Topic: Features

Today, the Internet is widely regarded as a major bridge linking the small and big, the possible and impossible, creating extensive possibilities across a wide spectrum. It strategically empowers the small guy to set up a home-based business, charities to fundraise with ease and anyone to access information from anywhere.

 In reality, the whole world, on a daily basis, is currently under the spell of the phenomenal growth of the Internet. And one of such areas that Internet has drastically changed forever is EDUCATION – yes, education is now being carried out online and popularly called E-Learning!

 However, despite the beautiful advantage of online education, there are raging controversies against it. Which is superior to the other?

 Online education is being used by both secondary and tertiary students. Due to the fact that secondary students still require adult guidance, e Learning is not yet as deep at this level as it is for tertiary level.

 E-learning has changed the lives of students worldwide and it’s proven that the majority of secondary students are presently hob-knobbing between classrooms and sitting in front of computers, undergoing intense lectures and prep-work with great successes.

It should also be noted that online education is making it possible for rural-based schools to favorably compete with schools in urban centers. It also allows rural schools to improve academic curriculum to meet international standards. On a general scale, the worry of overcrowded classrooms has become a thing of the past. How? Because a well-laid e-learning program can admit hundreds of students from many countries to access the same course at the same time.

Can online classes ever replace physical classrooms?

From what has been said so far, it is clear that supplanting online education to physical classrooms cannot be possible. Just as Internet can’t supplant our cultural ways of life, but it is meant to add more benefits and opportunities to our lives. Online education has successfully helped the growth of basic classroom education and it is presently widening inherent opportunities of education.

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It’s not just commercials on television and radio that need actors to read information off-camera. There are a myriad of ways to use voice to educate, inform, guide, entertain, and, of course, sell. Places where you can use voice over talent include PowerPoint presentations, training videos, eLearning courses, flash introductions, voice mail greetings, on-hold advertisements and website audio messages.

So, look at your media and if you would like to add some zip to your presentations then find a competent voice over talent. Here are vital steps that you should take to get the right voice for your job.

1. Search for a Voice Over Specialist Online

You are looking for that perfect voice. Where can you find it? If you are a big company or an advertising agency then you will probably turn to a big talent agency to offer voice over talent for your project. Alternatively, large agencies and companies use www.voicebank.net . This site feeds a description of your need to all the big agencies.

However, if you are a small company you will not be able to afford the union fees that are added on to the cost of hiring actors and voice talent via an agency. Your best alternative is to search online for a freelance voice over specialist. Voice 123.com and InteractiveVoices.com are the two main casting portals for finding a voice over. The good news about these sites is that there are thousands of voices in one place. The bad news is that you have to look through them until you find the voice that is best for you.

The voice over portals have a filtering tool so you can find people who have ISDN or home MP3 studios, who can do kids voices or senior citizen voices, etc. However, because these sites are so large, anybody who has ever wanted to do voice over, regardless if they have talent, can sign up and clog your inbox with their bad auditions.

You can widen your choices by searching on Google or Yahoo for “voice over talent.” This search will bring up top quality voice over actors sites. Usually the very successful voice over artists don’t use the voice over portals mentioned above, but just rely on word-of-mouth and the traffic that comes to their well-ranked web sites.

 2. After you have found many voices, you need to choose the best one.

 When business folks step into the hybrid world of art and business, they need a way to discern what they are looking for.

Just because a voice sounds smooth or really deep, doesn’t mean it will be right for your project. Who is your market? What do THEY sound like? That’s a good starting point. Find a voice that sounds like your market.

Once you do that, the next question is, do they sound like they know what they are saying when they read your copy? Are they convincing? Are they natural? Did they follow your directions? If you said in your audition request “need you to be casual” and their recording has them bold and loud, then you might want to avoid them.

 3. Determine if the quality of their home recording is up to professional standards. A good voice recorded badly helps no one. Once you’ve clarified these things, the right choice will be apparent.

 4. Finally, the last step is to negotiate a price.

Sure, some voice over talent will work for $50. If you find a good voice over talent who will work for that, then their audition was luck, not talent. Any voice over talent worth their salt usually works for fees that hover just under the union minimums. Your savings come from not having to pay residuals, agency commissions and contributing to their pension and healthcare. You can find union minimums at www.sag.org.

 And last, but not least, be nice to the talent. They work alone in dark booths all day!

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Learning at home has great benefits, like the ability to learn whenever and wherever you like. But distance learning is still getting an education and that means paying attention to the course material and presentations you receive online, as well as studying and doing your homework/assignments. In order to be successful, you will have to learn to avoid the day-to day distractions that exist in your current living arrangements and you will need to develop good distance learning study habits. Create a routine and environment that is conducive to learning.

