Category Archives: Teaching Tips & Strategies

Online Learning Time Management: Staying on Track

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Online learning is well-known as a rewarding, successful, and effective alternative for students who may otherwise have conflicting schedules with their professional and personal life, or who may be unable to commute.

The discipline needed to succeed in any academic setting is even more crucial when you’re learning online, though, despite the formal classroom space and unstructured hours. The secret to success in online learning is to build your establish good work habits so that you can easily to meet the goals of your online coursework.

Same place, same time.

Each day, act as if you had to commute to a classroom.Pick the same time each day that is convenient for you to check in, online, with your class. This will enable you to see if the instructor has changed anything on the syllabus, with that week’s assignment, or if there was any problem with what you recently submitted. Set aside a specific block of time for this work — schedule it on your online calendar with a reminder, if needed — and you’ll avoid wasting valuable time throughout the day constantly checking in to see if any of your peers responded to your classroom postings or what’s new. That time can be better spent reading necessary materials offline and completing your assignments. Block time for these tasks too, by the way.

Online learning can be a wonderful solution to the challenges of attending a typical brick-and-mortar academic environment present – as long as you manage your time online and offline.

Are you currently an online teacher or student? If so, we’re interested in your experience and would appreciate your feedback in the comments section below.

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typing

Computer Keyboarding Tips (or a Refresher Course for Sloppy Typists)

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typingSloppy typing has a huge impact on your speed, making you far less productive than you could be with good practice. It is easy to fall into bad habits over time without even being aware you are doing so. Following the computer keyboarding tips below will help you improve your skills to help you use your computer with ease.

  • While two-finger typing can be adequate for those who are not spending a lot of time at the computer, touch typing with all 10 fingers will increase your speed to levels you could never reach by omitting the other eight fingers. If your hands are not in the correct position, you will never learn to touch type properly and other computer keyboarding tips are redundant. A number of online typing tutorials can help you learn ten-finger typing.
  • Place the fingers of your left hand over the keys “A” to “F” while your right hand covers “J” to “;”. Your hands move only very slightly to enable your fingers to reach the nearest keys. Your right thumb is responsible for the space bar. After you have learned the correct movement, you will be able to type without ever looking at your hands.
  • The combination keys were created to save you time and make commands simpler to execute. For example, the “Shift” key when used in conjunction with letter keys provides the vital function of creating capital letters. When used along with the “Function” or “Ctrl” key, you are able to command you computer to execute yet more functions. Take a few minutes to learn some shortcuts you may not have been aware of previously, but only learn the ones you’re bound to use frequently; otherwise you’ll spend time looking up rarely used functions again and again.

Do you know of any additional typing tips? If so, share them in the comments section below.

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email

Need Computer Skills for a New Job? Learn These Two First

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emailThe job market today is more competitive and fast-paced than ever. Applicants are expected to come in with relevant computer experience and the capacity to learn more. For job seekers who are transitioning from careers in which computers weren’t required, the idea of learning everything at once can be overwhelming. If you’re starting from scratch, email and word processing should be the first tools you learn to use.

The best way to learn to use email, as with many computer programs and tools, is to use it. Simply start by signing up for a free online account with Google or Yahoo, for example. While most people are comfortable searching online and texting, you’ll want to go beyond those basics by learning to send attachments via email and create contacts lists. The basics of email, such as composing messages, replying and forwarding, are common to all email programs. Sending messages to friends can help you get comfortable with shortcuts and the terms used in emai.

Word processing is another skill employers expect applicants to have. In addition to typing, job seekers should know how to use the word processing software to accomplish general tasks; this includes creating, editing, and printing documents.

Regardless of the job, these two skills are vital for nearly every position and industry. Fortunately, community colleges, libraries, and other community facilities offer courses on these topics, so help is not far away. You can also visit our website and check out the eLearning Tools we have available.

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Computer Training: Are You Maximizing Value to Your Clients?

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How many times have you approached a class with a planned set of objectives, only to find out that it wasn’t the training that was needed? Has your client ever wondered whether your training effectively met its objectives? How do you make sure you’re delivering the right training and demonstrate the results to your clients at the end?

