With the advancement of technology, many institutions across the globe have adopted online learning. Online learning allows individuals and students to attend their dream university or take any course from reputable institutions online.
Online learning and the development of technology have the added convenience of learning experiences geared towards the student’s or individual’s schedule. Learning online offers a flexible timetable that suits almost every lifestyle. Remote learning also allows students to study remotely abroad. With the advancement in technology, students can now study abroad and also socialize with their classmates through participating in a subject-specific discussion and watching online lectures.
Use Best Tools For Learning Online
With the rapid growth of technology, the mode of teaching and learning has changed. Because of this, a lot of top online learning platforms can help supplement teachers’ ability to bring new information to students while offering students several options for learning (input and output) have been created.
Generally, when studying online, you will encounter tools such as Howspace, Kahoot, Teams, and Zoom. All of these are called online learning tools and they are what facilitate online learning.
You can see online learning tools as any app, technology, or program that can be used via an internet connection and help to enhance an instructor’s ability to present information and the learner’s (student’s) ability to access the information via the internet.
The online teaching and learning can be made more effective using these tools mentioned above. We’ll delve more into them later now!F
- Howspace is an AI-powered digital tool that aids social-learning
- Kahoot is a game-based learning tool
- Teams is a collaborative-virtual working environment
- Zoom is a cloud-based video communication tool
- All schools and universities can use different tools, so there’s really no single pattern to facilitate digital learning
Kahoot
Learning is not just about memorizing and taking tests. At times it involves play. Learning can be fun with a little mix of play.
Kahoot is a game-based online platform used by institutions and schools to help their learners and students to consolidate what they were taught. Kahoot was created in 2012 by Johan Brand, Morten Versvik, and Jamie Brooker in a joint project with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Kahoot was created for social learning, with students gathered with a common virtual screen such as computer monitor, projector, or interactive whiteboard. The platform can also be accessed using screen sharing tools such as Google Hangout or Skype.
The game is pretty simple – all players connect to the game using a generated PIN shown on the common screen and use their device to give answers to questions created by the instructor.
Howspace
Howspace is an online facilitation platform powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that helps users to collaborate in learning and organisational programs. This digital collaboration tool was particularly created for facilitator-led events and workshops. It helps schools, organisations, and institutions to build an interactive journey for change initiative and organisational transformation and development using an intuitive drag and drop interface.
Howspace helps schools, institutions, and organisations to involve their students and learners and deliver information through active conversation before class, during class, and after class.
One can analyze large discussions in a matter of seconds using artificial intelligence. You can also create summaries or clutter themes with just one click of the button.
Howspace has built-in video meetings that allow students and teachers to connect, deliver and receive information. Howspace works in asynchronous live settings and virtual. The platform also offers a free trial.
Teams/Zoom
Zoom is a cloud-based video communication platform that allows individuals, schools, institutions, and organisations to set up Webinars, virtual videos and voice conferencing, screen sharing, live chat, and collaborative capabilities.
The Zoom platform is compatible with Android, Mac, iOS, Linux, and Windows. This means that almost anyone with an internet-enabled device will be able to use it. Plus, one does not need a Zoom account to attend a Zoom meeting.
Teams also is a collaborative workspace in Microsoft365 that functions as the central hub for school, workplace, organisation, institution video chat and document sharing, collaborative teamwork, and conversion. It is designed to aid students, teachers, and workers with productivity and growth in a unified suite of tools.
Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017. Both zoom and Microsoft Teams play a vital role in the facilitation of online learning, since they provide the right virtual environment for both teachers and students to share and receive information. They also allow students to collaborate and work as a team in specific projects.
One of the things that make these virtual platforms exceptional is their easy to use interface and the fact that almost anyone can use them.
Online Learning – Positive Aspects
Though some people still see traditional universities as the best effective way to learn and get certified, online learning has by far proven to be the best alternative for traditional schooling, looking at the fact that students are at liberty to study when and where they want.
Online learning is a great way to explore more fields of study and to also increase the levels of students’ self-confidence. Online learning is effective because it allows students to quickly finish up their assignments, thereby enabling them to also get a job or do what they love doing.
The access to learning materials on the go also gives the student the opportunity to study anywhere without restrictions, as long as there is an internet connection. The students set their learning hours, apart from some occasions where they’re required to log in at a particular time.
Online Learning – Negative Sides
Humans tend to develop more when they find themselves in a group. In school, students learn how to compete, make friends, overcome disappointments, learn how to relate to people and learn to be patient.
Competitions between students can stimulate positive growth. But all of these things mentioned above are not possible with online learning, since it does not offer deep human interaction like the traditional schools where students spend time together.
A notable negative side of online learning is that online learning cannot handle a large number of students trying to connect to a discussion. There’s a limit to how many persons it can carry at a time. This varies according to each digital tool for online learning.
Online learning is also not suitable for every field of study. Most courses that require practicals are not suitable for online learning. For example, how to fly a plane obviously cannot be effectively taught online.
Editor’s Comments: Online Learning Experiences
I as a digital marketer with a passion for learning new things have been studying online for a number of times. For me it all started back in 2017 when I was doing my BBA in Xamk, Finland. I originally started my studies in the campus but then moved to Malta and needed to study the rest of my BBA remotely from there.
During that time online studying remotely wasn’t that common and sometimes I was struggling to get the lecturers to understand that they should already be more open for students studying more freely than before. Things changed when Covid-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly all schools and universities needed to shift to online learning, at least on most parts. This to me seemed on most parts a blessing!
As said, I have a passion for studying. Over the past couple of years I’ve studied online a further qualification in Business (competence area in Sales Work and Marketing). During our studies we had no contact lessons but instead the entire education was to be completed online. It was the first time I attended lectures online, since the remote BBA studies from Malta were only about report writing, not about any lectures.
to me, online learning in this new way was not that great of an experience. I’ve always loved to attend lectures but when they are online, I easily get distracted and simply put, bored. I don’t love break out rooms, I do not enjoy the group discussions and find it difficult to follow the lectures in general. This happens especially when the online tools for learning are not the best ones.
The unhappiness about remote lectures applies to my current studies, too. Now I am studying an MBA in digital business management in Lapland UAS, Finland. I am once again doing online studies, and facing the same issues as earlier. On the other hand, I must say I enjoy the fact that I can live where ever I want and still get an international education at an MBA level from the comfort of my own home.
For me online learning gives freedom and flexibility, so even if there’s those break out rooms and remote lectures I don’t value that much, in the end I prefer to study online rather than going to campus. What are your experiences? Comment below!
Suvi, Chief Editor