Lessons learnt and future practices

Training on e-learning has been very useful to me for transforming a traditional physical classroom lectures and methodology into computer based interactive and collaborative pedagogies. In the entire course four major topics were covered successful including:

1. Online participation and digital illiteracies 
2. Open learning-sharing and openness
3.  Learning in communities-networked collaborative learning
4.  Design for online and blended learning

Generally, a lot of skills, knowledge and wider attributes have been acquired for implementation in my context of which e-learning practices has just started recently. A number of online collaborative tools were identified during the group sessions with some practices on how to apply them. Some of these tools which we made an intensive practice include Padlet, Coggle and Flipgrid. Also familiarization with Webner sessions was another experience.

Challenge of the course

Some challenges during the course include competing responsibilities in such a way that sometimes you fail to join the group online session because of other responsibilities at workplace. Poor/low internet speed/low bandwidth is also affecting the efficiency of e-learning especially in developing countries like Tanzania. Technical no how new computer based incoming technologies and digital divide.
Course design as a key to improvement
Generally e-learning is very important and should be adopted by academic instituions from basic education to higher learning instituions. compentance based education can be easily imperted to the students through different interactive and collaborative forums. However proper course design should be put into consideration as a key to improving students engagement and reduce dropouts from online courses (Ben-Naim, 2015). Also Universities especially in third world countries like Tanzania need to invest in improving infrastructures beyond architecturally bold lecture halls to build digital learning spaces and designing data analytics to improve students engagement (Andersson,n.d.; Babu, 2014). Another issue to consider is human capacility building to for course design, operate the infrastutures and fully utilization of the established infrastures for e-learning. 
Effective e-learning at Universities may be a solution for proper management of big classes and ensure full interactivity and collaboration of students inlearning. Self learning and ability of the lectures to attend many students effectively through online forums becomes easier. Marking of students assignments in a big class may be difficulty and tiresome but experiences shows that adoptive lessons created at the University of New South Wales call Virtual Microscopy adoptive tutorials have helped to automate marking and direct support to those individual students who require it (Ben-Naim, 2015). 

E-Learning in Practice in Higher Education 

References

Andersson, A. (no date) ‘Seven Major Challenges for E-Learning in Developing Countries Case Study eBIT , Sri Lanka Annika Andersson Informatics , Örebro University , Sweden’, E-learning, (Table 1), pp. 1–14.

Babu, S. C. (2014) ‘E-Learning and Development: Lessons from Multi-Disciplinary Capacity Strengthening’, Journal of Learning for Development - JL4D, 1(3).

Ben-Naim, D. (2015) Online learning can work if universities just rethink the design of their courses. Available at: http://theconversation.com/online-learning-can-work-if-universities-just-rethink-the-design-of-their-courses-50848 (Accessed: 3 December 2018).