ago digital content would have been a CD because then CDs were the best way to store information. How many of us still have an encyclopedia on CD, collecting dust on a shelf?  Digital content is not on CDs, it is now on the web. DVDs came along and people moved towards this new medium. But now, you can store more information on a USB thumb drive, than you can on a DVD. We have invested in a lot of digital content, or licensing is probably a better word. ClickView is a good example,” said Chris. ClickView is a video delivery platform that combines innovative digital video delivery software and a digital video library containing videos and teaching resources from Australian content providers.

 “ClickView is delivered in pure broadcast quality video. For example, a recent episode of ‘Catalyst’ to do with the effects of nicotine on human health was broadcast, a teacher saw it, and asked for it to be uploaded. Our copyright licences covers the distribution and the viewing of that piece of video at anytime,” said Chris. The e-learning benefit of that is that you’re dealing with a contemporary information source. You have to realise that students of today are a media generation, we tend to glean most of our day to day information from broadcast content: radio, television or via web casting.” Chris Laycock said that technologies such as ClickView, combined with other earning technologies, provide students with a superior learning environment. 

The Internet is undoubtedly going to have the greatest impact on education over the next two decades. Young people today are ‘digital natives’. Most students since 1993, when the worldwide web started, have known nothing else. We cannot often forget the significance of that,” said Chris.  There has been lots of media coverage about Wikipedia, about the way it has evolved and the way it is edited.