The eLearn Campus Approach

There are five characteristics that distinguish the eLearn Campus approach to your learning experience:

• Your learning will be practical and applied to workplace circumstances
• You will actually learn about eLearning by experiencing eLearning (modeled learning)
• Key relationships between elements are explored (integrative approach)
• We will teach and evaluate specific competencies
• Learning doesn’t stop when the course ends (continuous learning)

Each of these characteristics is explained in further detail below.

Practical

Many existing eLearning programs, especially those offered via universities and colleges, are very theoretical. eLearn Campus takes a much more practical / what works best / how-to-do-it approach.

Participants in the Certificate in eLearning Management learn by doing. The curriculum incorporates the completion of real-world tasks related to the design, implementation, management, and evaluation of eLearning programs. These tasks are based upon the participant’s existing or planned eLearning efforts, or on case examples. The learning cycle is: review, practice, feedback, reflection, practice. Throughout this process, participants have access to a learning community of peers who, together with the course facilitator / learning coach, will be a source of information, insight, feedback and support.

To help ensure a practical and grounded approach to the study of eLearning, we require all eLearn Campus course authors and facilitators / learning coaches to have a sound theoretical foundation, along with a proven record as practitioners. They have to have had direct experience in design, facilitation and/or the management of real eLearning programs. They are required to speak from experience.

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Modeled

The best way to teach excellence in eLearning is to model excellence in eLearning. And the best way for participants to learn about eLearning is to experience eLearning. If you want participants to learn about the value of interactivity, active vs. passive learning approaches, timely feedback, and thorough evaluation of learning outcomes, it is important that they experience this themselves. Admittedly, this can be a challenge. It is important to constantly “practice what you teach.” However, this is, in our view, the most credible way of teaching people about eLearning.

Although the curriculum will not be limited to facilitated, interactive, asynchronous eLearning via the Internet, this is clearly the approach that will be modeled in eLearn Campus courses.

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Integrative

Many eLearning programs segment the audience, with specific courses directed toward curriculum and instructional design specialists, others directed toward online facilitators, and still others directed toward eLearning program managers. Although our programs are clearly focused on managers of eLearning programs, we ensure that they understand the fundamental principles of sound eLearning design and facilitation. This integrative approach is in recognition of the fact that there is a core body of knowledge and skills with respect to what constitutes effective eLearning practice. One has to know all parts (even though one may not do all parts).

For example, a good eLearning Manager not only has the ability to effectively marshal and allocate resources and generate results, but also understands good learning design and good online facilitation (even though the Manager may not explicitly do these tasks).

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Competency-based

eLearn Campus does not assign grades or assess participants in the traditional sense. Evaluation of learners is based on achievement of pre-determined competencies. Each course has a checklist of competencies that must be met, based on a simple pass/fail determination by the learning coaches. It also allows the learner to share these with those who may be financially supporting the learning (e.g. the learner’s organization), and to ultimately demonstrate these skills in the workplace.

Work-based continuing education has been bedeviled by an inability to connect training to work outcomes. We want the competencies that are developed in the courses to be completely transparent to both the learner and the learner’s employer. This approach facilitates the alignment of the courses and the employer’s workforce development strategies.

For instance, learners who successfully complete the Certificate in eLearning Management will be able to:

• Align eLearning training objectives with organizational objectives;
• Prepare an eLearning project plan and budget;
• Calculate the potential return on investment in moving a training program from a classroom mode to an eLearning mode.

This competency-based approach allows the learner to clearly understand the skills that will be acquired in the course. It also allows the learner to share these with those who may be financially supporting the learning (e.g. the learner’s organization), and to ultimately demonstrate these skills in the workplace.

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Continuous Learning

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