Learning platforms, thinking out loud.

[tegegne tefera]

Going back to school after so many years is quite a different experience. To tell the truth I was a bit skeptic. But it woke a few nerves that stayed dormant. Once you leave school unless one is engaged in the academic world those nerves that rummage through all the books (some to escape the academic books and others to go beyond the academic books (when we like he subject)) (you see how I used a double bracket?) take vacation. Work and social life (often that doesn't include knowledge gathering) takes over all our free time we simply forget about those nerves. Sadly though those nerves if we let them entertain us they could be a source of happiness and satisfaction beyond our imagination.

I was trying to find out how my going back to school would affect me. so I wanted to learn more about the process of learning itself. Apparently scientists have been doing their own learning in the last decade or so, more than any time in the history. And based on that knowledge many schools and universities are rearranging their focus and priorities.

The advance in telecommunication and other technologies also contributed to this shift in education.

 Which brings me to what I am thinking about today. Learning platforms. As the name indicates this are computer software's and standards that focus on the process and facilitate acquiring of knowledge.

Today for most students in the western world the school desk, their study desk and the teachers and other students desk, with online libraries and references are networked and integrated that the "real school" and the time they spend learning has expanded enormously.

And the software's that coordinates all this (or attempts) are called Learning Platforms. What is exiting about this platforms is that it is not only limited to school but one can use them to plan and follow up once personal knowledge acquiring progress.

They can track once learning plans and goals, test performance, show gaps in knowledge, help build teams...etc. 

It used to be the educational institutes that decide when you should learn. (They still do). f you don't learn and done with in the time frame they have set for you then you are done with. you go with what ever you have and try to live by it. Well unless you have one of those rear people that have enormous self discipline and drive no one can stop you. But lets face it. Most of us are lazy. Let me correct that. We are not lazy. if we were we would not get up in the morning and go to the dreaded classes. We are easily discouraged. By lack of educational material, by a worn out teacher, by a bully school mate, or distracted by the beautiful girl/boy who steal our attention. And all that happens in the time frame the educational institute allocated for us.

It is actually amazing that we managed to acquired as much knowledge as we have now.

But now you can get distracted by that girl (I can still see her after all this time) and still acquire that knowledge that you wanted so bad. Because you are the master of your own time. And learning becomes much more interesting and enjoyable. Some thing one could do all the time even while being distracted by the beautiful girl. Learning as a team is the most powerful tool to transform an ordinary Ethiopian kid in to a scientist and innovator. And all that is on our hands if we just use it.

I am just thinking out loud. Sorry if this doesn't make sense. 

[tegegne tefera]

Why in the world didn't speak to that girl instead of being distracted all the time? sorry again. thinking out loud.

[tegegne tefera]

MOODLE

https://moodle.org/

Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment

[tegegne tefera]

https://www.soph.uab.edu/sparkman/ethiopia

[tegegne tefera]

http://www.computeraid.org/news-detail.asp?ID=200

[Fantaw Tesema]

It makes sense Tegegne. In my opinion learning is what make life exciting. It does not matter what one learns but just learn and be more knowledgeable and be more productive. As for the distracting beautiful girl as you mentioned, better to go and ask her out.

Any ways, I have tried Moodle several years ago for he hu learning on my pc with XAMPP. Moodle on that time was not user friendly. May be it is now? I instead used power point and flash. It was not bad any way even it was one sided. Did not remember Moodle it the last three years or so. I may re look at it. I remember how good and smart people dedicate their time to make such a learning tool.

Cheers. //FT

Best regards

ለሚሰሩ እጆች፣ ለሚያስቡ አዕምሮወችና ለሚወዱ ልቦች፡፡
Improvement is always possible if you take action.
www.ethiopiawakeup.net

http://www.computeraid.org/news-detail.asp?ID=200

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[tegegne tefera]

Moodle seems the most promising in Ethiopian context and a candidate for localization. There was an interest from a university IT staff in Mekele and some other university but I don't think they have gone very far with implementation or adopting it to local needs. But I think it is a start.

Obviously it's implementation has some learning curve since it is a software that does a pretty complicated staff. 

I have just registered and translated a couple of strings and it is easy.

There is also a course that may be interesting for  educators at https://docs.moodle.org/25/en/Moodle_Course_Creator_Certificate. It is a course for creators as the name implies.