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Singapore, 26 September 2002
Congratulations! You've been accepted for an e-learning course. What’s next?
If you take advantage of all its capabilities, e-learning can be a compelling way to extend the reach and impact of your search for knowledge. Because much of e-learning is self-paced, you'll need motivation and personal tenacity to succeed. Organise your own training schedule, choosing when and how you navigate through modules is essential. Although you may feel more in control of your learning, effective time-management is a must. It's up to you to start, finish, and excel.
Not sure that you're getting the most you can out of the experience? Here are some tips to help you take advantage of all e-learning has to offer.
Quality Time
Those who have been successful with e-learning agree that it's critical to commit to a training schedule. Decide on a consistent time of day, make an appointment with yourself, and write it on your calendar just as you would any other meeting. It's crucial to avoid telephone and email interruptions and try to schedule your learning appointments for times that won't have people clamouring for your attention. Be jealous of your time and attempt to keep it free from disruption.
Make your schedule known to your manager and co-workers
Not being off site as in a classroom, people may be tempted to interrupt you while you're learning. It's vital to discuss your training schedule in advance with those around you, so they'll understand the times that you'll be unavailable and why it's important not to disturb you.
Be considerate of others
If your course uses audio, put on headphones to minimise the sound. Just as you don't want your manager or co-workers to disturb you while you're e-learning, they don't want to hear constant noise as they're trying to work. Be aware of co-workers' needs for a quiet environment.
Keep your learning goals down to earth
Take the time to consider your goals, including specific work issues that you think could be resolved with further training. Set challenging learning objectives for yourself that you can realistically accomplish. After the training, track your results and match them to the previously established goals. If there's an objective that hasn't been achieved, or that you feel could be improved, review the relevant portion of the training to find out why.
Be an active participant
The more you put into your e-learning experience, the more you'll get out of it. Become an active "lifelong learner", it doesn’t have stop at just one e-learning experience. For instance, you may return to the course regularly for reviews and refreshers, particularly as new on-the-job challenges arise. E-learning is perfect for that because, as long as you're at your computer, school is always in session.
At PurpleTrain, new courses are always being added to the wide assortment of online courses that caters to student’s needs. These courses have been chosen while keeping the future of its graduates in mind. In keeping with the idea of lifelong learning, courses range from diploma to master programmes allowing many to further their education. Our programmes are validated by universities that have stood the test of time. Such that graduates from the PurpleTrain programmes have proven themselves to be valuable assets to companies they work for.
Create a peer e-learning group. Peer-to-peer learning is one of the most powerful training techniques. Many e-learning courses now include the opportunity for real-time collaboration with a community. It's well worth your time to utilise this feature. For instance, you can participate in chat sessions to share ideas and learn from the experience of others. If your course doesn't provide a built-in community, try to determine who else in your company is scheduled for the same training. You can arrange to meet in a chat room or virtual classroom (or in person) to discuss and practice the concepts you've learned. Participating in an online community can maximise learning and increase your rate of retention.
Accommodate yourself. In self-paced e-learning, there's no teacher setting the schedule. If you study for a long period of time, be sure to take frequent breaks. In fact, most effective learning takes place in 20- to 30-minute chunks. If you study for longer than that, you won't be fresh enough to absorb and retain new knowledge.
Reflect on what you've learned. After breaks, and when you complete the course, try to recall what you learned. Mentally apply new concepts to your work situation, actively seeking specific, real-life situations that could benefit from your new knowledge. Test how effective your newly won skills are and return to the courseware for additional tips if necessary.
Use all available resources. E-learning is made even more relevant through the inclusion of online resources. Many courses offer a variety of tools and job aids. Take advantage of suggestions for additional reading or practice that will help you maintain your new skills.
Share what you've learned. To better retain your new knowledge and skills, share what you've learned with your manager and co-workers. You can also participate in chat rooms or discussion lists on the topics you studied and share your ideas with the community. Sharing maximises your learning experience and provides tangible benefits to those around you.
Participating in training can improve your image with current employers and make you more marketable to prospective ones. With the dawn of e-learning, training can now be more flexible, personalised, and fun. To make e-learning effective, however, you must see yourself as the person in charge of product development. The product, of course, is yourself.
To check out the latest PurpleTrain courses, visit PurpleTrain Course Catalogue.
About Informatics Group
The Informatics Group, established in 1983, is a multinational corporation providing training and educational services in information technology and business management. Through its international franchising program and strategic acquisitions, Informatics presently has a global network of more than 450 centres spanning 42 countries.
The company presently offers five franchise products: Informatics Computer School, Thames Business School, CAL Computer Training Centre, Cambridge Child Development Centre and RACC. For more information, please visit http://www.informaticsgroup.com.
About PurpleTrain.com
PurpleTrain.com is the e-learning service provider which offers a one-stop service for business and IT education programmes, corporate training courses and education-related services. By combining innovative technology with world-class training content, PurpleTrain.com offers companies and individuals a high value, quality and effective online training solution. Over 1000 online courses are available, offering PhDs, masters, degrees, diplomas and certificates in business and IT programmes. Its e-community now stands at over 55,000 users.
PurpleTrain.com is a 100%-owned venture of Informatics Holdings Limited, a leading training and education provider listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.
For more information, please contact :
Andrew Yap
Marketing & PR Manager
PurpleTrain.com
Email : pr@purpletrain.com
Website : www.purpletrain.com
www.informaticsgroup.com
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