The basics of creating good distance learning study habits start with your physical surroundings. Your study space needs to be well-lit and ventilated. It needs to be free from outside distractions like people, telephones, loud music and the greatest distraction of all, television. You wouldn’t let your kids do their homework in front of the big, blinking screen, so why do you think that you can learn while you are watching your favorite soap opera or reality show?

Create a special place in your home for your distance learning study program. It can be your kitchen if that is separate from the rest of your house. It can be your recreation room, a newly cleaned storage area or your living room, as long as you turn off the television. As long as it is clean, uncluttered, and quiet it will work for you and your studies.

If you have enough room in your house or apartment then you might wish to consider purchasing a desk and organizing it so that you have everything you need at hand and all in one place. Find a good chair with strong support for your back as you listen and learn. It should be comfortable enough to study in, but not too comfortable that you want to take a nap, you can do that after you have done your work. Organize all of your supplies and material around you and you are ready to get to work.

You also need to organize your time in order to develop good distance learning study habits. Set aside regular times to go online for your lessons, unless they are pre-scheduled. Allow for adequate time to study and complete assignments.

Stick to your routine religiously unless an emergency happens and tell everyone, especially your friends that you will be unavailable during this period of time. Follow the basics to create a distance learning program that fits your life and your schedule and you will be well on the way to a productive and successful distance learning program.

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1. E-Learning Uncovered: Articulate Storyline by Diane Elkins and Desiree Pinder

2. E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning by Gilly Salmon

3. E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age by Marc Rosenberg

4. Moodle 2.0 E-Learning Course Development (Community Experience Distilled) by William Rice

5. E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumes and Designers of Multimedia Learning by Ruth C. Clark and Richard E. Mayer

6. ELearning: NOW! How To Create Successful Elearning Courses and Teach Online Today by Nicolas Francois

7. E-Learning Skills by Dr Alan Clarke

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With the rapid emergence of new innovations in technology, the attention span of both adults and children is decreasing and it is becoming increasingly challenging to fully engage both children and adults in learning.

As an educator you have the responsibility of entertaining your students from the start of each lesson when you have a captive audience ready to learn, through the distractions and energy dips of the lesson to the end of the lesson and ultimately to the end of the course without learners losing focus, energy or the motivation to learn.

How do we combat the need for entertainment and innovative learning with the achievement of learning objectives in a time and effective way?

The solution = Blended Learning.

E Learning has provided the 21^st Century teacher with a creative toolbox suited to the needs of today learners.

What is blended learning?

Blended learning is the incorporation of teaching methods such as role-play and classroom teaching with e learning.

Why use Blended learning?

E-learning in itself is still innovative and exciting to the learner. As human beings we are curious and we like to explore new technology as we have done in the past with social media sites. This drive and determination to figure out how ‘it’ works is always coupled with fun and excitement. Add e-learning to the mix and you will find learners are learning sub-consciously. By creating engaging, interatcive courses the excitement created by e learning will remain.

E-learning reaches all students through courses suited to match the ability of each individual learner, it allows students to complete tasks at their own pace and provides the teacher/trainer with an additional tool for setting homework - students can complete their learning at home or they can use the e learning lessons for revision at a later date.

An extra bonus is planning the lesson once and using it multiple times either with different classes simultaneously or you can use it months later. You can even share courses you have created with collegues thus minimising lesson planning time and drawing on knowledge and insights from them. It is very easy to add updates or change the material you have created.

The facts:

There is a 50% potential productivity boost from using e-learning as a teaching method.

E learning teaches self discipline, problem solving, critical thinking, new learning skills, self-motivation, it encourages creativity and for many it brings the enjoyment back into learning.

So how do I get started with blended learning?

Allocate time within a lesson for blended learning. E.g. set aside 10 minutes at the end of each lesson and use e-learning to re-cap the main lessons learnt or at the end of a topic/module use e-learning to revise and assess the students learning.

Design a quiz for the learners to complete or you could even ask the students to create quizzes for each other.

Use e-learning as homework – create a video tutorial for the class to watch followed by a quiz or you could get really creative and video your lessons and upload them to your e learning portal. 

By incorporating blended learning in the classroom you can reap the advantages of both classroom teaching and e-learning.

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You can now let prospective learners preview your course with our new 'Course Preview' feature and also create your own 'Sales Landing Pages' and embed them into the course preview window! This feature will help you promote your courses and get learners to experience a preview of what they will be getting when they register for your full course!

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