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THE
PRINCIPLES OF WEB-BASED TRAINING
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TYPE
OF LEARNING
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WBT
METHODS
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INSTRUCTIONAL
COMPONENTS
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LEARNING
PATHS
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Types
of Learning
Web-based training is a kind of
Interactive training with electronic training management tools. learners can take part in
learning anywhere they have access to a computer at home and at work.
Trainer should have consider that which kinds of learning is proper for
their learners to scope training
objectives. If so there are three learning categories to consider ;
psychomotor skills, attitudinal skills, and cognitive skills.
As
an example; Myanmar group plan a WBT training on "principle of radio
frequency allocation in the Union of Myanmar" based on the report of
ITU expert and national counterpart. The aim of this course is to provide
national allocation inline with those of international allocation. And for
those who apply for frequency in national usage should know what are the
procedure.
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Psychomotor
skills
Psychomotor is very important because it works hand in hand
with learner's previous experience and thinking. The skills it requires,
are physical in nature and each individual must think about what he/she is
doing and need repeated practice and feedback to achieve mastery. They
cannot be taught directly over the Web; however, WBT could be used to
provide the requisite background knowledge, or to demonstrate the skill
(e.g. with a video clip).
In
our course; we make a presentation ( for psychomotor skill ) to recall a
background knowledge on electromagnetic field .
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Attitudinal
skills
Attitudinal
skills are dealing with learning student
behavior ; such as loyalty to one's work , or treating friendly
.It's rather difficult to teach directly over the Web. However, WBT can be
used to provide case-studies (e.g. of a customer service interview) for
analysis, and a group discussion forum on the Web could be used for
exchanging views and confronting
different participants' perspectives.
In our course; we have (for Attitudinal skills) chapter by chapter case
study.
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Cognitive
skills
Since
much of its process runs inside a human Intelligent knowledge , the
development of cognitive skill may largely rely on self-explanation .It is
important for a tutoring system designer to consider cognitive skills,
particularly by life long learners who may not be learning in the
traditional setting. Some training programmes require the learning of all
three categories of skill, and in such instances, it makes sense to
combine WBT with face-to-face sessions, workshops, or - especially for
psychomotor skills - some form of apprenticeship.
Remember that a Web course does not have to be entirely delivered over the
Web - it is often an advantage to incorporate face-to-face elements, where
feasible, especially if the course includes:
- Learning activities involving discussion or live role
modeling.
- Learning
motor skills that require the use of equipment.
- Learning
activities linked to a social or attitudinal objective to meet and
work with colleagues or clients.
- Online
group interactions, which often work better if the trainees have met
and 'bonded' in a face-to-face meeting first.
In
our course we post (for cognitive skill) a equipment specification notes.
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Web Based
Training (WBT) methods
In web based training instruction delivered over the Internet or an
intranet using a Web browser. Web-based training includes presentation
methods ; such as streaming audio and video, hyper linked Web pages, live
Web broadcasts and interactive methods; such as bulletin boards, chat
rooms, instant messaging, videoconferencing If possible and discussion
threads. As a trainer, you have probably had experience of using
multimedia CBT (computer-based training) courses, on CD-ROM, for
stand-alone use on individual PC's or accessible from a central server. In
such traditional CBT programmes, trainees undertake self-paced learning in
a rich multimedia environment, with individual study paths determined by
learners' responses to built-in questions and activities, and the
pre-programmed feedback provided by the computer. So, isn't WBT just CBT
over the Web'? No: WBT differs from CBT in several important respects:
Training resources are not restricted to what is on a CD-ROM: a wide range
of resources (e.g. company databases, external Web sites, information from
remote Webcams...)can be flexibly linked into a WBT course. Individual
items or sections of a WBT course can be easily up-dated or revised by the
trainer, directly on the Web server Most importantly, asynchronous and
synchronous communication between and amongst trainees, trainers, and
resource personnel can be seamlessly integrated into the course
environment The online course environment and interface can be configured
to the needs of the trainees and the organizational culture, especially if
a tailorable education or training platform such as WebCT or Learning
Space is used. On the down side, however, the scope for use of 'rich'
media (e.g. large video files) may be less than for CBT, because of the
restrictions imposed by network capacities (but this situation is
changing).
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Instructional Components
The instructional component is an element of the course which does a
specific teaching job in a particular way. It is the task of the course
developer to ensure that these components are used in a balanced way so as
to support the most effective way of learning for different individuals.
Balance in the mix of components is achieved by paying attention to
the need for variety, interaction and feedback.
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Variety
No-one
likes to be taught in the same way all the time, be it by reading,
listening to lectures or doing exercises. Varying the way that information
is presented and the kind of activities by which it is consolidated
ensures that the learner's attention will be productively engaged. At the
present time the kind of variety we can achieve on the Web is increasing,
as more people have access to computers which can quickly process video,
and even support video conferences. However, text, graphics and sound,
combined with CMC (email and text conferencing) form the main elements
still, and we can achieve variety with these resources which, if not
ideal, does at least give us an advantage over printed material.
