E-Learning

 

Aimee Chanhatasilpa

SLM 521 Spring 05

Extra Elective

 

Welcome to Florida Virtual School  http://www.flvs.net

            The e-learning course demo link offered at the Florida Virtual School site was easy find. However, my first two attempts at finding an American History demo failed because the links are inactive.  I turned to another course I am less interested in, Economics.  The first page appears to ask a key question of the topic, includes a graphic and very general information on the overall topic and subtopics of the lesson. Also included was the total number of points available for the specific lesson, but not much clarity on how to earn the points nor a timeline to keep pace.  I went back to the main page of FVS but, did not easily find any more information on grading or a timeline for the lesson or course.  I also could not determine the grade level the demo lesson is intended for.  The reading level of the text appeared to me to be at a sophomore to senior high school level.  The main site does contain detailed biographies of the staff and faculty of the site which may help to give a general sense of the teacher.

 

Class.com, Inc. - Welcome! www.eclass.com

            My experience on eclass.com was superior to FVS.  The eclass site allowed me many options of course to take.  All of the links I tested were active.  The content of the American history lesson was very detailed, included related graphics that broke up the text, links to further resources and key questions along the way.  Also included in the text were assignment reminders with links as to how to complete and submit assignments. Pretests are also offered to assess readiness.  Looking over the main site I did not see information on the grading system, or possible points of the lesson I reviewed to give example.  Further, I also could not determine the age or reading level my lesson was intended for.  If I were to seriously consider more e-learning experiences I would certainly do my homework on the school and look for third party evaluations to determine the quality of the instruction and assessments.