How to Make E-Learning More Effective Through Social Interaction

E-learning has grown to be one of the easiest, most convenient, and budget-friendly modes of learning today. It helps people to learn from some of the best in the world and ensures a smooth knowledge-gaining process.

What is E-learning?

E-learning is the new generation of learning that makes use of electronic technologies and the internet. It is conducted virtually, and students from all over the world get access to similar content simultaneously. It is done through live sessions, pre-recorded videos and professionally crafted study materials. There are no time constraints to access the materials or attend study sessions; thus, it has been proven effective for working professionals. Basically, through E-learning, students can get their degrees or certificates in their fields from the comfort of their homes.

So, how can we make this learning process more social so people can access it more easily?

Making E-learning experience more social

To be powerful and effective, e-learning needs to be more engaging. The old school teaching method, including the whiteboard and marker, wouldn’t be very effective as it might be boring as well. Teachers of e-learning need to have the power to engage all types of students all over the world. Making the content more social and open for feedback and questions can make it interesting. The two-way communication is all that it takes to make learning effective. Here are some techniques and strategies for improving the social side of e-learning:

1. Live question and answer forum:

   Setting up live sessions to clear the doubts of the students can enhance their experiences. Unlike the traditional system, specific lectures often get confusing, and on-spot questions to the professors are not usually available. Thus, it is essential to have such live Q & A sessions where students can directly ask questions and get instant answers. Scheduling live Q&A sessions can help students gain interest in the subject matter and help build good connections with experts who might be helpful later in life.

2. Discussion sessions:

   Discussion sessions can include having a wide variety of discussions on the subject matter with a group of peers and the subject expert. Setting up discussion sessions can help students not only communicate with the experts but also with their peers. The exchange of queries, information and ideas can enhance the learning process to an extent.

3. Review from peers:

   Peer-to-peer discussions and reviews of each other’s work can positively impact learners. The learners’ reviews have a more significant impact than others since their level of understanding is similar.

4. Group projects:

   Assigning group projects can help students interact with each other and foster teamwork. Working together can help build communication and enhance the quality of understanding in students. It helps in sharing ideas and knowledge and working effectively together. Also, group projects in e-learning mode can help give a feel of traditional learning by fostering one-to-one communication with each other.

5. Interactive contents:

   By implementing interactive content like quiz and polls, the students can gain interest in the learnings. The competitive mind for winning can help them learn faster and effectively gain skills.

6. Gamification:

   To make the online sessions interesting, the introduction of elements of games can be helpful. If some rewards are to be achieved after completing a course or chapter, then the intensity of learning will speed up. Elements like leaderboard, earning points and badges, and other similar rewards can positively impact a student’s online learning process. Also, through this, students can build a sense of competition in their minds, which would help in self-betterment.

7. Creating s0cial media channels:

   Creating social media channels would help the students interact with each other on similar topics and socialise on personal levels. These social media channels can feature some of the top performer’s work on their page, whether in assignments or other projects. This will boost the student’s interest and show the effectiveness of that e-learning platform. Once the page is established, admins can publish a project, task, or question for students to collaborate. With a growing number of users, social media has become the ultimate destination for all sectors, benefiting every aspect of life.

8. Establishing breakout rooms:

   Breakout rooms are small groups created within a more significant meeting or event where the participants can collaborate separately and discuss. This is mainly done during live sessions. Thus, having breakout rooms can help participants discuss effectively with their peers or team. This will also enhance social communication among the students.

9. Conduct social events online:

   Apart from academics, conducting social events like guest lectures, workshops, games, etc., can help make the learning process interesting. This will help exchange knowledge, build connections with experts, and overall socialising online.

10. A continuous loop of feedback:

    The continuous feedback process can help the students understand their learning process better. The mistakes made while learning can only be rectified with the knowledge of where they are wrong. Hence, continuous feedback can help make the E-learning process more social and effective.

Summing up

All in all, communication and interaction are key to making the online learning process more social. Online learning can be pretty boring and monotonous sometimes. So, to overcome that, building online communities with students sharing the same interests and socialising can prevent this. By transcending physical barriers and fostering strong networks across the globe, e-learning can genuinely flourish in the 21st century, offering opportunities for collaboration, diversity, and lifelong learning.