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Interaction
By
interaction means that the learner can change the material in some way.
This can be done automatically in a limited way - the self-assessment
questions in this course are an example. There is not much difference at
the technical level between a model answer appearing dynamically on the
same page underneath your own effort, or scrolling further down to see it
or clicking on a link to another page. However, the psychological effect
is quite different. The page appears to be changed as a result of your
action, and you can compare the model with your own answer directly.
Another way of using such interaction is with multiple choice questions in
which the answers appear when you click.
Also, we would claim that the activity of
creating your own site, as we ask you to do in this course, is an example
of interaction. The browser responds directly to your efforts and shows
you how you have managed to change the appearance of a page. Of course,
this is only useful if you are actually learning how to design Web pages -
it would not be of much use to someone who was learning to wire a circuit!
However, it is possible to give such interactive experiences in other
fields by the use of simulations which you can manipulate - these are
becoming more widespread but are for the moment too difficult to create
and use for our purposes.
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Feedback
Perhaps the most effective way of changing the material, however, is
achieved when the 'material' is in fact a message from another person,
i.e.: tutor or fellow student. This can be done via email or computer
conferencing. We mention it here because it is a very important
interactive component in a course. Without it, not only is the variety of
activity diminished, but the learner can sometimes experience a sense of
isolation which is extremely counter-productive for learning. At the
least, such interaction may be confined to the sending of email messages
between tutor and student, dealing perhaps with difficulties the student
is having with the software. At the most it can take the form of an entire
listserver, where the trainees are working together and commenting on each
other's material, and where the tutor provides feedback and comments on
the work.
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Learning Paths
A learning path is the route that an individual learner takes through the
course. One of the strengths of hypertext is the ability to support
numerous paths through the same material, and this gives the individual
learner the opportunity to 'customize' their own learning and take the
path that suits them best. Not all learners are able or willing, however,
to determine the best route for them- selves, and for this reason it is
important to provide a clear 'recommended path' which will at least ensure
that they proceed in a logical way. Two factors have a major influence on
the effectiveness of a particular path:
The internal structure of the subject matter. The background and
preferences of the individual learner.
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Subject
matter structure
Some
subjects are structured around an argument which begins by describing a
situation, continues by defining some agents and actions that can operate
in that situation, and concludes by determining how these agents and
actions should operate in order to ensure that the situation becomes, or
remains, a desirable one. The logic of the subject is that you have to be
able to talk about the situation before you can talk about the agents and
actions that operate in it, and before you can talk about what they should
do. It is a typical progression from
the general to the particular, and it implies that if you are learning
about the subject you have to take a path which introduces you to the
subject in that order. Practical subjects such as Grounding for
Telecommunications are similar. You have to learn the general principles
of resistance and impedance before you can learn how to install particular
equipment. There are other subjects, however, where the logic is not so
clear. If you are learning to play the piano, for example, there are some
teachers who will tell you that you have to learn to play scales before
you can play tunes. Others will get you picking out a tune before they
attempt to explain what a scale is. When learning such subjects the
individual learner has much more freedom to construct their own route
through the material, because they may be able to make progress wherever
they start, regardless of what they have done before. In this way the
structure of the subject can determine what learning paths are available -
if genuine learning is to take place.
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Learner
preferences
It
is probably not possible to list all the ways that learners may differ
from each other - but we have observed at least two key types (the names
we have invented ourselves):
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Browsers
are those who like to get a good look at everything before they decide
where to start work. They may wander around in a course for some time,
having a little go at this and a little go at that, before they decide
to 'get down to it'. They are not necessarily wasting time. The
browsing helps them to get a sense of the whole subject area, to see
how everything fits, and what the underlying logic of the field is.
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Builders
start at the beginning and proceed by putting one brick on top of
another, until they have built the whole thing. They may not
understand what it is that they are building until they have nearly
finished, but as long as they can clearly see some kind of structure
taking shape they are satisfied.
The implications
for course design are clear: for the browsers we need to maximize the
opportunities that hypertext can offer, for the builders we need to
provide a firm sense of direction - a recommended path which they know
will get them there in the end. The trouble starts, however, when a learner
who is a browser just does not have the background knowledge to enable
them to make any sense of the information they find. Or when one who is a
builder already knows much of what is to be learned and finds themselves
ploughing through familiar, and possibly boring, material. For these
eventualities we have to make the learning paths as explicit as possible
and encourage all types of learner to be consciously aware of the approach
they are taking, and help them to judge whether it is proving
satisfactory. |
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TYPE
OF LEARNING
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WBT
METHODS
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INSTRUCTIONAL
COMPONENTS
|
LEARNING
PATHS
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