Why eLearning Is Key In Modern Education: The Beginning
I think the best thing that's happened in the last decades was the inclusion of the technology in the academic world. I am a witness of this: I am an English teacher, and I started to give private lessons using the books I had in my hands. I am very dedicated to social movements and at that time I always used precarious materials. Of course, I had to unfold myself to offer good content and keep my students interested. When I started teaching in a classroom of a conventional school, the "common" methods I followed kept my performance as a teacher acceptable. When I say "common" methods I am referring of course to paper books, the white board, etc. Starting there, my teaching was much more solid.
Educational Technology, A Wonderful New World
Nevertheless, the day I would become attached to the modern technology had arrived! After teaching in a classroom, I went back to giving private lessons. Then I got a computer to help me with my work. Oh, wonderful! Because I got the computer and internet too! When one has just a computer and a PowerPoint, they can develop very, very good work; record their students using the microphone, among other examples. But when one can use the internet too (I say this because there are classes in developing countries where students don't have online access), then they have a extraordinary resource in their hands. When I started to explore that great new resource, I was able to access countless English speaking movies and teach with superior quality my Brazilian pupils: They could now use the subtitles to explore the translation from English to Portuguese. They could also try to interpret what the actor was saying.
The best next step was to get some of my friends from the United States and the United Kingdom and introduce them to my students. Yes! My students now were face to face with native English speakers! My friends didn't get bored at all to speak to my students; on the contrary, they loved that new educational experience. They were actually really happy to collaborate with me in this, because they had a sharp sight about the paths of education in the future. Of course, this educational experience was only possible because I have wonderful friends abroad!
eLearning: A World Full Of Possibilities
The eLearning world is full of possibilities for any professional who would like to approach it. Anyone who wants to work with educational technology just has to be creative and, of course, he or she must be competent in his or her field! Every contemporary professional should dance a beautiful waltz with technology; to be in deep harmony with the new age. Then, their students will enjoy great educational moments along with their teacher.
Final Word
Perhaps someone would think this is the end of this article about this extraordinary subject, but no! I still have one last observation to make, an amazing one: eLearning is key not only in Education, but in Health Care too. It is not only in the academic world where a student may get precious aid from online learning; for example, a child with a speech disability can get great help from doctors using specific computer programs and overcome his or her learning disability step by step. This is highly motivational!
There are countless other professionals from almost any field that can use modern technology to instruct others. Chefs can offer online cooking lessons from their kitchen; make up artists can teach the secrets of good make up online; and so on. If you are already a professional who works with eLearning, or you're thinking to start a career in this field, I say: Go ahead! It will bring a great deal of satisfaction; to you and to your students, whatever you do.
