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The human element in eLearning
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The Human Element in eLearning

Feelin’ Groovy
Lisa Currin
16 December 2003
eLearn Magazine

Our brains are hard-wired to remember – to learn – things that are connected to intense emotions.

“First there is emotion; after that comes cognition,” explains Frank Thissen, Professor for Multimedia Didactics and Intercultural Communication at the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart, Germany. “You know exactly what you personally did on September 11, 2001, because there is a link to a very intensive emotion.”

Thissen, who is in the midst of a large research project studying the role of emotion in e-learning, says that while negative emotions tend to make us remember data and details clearly, positive emotions help us remember more complex things. For that reason, an e-learning experience that doesn’t engage our emotions is unlikely to hold our interest – or leave us with much long-term learning.

“For teaching to be effective, cognition and emotion must work together,” says Don Norman, Professor of Computer Science and Psychology at Northwestern and co-founder of Nielsen Norman Group. He says four elements must be present for an e-learning experience to be successful:

1. Strong motivation: Structured around a problem the students really care about.
2. Positive encouragement: Efforts are rewarded.
3. The social factor: Teamwork or continual feedback and interaction.
4. Stress: A great focus-booster.

We-Learning: Social Software and E-Learning
Eva Kaplan-Leiseron
15 December 2003
Learning Circuits

Early e-learning traded technology for human interaction. Now, the personal element is being added back in. New social software tools borrowed from business and the younger generations combine tech and touch for the best of all possible world (including virtual ones).

Some social software tools are just around the corner – they’re being used already in the work world and are starting to be adopted for e-learning – they include:

• Instant messaging
• Collaborative workspaces
• Blogs
• Expert management software.

Available in full text at: http://www.learningcircuits.org/2003/dec2003/kaplan.htm