As e-learning support modules become more popular and accessible allowing each student to learn the core material of a subject at their own pace of comprehension, then educators will be able to devote more quality time to one-on-one teaching.

Dr. Jacquelyn Thayer Scott, O. C. , head of the Canadian 21st Century Learning Initiative comments on the importance of reshaping our approach to how we are educating humans.

“Good professional teachers are incredibly important to learners of all ages but alone they are not enough.

John Abbott– a former school headmaster, who is increasingly known around the world as a man with an educational mission, speaks internationally about the development of the human brain and how we’ve got formal education “upside down and inside out”.

To address this situation, Mr. Abbott and a group of businesspeople and educators in the US and the UK founded the 21^st Century Learning Initiative in 1995; with a mission to make everyone aware of the need to change the way we educate both children and adults.

This initiative hopes to help individuals and communities understand what we know about learning from neuroscience and other research, and how it can translate into better learning and healthier, happier lives in their own communities.

Don’t miss these events:

Performance-Based Instructional Systems Design Conference, September 18-20, 2003 Chicago Visit: www.ispi.org/isd2003/

Canadian Metadata Forum organized by the Library and Archives of Canada. Sept. 19-20, 2003 Ottawa. Visit: www.nlc-bnc.ca/metaforum/

As e-learning providers, we are often asked exactly how to use e-learning in specific circumstances. This new section provides sample scenarios for success. This issue we hear from math teacher Martine Dubé, who provides content for MiLearn. com’s math e-tutorials.

“The courseware in math (as a curriculum based alternative resource) provides the students with interactive, animated concepts, which can be difficult to comprehend for many in a static 2-D textbook. Student “pass” rates in the Math “436” course for example, increased from an initial rate of 50% (without the MiLearn online material) to in some cases up to 70% (after using the e-tutorials. ) Parents have told us how much their child actually ENJOYED this “boring” subject, by having some interactivity, and animation and so on. ” For more information visit: www.milearn.com

JED New Media is pleased to announce that we are developing a JEDlet in cooperation with MiLearn to help students realize how important the comprehension of math will be to their future career choices. Also coming soon, “Studying for Success”-- a JEDlet designed to teach both students and business people the art of successful studying.

Look for both e-tutorials to appear soon in the JEDlet library in the Trainers and Educators section at www.jedlet.com

René J. Aerdts, Ph. D., EDS Fellow, EDS

Children represent the future of our society. The training we provide our children is a reflection of what kind of world we want them to create and live in. As technology changes, so does the need and focus of training and education.

In the past, most of the education courses for young individuals between the ages of 5 and 18 were provided in a stand-up format as part of a tell-and-test environment.

As technology progressed in the educational arena, more advanced ways of incorporating real-world experiences into the learning process became available. Since there is a wide chasm between slower and faster learners, the pace of the educational experience needs to be modeled towards the average. By deploying web-based, or digital learning techniques, education can be customized towards the individual, thereby greatly enhancing retention.

As technologies progress and become more mainstream, they will find their way into the educational arena. As educational curricula incorporate more technology in a transparent way, the focus can be more on the topics at hand. Through this deployment of technology, a broader and deeper knowledge can be attained in the same time, resulting in improved return on investment for educational expenditures, while providing for a better future for our children.

We welcome your questions, comments, and concerns. Drop us a line at info@jedlet.com