Improving eLearning

The shortcomings of e-learning courses include tedium, less emphasis on education, and higher dropout rates, but some professors and schools are revamping their courses to exploit the Internet's visual and interactive potential, adopting wikis, avatars, and other Web tools to enhance the e-learning experience. Researchers say students greatly lessen their chances of dropping out of courses that offer several of the e-learning field's best practices. Among the e-learning course traits they say students should research are accreditation by approved organizations, transferability, a solid reputation, scheduling, guidance for technology, detailed syllabi, and logical grading criteria. "The evidence shows the more access, more interaction, and more opportunities for feedback learners have from instructors, the better they do," notes executive director of Michigan State's Global Online Connection Christine Geith. Easy accessibility is a key characteristic of the best online teachers. Another indicator of excellent online teachers is their ability to present information in multiple formats, and to take advantage of the Web's opportunities for interactivity and flashy graphics. Good e-learning courses cultivate student communities, which some colleges support by requiring students to post personal information on a class blog, Facebook, or Web page.