How does learning take place in an online course?

If you are new to e-learning, you might think of an online course as something that involves a great deal of reading and perhaps a certain number of videos in which you watch a professor delivering a lecture to a group in a traditional classroom as he/she writes something that you can't quite see on a dusty chalkboard. The dominant mode in such a setting is passive and the very idea of this experience may give you a bit of a sinking feeling. How can you learn if you're falling asleep?

Well, the good news is that you're likely to be kept wide awake in e-learning courses, both online and mobile. You're going to be engaged and active in ways that you may never have expected from an educational setting. All the things you love about learning, connectivity, social networking, and Web 2.0 applications can be found in a well-designed course that uses Moodle as its learning management system.

A course that has been built in Moodle encourages learners to engage with the material on many different levels. Learning takes place in many ways and in different places and, above all, there is a built-in flexibility that allows the learner to approach material in ways that work for them.

Keep in mind that each learner has his/her own style and the best learning programs accommodate learning styles and preferences. So, whether or not the participants in the course are auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learners, they must be taken into consideration, and the instructional activities and assessments should reflect those possibilities. Learners should have options, not just with regard to course content but also in the approach they take to the material and to their peers.

Once the decision has been made to employ an instructional strategy that accommodates multiple learning styles and preferences, then it is possible to move forward to the next couple of steps.

How people learn

Cognitive psychologists have researched how people learn and, in doing so, have developed a wide array of models that provide explanations of how people learn. They have mapped the processes in ways that can be utilized to create effective learning experiences in both formal and informal settings.

Categories, classifications, and schemata

One of the most fundamental ways in which people learn is by creating mental file cabinets, which cognitive psychologists call schema or schemata. The approach is not new-you may be familiar with Aristotle's development of categories and, later, the classification system that the botanist Linnaeus developed. British cognitive psychologist, Frederic Bartlett, applied the concept of creating categories to learning activities and his work was further developed in the 1970s by Richard Anderson. Categories and classifications help people file, sort, retrieve, and talk about things and concepts. The development of schemata is automatic and people create categories without realizing it.

Not only do the schemas work effectively in keeping items well organized, they can help people learn to make connections across categories and compare and contrast the items.

Further, as learners begin to identify, discuss, and evaluate the items, they also practice taking the items in and out of working memory and thus the approach of classification helps in developing memory and knowledge retrieval skills as well.

Social learning

According to many psychologists, our culture shapes us and we learn from the environment and each other. According to the Russian theorist, Vygotsky, who developed his theories in the 1920s while working with school children in group settings, knowledge is transmitted (or created) by culture and groups. This may seem obvious, but the implications are rather dramatic, particularly in the case of e-learning. The group establishes what is knowledge and, by the same token, also determines what is not considered knowledge at all. An excellent example of social learning in the e-learning space is a wiki.

Of course, the major wiki that people are most familiar with is Wikipedia, the online collaborative encyclopedia. Think of how numerous authors contribute to a single Wikipedia piece and the same who contribute can also delete or challenge an item. The group decides what is knowledge and, perhaps more importantly, what is not. The Wikipedia item is always in flux and ideas about what a thing is or is not are subject to constant discussions, debates, negotiations, and mediations. The socialization process that occurs in the discussions is also a part of the social learning equation. If you don't post on Wikipedia in the correct manner, you will quickly be informed of the correct rules and approaches.

Vygotsky points out that people who fail to accept the process quickly find themselves outside the group. They may seek their own group of like-minded people. But, even in this case, knowledge is constantly in flux and people gain knowledge and learn acceptable behavior from the group.

Emulatory learning

We learn from each other and our leaders. We watch and copy what we observe. You may wonder how this is different from social learning and, certainly, there are areas of overlap. However, the idea of emulatory learning is much more basic-we see, we imitate; we hear and we echo.

You may be familiar with the Bobo Doll experiments of the early 1960s. In this experiment, Canadian psychologist, Albert Bandura, asked a teacher to hit a life-sized clown-shaped blow-up doll named Bobo. The teacher was filmed as she hit the Bobo doll with a stick.

