What Exactly is Online Training?

This post is part of a series concerning the differences between traditional classroom learning and online training or “e-Learning” and the various aspects of each.

Most of you probably know what I’m referring to when I talk about “online training courses.” Even if you’ve never taken one, you’ve probably seen ads for them or heard about them from a friend or co-worker. Some herald them as the wave for the future for education, while others are more than a little skeptical. But for now I’m going to step away from the debate. Don’t worry. We’ll come back to it. However, I’d like to elaborate a little on what exactly “online training” can entail.

Although it is accurate to think of a PowerPoint presentation or perhaps even a colorful Macromedia Flash application as “e-Learning,” this overarching term has come to encompass so much more. Innovative thinkers are discovering new ways to promote education through unconventional mediums. This can be seen primarily in the online gaming world, specifically in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). The game I’d like to highlight is Second Life, developed several years ago by Linden Labs.

In Second Life, players can create three-dimensional, animated representations of themselves known as “avatars.” Once an avatar is created, a player can enter the game “world,” a virtual environment that simulates real-world phenomenon such as shopping, chatting with friends, and visiting locales. Essentially, the player is open to do whatever he or she wants, provided that his or her actions fall within the game’s programming capabilities.

So we have this open virtual world. We have this area that anyone on earth can access, where people are free to live out their virtual lives, completely separated from their real ones. What does this have to do with education? Well, because the Second Life environment is so open, educators have realized that it provides a brilliant solution for distance learning. By holding virtual classes in rooms or locales created by users, instructors are able to communicate directly with students from anywhere. Second Life’s functions allow users to create objects to illustrate concepts, a useful teaching tool. It also includes chat features which allow students and instructors to stay in constant contact.

Think this is a farfetched idea? It may be in its infant stages, but institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton University, Rice University, and many others have already begun to make use of it. And Second Life is not the only solution for distance learning. It helps provide a viable model for future e-Learning and it shows us what features make online education effective.

To find out how real-word businesses and institutions have used Second Life, follow this link: http://secondlifegrid.net/about/how