Well, I did it. I completed my first learning module and I think it was pretty good. I received some helpful feedback and will implement the changes soon. But as rewarding and enjoyable as designing and completing the website was, creating the learning modules was no easy task, nor without stress. I've never been very great at brainstorming; I just kinda have ideas floating in my brain somewhere. I thought that would be good enough until I realized that those floating ideas needed to connect like puzzle pieces; or the picture would be ugly. My learning module was designed for 2nd graders; and I haven't been 8 in ages, so trying to recreate learning for that age proved to be challenging.
One might think that teaching elementary age children should be simple because the instructor has known this information for a long time already, right? Umm, nope. That is precisely why getting to the students age level of learning is difficult because it's almost like relearning ourselves in the process. Especially since 8 year olds today are very different in ways than when I was 8 simply because of technology and all the advancements of education.
I found a wonderful site called e-learning for kids that helped me to think of the way children do learn nowadays. Even though 7 children are in my home, everyone (including adults) learn in different ways and retain different material. Heck, even I enjoy learning more if there's a little entertainment to go along with it. Learning becomes interactive; a hands-on approach to thinking. That is why learning modules, especially those which combine classroom and technology, are just more successful. Blended learning isn't exactly a new concept; just ask a doctor how they learned to perform surgeries. They didn't learn a process from a book, and I'm glad they didn't! To really learn something means to make the process an experience so regardless of what age we are, we enjoy and retain the lessons learned and build upon that knowledge.