Later, children around the age of five were required to watch the film of the teacher hitting the Bobo doll with a stick. Then, each child was put in a room alone with only a Bobo doll and a stick for company. Researchers observed the children's behavior behind a one-way mirror and they also filmed what transpired. What they found was that the children invariably picked up the stick and then used it to hit the Bobo doll. The interesting point is that the children seemed to enjoy the experience, which is illuminating and disturbing at the same time. The children imitated what they saw and they did it with relish.

Lesson learned? Be careful about the behavior that you are unconsciously modeling. Someone will learn from you. They will imitate you, which is either a very good thing or potentially harmful. In the e-learning space, it's an invaluable thing to keep in mind as you model positive behavior, which will then be imitated.

At the same time, knowing that people will imitate what they perceive an authority figure to be doing can help you develop examples and also recognize and reward the behaviors that you'd like others to emulate.

Making sure that the courses include a good guide and a model to follow is important. Not only will learners imitate the behaviors, they will start to feel comfortable with the processes. In the e-learning world, Bandura's notion of emulatory behavior is a cornerstone to learning in Moodle, which contains a high level of interactivity.

Communities of practice

People who share interests and skills like to work together. They share similar interests and have a strong sense of affiliation, which is often based on trust and a firm sense of mutual comprehension and acceptance.

Communities of common interests are sheltering, nurturing, and liberating. They allow freedom of expression, which is simply not possible in the world at large. People (and learners) thrive when they can work in a friendly, non-judgmental environment. This is almost axiomatic with e-learners and at-risk populations (which often comprise a large segment of the online learning community).

Communities of interest that arise from shared prior knowledge, commonly held beliefs and cultural values, and shared experiences are often powerful because they motivate learners to stay as a part of the group. They provide a strong sense of affiliation. An e-learning program that builds communities of interest around cohorts can achieve great success.

Some of the new plug-ins available for Moodle encourage the building of communities by holding synchronous live webinars, which can be archived and viewed later. An example is BigBlueButton, which has been adapted for use in Moodle and can be used to keep people with similar interests in touch with each other for not just the duration of the course but on an ongoing basis, depending on the access provided.

Social practices

You've probably heard the term learning by doing many times but have not really considered how it relates to e-learning. The key is application. Applying the concepts by doing activities is one way of keeping the learning experience from becoming passive. In an ideal e-learning environment, application of concepts would occur often and big chunks of content are broken down into small chunks, which are then to be followed by exercises and activities. Many effective practices involve collaborative activities that encourage learners to share and build on prior knowledge.

With today's emphasis on mobile computing and the increasing ability to connect to high-speed networks, many learners want to be able to connect from any place and at any time, and, more importantly, to be able to collaborate. Further, they are accustomed to working with social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and more. They are used to using social media for the purpose of obtaining and transmitting information as well as ideas. This is a breakthrough for social learning because it means that the primary philosophy of Moodle, which has social constructionism as its core, has received a big vote of confidence by the learner populace.

It is good to keep in mind that Moodle has evolved with the times and accommodates mobile devices with its "responsive" themes, which means that a device is automatically detected and Moodle's appearance will be adjusted accordingly. So, if you choose a "responsive" theme, you can expect it to have functionality and an appealing appearance on tablets, desktops, and mobile devices, such as smartphones.

Experiential learning

People sometimes wonder if the virtual world has any connection at all to the experiential world-the world of phenomena. It is easy to argue that there is no connection at all between virtual and real, particularly if it's a matter of role-playing in simulations that are not grounded in a corresponding real-life scenario.

However, when serious games, simulations, role-playing, and other virtual world activities have a corresponding counterpart in the real world, then it is possible to have experiential learning. Further, experiential learning that has taken place in the real world and is then reinforced by role-playing, simulations, or serious games, can be highly effective.

