During August I judged the 3 supreme awards for the Matamata District Digi Awards.  There were some fantastic finalists!  Here is the winner for the Year 7 & 8 group.  It was entered in the Television Advertisement category.

What research tells us about learning

All these points are very relevant for the using eLearning successfully

• Learningis much more than acquiring new knowledge and concepts. It involves thinking, but learners need knowledge and experiences to think with.
• Learners need to be actively engaged in ways that allow them to process, interpret, and adapt an experience.
• Learners have to want to learn. They have to see a purpose to learning and how it will allow them to contribute to something beyond themselves.
• Learners have to feel in charge of their own learning and to get a sense of flow and progress, with the right amount of challenge and feedback along the way. 
• Learners need to develop in-depth knowledge in some areas to help them keep learning.
• Learners need to be encouraged to search not for the right answer (focusing on surface features) but for the right approach to solving a problem (deep structures).
• Learning involves interaction trying out and testing ideas with others.
• Learning usually needs structure For example, adults play an important role in young children’s development by structuring their experiences and directing their attention to certain aspects of those experiences.  
• Learning needs to take place in a wide variety of settings so that learners can transfer their learning and use it in new contexts.
• Intelligence is not fixed but is expandable through learning experiences. 

Expanding people’s intellectual capacity – and ability to keep learning – should be the key function of a future-oriented education system.