10 tips that work for me in staying on top of the e-learning game
Janine Bowes has shared her top 10 tips from the keynote session today. Thanks Janine!! 
Compare her list with yours! Do you have anything to add?
- Be a lifelong learner – formally, informally and incidentally.
- Be intergenerational in your professional life– look for opportunities to work and learn with colleagues at the opposite end of the age spectrum – both have much to contribute to the other
- Keep expanding your digital world-view by trying new things, playing, reading widely, experimenting. Do this in your personal and professional lives and remember that a little bit often is usually better than occasional binges.
- Periodically take an online course or other e-learning event to put yourself in the learner’s seat. Sometimes choose subject areas outside your usual domain. Do the course with two purposes in mind – the new knowledge or skills you acquire and reflection on the process. Sometimes you learn most from the worst experiences!
- When thinking about using technology for learning, always ask “what does this add to the learning or what new possibilities does it open up?”
- Add to your e-learning repertoire over time – with tools and processes. Approach this like a musician – practice makes perfect and observing others’ performance interpretations helps.
- Think “genres of tool” rather than individual tools – understand the commonalities. Focus on the core function rather than peripheral features
- Play with many new tools but be considered in adding to your repertoire – add them to your main repertoire only when you have played, achieved mastery and have a clear idea about what learning benefit is offered.
- Stay up to date with a balanced diet that contains lots of variety – people and networks are the key eg actively participate in at least 2 online networks directly relevant to your core business, subscribe to regular news feeds, some blogs, read books!
- Share what you learn by contributing back to networks, writing publicly – you will reap the rewards many times over.
Janine Bowes
jbowes.edublogs.org