Experiential learning in Moodle can take place in a traditional e-learning space and it can also occur in a mobile learning environment. When the content of a course is related to what one has learned previously or involves actual field work, data collection, and peer interaction via a mobile device, the experience can be quite powerful. For example, a course on environmental management could incorporate the use of mobile devices in conjunction with GPS. The GIS information could be collected, photos taken and tagged according to latitude, longitude, and time/date, and then the details could be shared with group members. The concepts, practical application, and social reinforcement would take place in a single learning event.

Another possible way to share experiential learning would be to post videos to share and then post "response" videos. A variety of "conversations" can ensue crosses disciplines and learning modalities and these can enable students to feel like they are working with a live document and dynamic process, rather than the static experience that characterizes much of traditional learning.

Moodle's learning environment incorporates the practices of social media, which makes it comfortable for individuals who are used to using apps on their smartphones, tablets, and computers to incorporate Moodle's similar functions.

Further, depending on the level of access at the institution, the administrator may also enable the use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Plus, it is easy to embed html code in order to provide instant access to videos on sites such as YouTube, audio on SoundCloud, or images on sites such as Flickr.

Conditions of learning

In order for the mind to be receptive to new ideas and start the learning process, it is necessary to capture the learner's interest. Gagne and other researchers investigated the problem of getting learning started and they found that, unless certain "conditions of learning" were met, it would be very difficult to assure that learning takes place. One of the most important elements was to have an engaging experience. There must be spillover from the affective domain to the cognitive domain. In other words, learners must feel emotionally engaged in order to have ideal learning conditions.

In an e-learning course, there are several ways to create conditions of learning. One can engage the learner by making them feel curious, puzzled, or emotionally connected to the course content. You can relate the content to their lives and current controversies or contemporary issues. You can use sound, color, design, and animations to keep the course lively (without being too distracting).

One good way to start a course or unit is to kick it off with an illustrative scene or a case study that resonates with the learner's own experience of life. One might use the strategy of in medias res—jumping in the middle of things—for an emotional appeal. Remember that you're using a sound rhetorical strategy-one that Aristotle referred to as "pathos", and this is one of the most effective strategies in order to gain and keep the attention of others.

Cognitive psychologists have also looked at the importance of readying the brain to learn by having learners engage in "brain warm-ups". These typically consist of questions that trigger the desire to learn by sparking interest and triggering curiosity. Moodle's activities, such as Choice, can be set up to create little did you know introductory interactive experiences that use not just text but also graphics.

Note

Not only do the "brain warm-ups" help trigger interest, they also motivate the learner and thus build in mechanisms that are designed to help students successfully complete their course.

Behaviorism

Operant conditioning has a place in e-learning. We're not really talking about conditioning as basic as Pavlov's dog, but it is important to keep in mind that positive reinforcement works wonders in e-learning.

There are several ways to build positive responses to desirable behaviors. For example, feedback from the instructor can be timely and always start with a positive note. Students can be guided to provide positive responses in collaborative work. In the case of automated activities, responses can be built and information is provided in a positive way.

Recent versions of Moodle, including Moodle 3.0, accommodate exciting new plugins that reward the successful completion of both small chunks of learning as well as completion of the entire unit or course. Badges can be displayed not just in the course but also on one's personal website or social media site, such as Facebook or LinkedIn. For example, Moodle works well with Mozilla's Open Badge program, which can be found at http://openbadges.org/ .

In addition to this, Moodle can be set to automatically generate certificates of successful completion after completing all the activities in a unit plus achieving a passing score (which is set by the administrator). Seeing the fruits of one's labor, especially when it can be used to advance one's career, academic, and personal aspirations and goals, can be a powerful way to reward actions, reinforce positive behaviors, and motivate learners.

Course-building components in Moodle

As you start building your course in Moodle, you'll have a number of components to choose from. As in the case of all formal learning programs, it is important to start by identifying course outcomes and learning objectives.

After you have finished learning objectives and course outcomes, you will develop a plan to build your course, which maps the Moodle components (resources and activities) to your learning objectives. How to create effective course outcomes and learning objectives will be dealt with in a future chapter. At this point, we'll simply list the materials you have to work with in Moodle. You will come to appreciate and enjoy the variety and flexibility.