Objectives

So why did I sign up for this course? I mean, it's not like I haven't got enough to do already! On reflection, I think there were 3 reasons; boredom children and work. (Thinking about it they are the three drivers for most things.) Boredom: If you read Wikipedia's definition and explanation of boredom carefully it mentions a couple of things of direct relevance. "1) Perhaps more importantly, boredom is often a symptom of deeper problems, such as depression, ineffective classroom teaching, or ineffective management in the workplace. and 2)Some people believe that boredom can be cured by activities such as exercise or social activities" So I am bored in the classroom and as a result my students are bored and need some social activity or exercise to cure the ennui. Is e-Learning the answer for all of us? Children Secondly - children! I am being left behind. What is so fascinating about The Sims anyway? What do they learn from it 18 hours a day? Have you noticed children spend more time playing with computer technology than watching the TV? Have you noticed students get bored sitting in class just listening? And what does VARK tell us about people's need to interact to learn? Perhaps e-Learning is the answer? Is it the bridge between the generations - between the teacher and the learner? And who is now the teacher and who is the learner? If new technology is transparent for kids, yet opaque for us parents - doesn't that make them the teachers? And isn't that what we are trying to encourage - independent learning? Work The last reason is clearly that of work. One or two universities are clearly ahead of the game and we need to catch up if we want to build any sort of reputation in this area. Leicester's MediaZoo demonstrates what can be done as does this clip from YouTube So, in summary, can e-Learning technologies be used to engage learners in HE?