User guide

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Engaging learners through interactive presentations: Using Adobe Presenter (Breeze)
Educational Technology Team
email: [e-mail]
Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning
Delivering online instruction
The Internet and multimedia technologies are reshaping the way knowledge is delivered, and e-learning is
becoming a real alternative to traditional classroom learning. Online teaching is increasingly common at
many types of higher education institutions, ranging from hybrid courses that offer a combination of in-
person and online instruction, to fully online experiences and distance learning. In the past few years, e-
learning has emerged as a promising solution to lifelong learning and on-the-job training. E-learning can be
defined as technology-based learning in which learning materials are delivered electronically to remote
learners via a computer network.
The table below illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of online learning in comparison with
traditional classroom learning.
Traditional Classroom Learning
Online Learning
Advantages
• Provides immediate feedback
• Familiar to both faculty and students
• Motivates students
• Cultivates a social community
• Learner-centered & self-paced
• Flexible time and location
• Unlimited access to knowledge
• Greater access to expertise
• Allows for archiving, thus enabling
knowledge reuse and sharing
• Updated content at less cost
Disadvantages
• Teacher-centered
• Time and location constraints
• More expensive to deliver
• Lack of immediate feedback
• Increased preparation time for
faculty
• Potentially more frustration,
anxiety and confusion
It is important to understand that using technology to supplement classroom teaching does not radically
change teaching methods but merely enhances what would be done in the classroom in any case. If e-
learning courses are not designed and delivered well, they will result in frustration, confusion, and reduced
learner interest. If only text-based learning materials are used to develop such courses, then they may lead
to boredom and disengagement in students and prevent them from gaining a good understanding of a
topic. Good e-learning courses should integrate and present learning materials in diverse media such as
text, image, sound, and video with sufficient learner-content interactivity and flexibility.
Ask yourself why you have set out to create an online course. Listed below are some questions that you
might need to ask yourself when developing an online course:
1. What instructional methods does your course typically employ?
2. What combinations of media would you use?
3. How do you currently provide practice and assessment?
4. Do learners complain that the courses are too long? Too boring?
5. What methods have you used to improve the quality of your e-Learning?