Learning Objectives

When you have completed this session, you should be able to

• add a new entry into the glossary,
• use the help desk to look around the laboratory in order to access the learning and practice tools
• learn through play on the net !

Glossary

The glossary is a lexicon of 21st century e-learning concepts. The words and expressions, used within our texts, appear as hyperlinks and their meanings and further explanation can be found with just one click.

The glossary can be continuously extended and all participants, learners and tutors can participate in the work of extending the glossary. It is instructive to try to add a new entry to the glossary. However, when adding a new entry all participants should observe some simple procedures, particularly as some of the games require an icon for every concept within the glossary.

• If you insert a new glossary record, upload an image and a link to its source as well.
• Any image should be about 400 by 600 pixels (width and height) – not too big, not too small.
• It is also important that the word being defined is not used within its definition. In some games the definition is shown and the expression or word must be entered by the player.
• The definition does not necessarily have to be your own words, but if you cite, the source must be indicated

Games

The games built into Moodle are simple and friendly. They are useful for practice and for having fun while learning. Most are based on glossary entries, so the more entries in the glossary, the more interesting the games will be.

Video tutorial

The video tutorials are downloadable presentations on topics of interest to learners. The presentations may help you to use the technical tools in the learning environment and on the Internet. The tutorials provide an additional channel for learning support, without the need for tutor mediation. Try them out, and see if they suit your style of learning.

Learning guide - help

The Help system is there to aid your learning and to help with your use of the system. Help is context sensitive – the link will take you directly to the support entry relevant to that situation.

The navigation of the Help system is similar to that of the Glossary system

Repository of Learning objects

The Repository is a collection of e-learning elements (videos, pictures, exercises), which may be freely used in the development of a course. The objects in the Repository have no fixed format and they range in size from small to large. As with the Glossary, all members of the community can extend the collection.
Be aware of the value of the repository, and as you browse the web, you may come across interesting items which may be of value to others if added to the Repository. Participants are encouraged to extend the collection with their own work. How to do this is covered later in this course.

Editorial

Tenegen is an open environment; it is accepted that all elements might create debate so ideas are welcome from learners and tutors alike. Any comment about the course can be given through the Editorial feature. Module authors want to hear your opinions – whether commendation or criticism. The module authors will be happy to hear your opinions. Do not hesitate! We accept all commendations and criticisms!

Bookmarks

Bookmarks are important in e-learning. Since most learners will start and stop learning events without necessarily completing them, it is valuable to be able to return to the place where learning left off. This is made easy with bookmarks.
All the important and useful web links related to Tenegen modules are collected here described with keywords. We have incorporated a web application called ‘delicious’ – a so-called ‘social bookmarking tool’ – for sharing links with others (see delicious.com ). Its use will be covered later.

Students on the Net

One of the module goals is to understand more about how students access the web. There is a questionnaire to solicit answers to the question: “what do students do when they are on the web.” Complete of the questionnaire is an activity in a later section.

Publications

This is a collection of relevant publications from members of our community. The publications are generally in the form of writings and presentations related to course topics.

Students can upload their own publications, to be shared with the rest of the Community.

Exercises

1. Log in to www.wikipedia.org, and search for an interesting e-learning concept which does not appear in the glossary.

2. Create a new entry in the glossary for this concept. Remember to cite the source for the concept. It is not necessary to upload an image, but try to find a relevant one. To upload a new entry, follow this hyperlink: Add new entry into the glossary!

3. Visit the Editorial, and make some comments on this session! Were all the explanations good enough for your understanding?