One answer is computer skills testing – both before and after your training.

 

Testing prior to the training allows you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your audience. Do employees have expertise in creating charts but need to understand pivot tables? Have they mastered formatting but need a refresher on integrating images? Testing these skills provides part of a needs assessment that allows you to design training to best match the needs of your client. Testing prior to the class also gives you a baseline report of skills for each individual being trained.

 

Testing again after training gives you definitive results that you can show your client – proof that learning has taken place. Making reports available to your clients that show before and after test scores for the group and individual employees increase the value of your offering by providing a clear picture of skills. If you can break them down by application and specific skills, better yet.

 

The end result for the client will be employees who are able to perform their tasks better and are more productive. The results for you will be a more satisfied customer.

 

Labyrinth Learning has testing solutions designed to provide an affordable testing solution for a variety of organizations, including corporate training firms. For more information, please visit our website or contact us for a demonstration of our eLab Skills Evaluation Tool.

 

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Six Best Practices for Teaching Online Courses

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Online courses are great for working students and remote students, and they allow schools to reach more students than ever before. As these courses have become increasingly popular, we’ve learned what teaching strategies do and don’t work. Below are some best practices to ensure a successful course for all.

 

Show Up and Teach – The number one best practice for online teachers according to Designing for Learning and the Distance Education Report is to be available to your students. This means being present in the communication forums used to interact with your students on a regular basis to address questions, facilitate discussions, etc. Also, set up virtual office hours so that students can contact you by phone or email outside of class times.

 

Create a Clear Set of Expectations – Let your students know how you expect them to participate in the virtual classroom, and how you plan to communicate with them.

 

Provide Feedback Consistently – Cincinnati State notes that online courses can make students feel a little isolated, but that consistent feedback is a great way to avoid that feeling. For example, you can praise a student for making an insightful comment in a forum, just like you would in the classroom.

 

Use a Variety of Activities – Several resources also suggest varying the types of classroom activities you use to keep students from becoming bored. Real-time discussions, individual assignments, and group projects are just a few examples of ways to keep the course fresh and interesting.

 

Use a Combination of Teaching Methods – Designing for Learning suggests combining core concept learning with customized or personalized learning by identifying the performance goals of the course and then mentoring students through the assignments that apply those concepts.

 

Ensure Students Have the Prerequisite Skills – Students sometimes enroll for online courses without a basic understanding of file management, communicating online, and the basic computer skills required to be successful. Establish a set of criteria, or pre-test students using an online computer inventory test to determine their readiness for an online course.

 

Are you currently teaching online courses? If so, what best practices do you follow to ensure that you are teaching the course effectively? Leave a comment to share your thoughts with Labyrinth Learning.

 

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Using Social Media to Reach Your Students

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It seems as if every student uses some form of social media to connect with people near and far. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are great places for students to interact with their friends, and in recent years, these sites have also gained the interest of colleges and universities across the country.

 

Are you using social media to connect with your students?

 

Last year, USA Today College reported that 68% of colleges and universities reported social media as being important, but how can it be used to reach students and make the learning process more engaging? Let’s take a look at a few examples.

 

 

Are you currently using social media to reach your students and enhance their learning experience? If so, please share your ideas with us by leaving a comment below. You can also share your ideas on the Labyrinth Learning Facebook page or tweet them to us @LabLearning.

 

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Why Use iPads and eBooks in Computer Courses?

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Over the past few years, iPads and other e-readers have transformed the way we do a lot of things, from reading to answering emails while on the go. You might be wondering how iPads and ebooks can be incorporated into your computer classes and what benefits they offer. If so, read on and we’ll explain some of those benefits to you.

 

  • eBooks often include interactive bonuses like videos or animation, which can enhance the information covered in the text or serve as an example of the task students are learning. They also usually include links to other relevant website that can expand upon the topic, according to Success Consciousness.
  • Innolance suggests implementing the latest technologies into your course as a way to keep and increase your students’ interest in the subject matter. Remember, devices like iPads are becoming a way of life.
  • iPads are easy to use due to their touch interfaces. Additionally, the availability of downloadable educational apps can aid in a student’s retention of the course material, as noted by The Guardian.
  • iPads and other tablets are compatible with most cloud-based computing systems, making it possible for them to complete assignments from almost anywhere, The Science of Learning Blog notes.

 

Are you and your students currently using iPads and ebooks in your computer classes? If so, please share with us what benefits you’ve seen as a result.

 

Labyrinth Learning offers a variety of resources, including ebooks, that instructors can use to effectively teach computer skills and make their classes more dynamic. For more information, please visit our website or contact us.

 

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Six Tips for Teaching Computer Basics

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Learning to use a computer can be intimidating, especially for the student whose skills aren’t as advanced as their friends or classmates. As computers are becoming a part of our daily lives, it is important to make sure that you teach the basics in a way that is easy for all of your students to understand.

 

Below are six tips to keep in mind as you teach your next course.

  1. State the goals of the class before you begin instructing so students will know exactly what is going to be covered.
  2. Keep a slow, steady pace. The American Library Association (ALA) suggests to “Assume that you are always going too fast. Take your cues not from the agenda you’ve set for the lesson, but instead the look in the eyes of your student.” If your students’ brows are furrowed and eyes are glazed over, take a moment to see what is confusing them or where you lost them, and work on catching up from there.
  3. Avoid using computer jargon while you teach. Find interesting ways to put jargon into laymen’s terms. Computer Shy says it is helpful to use real life parallels. For example, you can say that “web pages are really just magazine pages that you can read on a computer screen.”
  4. Use hands-on instruction. Tell the class what they will be doing (opening a web browser, composing an email, etc.), and then do it together.
  5. Have students practice through repetition. The ALA suggests doing everything at least three times, as repetition helps students retain what they have learned.
  6. Assign homework. Give your students short assignments daily so that they can practice what they have learned. Computer Shy also suggest providing students with notes at the end of each class so that they can review what has been covered on their own.

 

Labyrinth Learning has several teaching resources available that instructors can use to effectively teach computer skills to students of all ages and abilities. Please visit our website or contact us for more information.

 

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Computer Literacy: Five Reasons Why You Should be Testing

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You may think it’s safe to assume that all of today’s students have a basic knowledge of computer skills, given that we live in the digital age. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. As noted by The Instructional Design & Development Blog of the FITS Department at DePaul University, just because you know how to use social media, it doesn’t mean you are computer literate.

Today’s students arrive at school with a wide range of computer skills. Accurately assessing these skills gives you the data you need to best meet the needs of students – before, during and after coursework. Testing allows you to:

  1. Place students in the course that best fits their skill level. Many students arrive at school lacking basic computer skills such as file management, email, Windows, and the use of applications such as word processing and spreadsheets. Others are well prepared. Placing everyone in the same introductory computer class leaves some students bored while others struggle to keep up. Testing allows you to match students with the right course.
  2. Let advanced students test out of the course. In the same way that students with advanced math skills should not sit in a basic math class, students possessing excellent computer skills should not waste time in a basic computer course. Testing provides an accurate and fair means for allowing advanced students to bypass courses that they have already mastered.
  3. Validate that students registering for online courses have prerequisite computer skills. Online courses require a fundamental understanding of email, file management and other computer functions. If a student doesn’t possess these skills, chances are they will struggle – and have a much higher chance of dropping the course. Testing allows you to identify students who are unprepared and need some basic computer training before taking online courses.
  4. Modify course content to meet the needs of students. As more computer skills are taught at the high school level, student skills are continually changing. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your class and modify course content to meet those needs. Instead of teaching topics that students have already mastered, adjust your content to focus time on the skills that students need. And testing mid-course allows you to identify topics that need more work.
  5. Confirm learning following course completion. Computer skills are essential for success in future classes and in the workforce. Testing after course completion or as a graduation requirement confirms that students possess the skills needed to be successful.

Computer literacy is more important now than ever, and no student should be left behind. To learn more about testing your students, read about Labyrinth Learning’s eLab Skills Evaluation Tool, which instructors can use to test their students’ skills and help prepare them for success. Visit our website or contact us for more information.