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A common question we get asked is, "What makes an effective online course?" There is no secret ingredient, but we’ve pulled together a few tips. No single determining factor determines if a course is good or bad. However, with our experience in online education, we’ve noticed a few things that some of the most successful courses have in common. Today, we have accumulated a few of those tips to create a universal recipe that you can rely on. Here’s the recipe for how you can design an effective online course: Preheat it with a Hook Before you launch into the meat of the course, you want to capture the students’ attention. Students learn best when they are intrigued by the material they are learning, and there’s no better way to bore them than with a mind-numbing list of facts and figures.Students learn best when they are intrigued by the material they are learningClick To Tweet Break the ice with an engaging introduction, whether it is a game, relevant clip from popular TV show, or personal story. The key is to make the course interesting while keeping students interested in the course. Mix it up with Videos Research has shown that visual content helps us remember new information better. This is primarily due to the fact that the human brain is wired to process images better than words. Visual imagery is powerful, and although the effects can be achieved with pictures and infographics, you can take it to the next step with videos. visual content helps us remember new information betterClick To Tweet Take the time to record yourself on video (an audio recording works as well), integrating the video with well-illustrated photos or slides that get the information across quickly. Limit the number of words you use and focus on employing pictures and graphs. If you do this step successfully, watch out because your students will be learning in no time. Bake it with Storytelling Storytelling is an art. It is the simplest way of engaging students, while expanding knowledge at the same time. By building off the potential of imagination, we can transform big ideas into precise facts.Don’t underestimate the educational power of storytelling.Click To Tweet We tell stories to our friends and family every single day, and the same skills apply here: be interactive, be dramatic, and personalize the story to make it your own. Don’t underestimate the educational power of storytelling. Cool it with Quizzes If you want students to remember specific information, don’t force it down their throats. Information is only half of the learning curve; the other half is testing. Although tests and quizzes have a negative connotation, they actually are more effective than you think. Tests inform you of the things you know and don’t know, so you can focus your energy on what needs improvement. Use testing in online courses strategically to focus student energy on what needs improvementClick To Tweet What many instructors choose to do is put a quiz at the beginning and end of every course. That way, the student will understand what to focus on from the very beginning, and won’t waste effort on what they already have knowledge of. Ice it In the radio industry, there is something known as dead air, or radio silence, and it is one of the worst things that could happen. Although this phenomenon often happens unintentionally, dead air occurs just as easily with awkward pauses and excessive um-ing and ah-ing. Students lose patience quickly with empty content, so the best solution to keep them engaged is by ensuring your online course is professional and put together.Avoid radio silence in your online courses to maximize student attentionClick To Tweet Edit out irrelevant material (especially when you go on a tangent), omit any unnecessary pauses, and re-record parts that have mistakes. As a result, you can maintain the natural flow of your content and won’t lose students’ attention. What other course ingredients are you using that are making your courses compelling? Share in the comments! The post 5 Techniques to Create an Effective Online Course appeared first on Thinkific.

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To all the bloggers out there wondering how to transition into online courses, your prayers have finally been answered! Today we’re going to teach you how to build an online course from your blog. Blogging comes easy to you, but an online course may be completely new territory. Maybe you’re unsure of what you want to teach, maybe you’re confused as to what e-learning platform to get started with, or maybe you don’t even know if an online course is right for you. Whatever stage you’re at now, we can help turn your uncertainty into confidence. Here are five tips on how to turn your blog into your online course: Choose a good topic. One of the differences between a blog and an online course is that a course is very specific and outlines the nitty gritty details of a subject. Although a blog can be more general in topic, a course cannot. Its role is to provide a learning opportunity, which means that your blog ideas need to be narrowed down into one teachable subject. We recommend using your audience as a focus group and surveying them to see what they’re interested in learning. Your students will most likely be your existing readers, and so you want to make sure to get their approval first. Chart your course curriculum. Like a blog, an online course needs direction. It needs a beginning and an end, and you need to make sure the path to get there is as painless as possible for the student. Take your time going through your former posts to see what content is transferable to your online course. However, don’t get stuck trying to maximize the recycling of your blog material. One of the biggest blunders you can make is trying to brand a course like your blog, rather than branding it as the most marketable course it can be.An online course needs a beginning and end, and the path to get there should be painless.Click To Tweet Create (visual) content In a blog, you can get away with having plain text on a basic background. However, there are so many multimedia options in an online course builder that a text-based course would feel lifeless and mundane. So, before you import your blog as a fifty-slide text lesson, take advantage of Thinkfic’s content builder. Turn your blog content into a presentation, infographic, or video lesson. Add a quiz to test students on how much they’ve learned, or play with discussion forums to hear students’ opinions. There is so much you can do with online course builders that you shouldn’t be limited to plain text. Deepen, don’t duplicate, content This piece of advice is almost a reiteration of Tip #1, but it is so important that I wanted to make it a tip of its own. The goal of your course should be to take a deep dive into topics touched on at a higher level on your blog, not to simply offer another way to deliver the exact same content. If your course is a duplicate of your blog, you will be losing students faster than you can say "online course." Your blog and course should not be mirror replicas of each other. Rather, make your course a more in-depth experience. Start with a popular post or series from your blog as the framework, then provide a deeper understanding of the material by making the user experience engaging. Your blog should support your online course, and vice versa. Blog about it What better way to market your course than to blog about it? By being an established blogger, you’re one step ahead of many other instructors: you possess a loyal group of followers itching to check out new content. Leverage your established audience, give your readers weekly updates on your progress, and thicken the anticipation by doing pre-sales and offering promotions to your course. That way, when you finally launch, your fans will be ready for it.What better way to market your course than to blog about it?Click To Tweet Itching to get started? We’ve got you covered! Create your online course on Thinkific today, for FREE! You can work on setting up your course, without worrying about dollars. There is no risk in trying, so give it a go and see where it takes you. Win win! What do you bloggers have to say? Have you tried creating online courses before? What worked and what was difficult for you? Share in the comments!   The post How to Turn Your Blog Into an Online Course appeared first on Thinkific.

Intelligence has been a hot topic for scientists for centuries, and in the last 30 years we have learned that there may just be more to being smart then merely testing well. Dr. Howard Gardner, a neuroscience professor at Harvard University, first coined the theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983. His theory defies the wide-believed notion that intelligence can be measured with short-answer standardized tests. Instead, he believed that there could be multiple kinds of intelligence, eight kinds in fact, and everyone had their own distinctive combination of these intelligences. The best way for you to learn may just depend on what kind of smart you are.Click To Tweet Many instructors are looking for ways to make their course content more engaging, and one unique way to do that is to think about these different learning styles. Some believe that accommodating various learning styles will  generate better outcomes (like student engagement!). Today, we will discuss the eight types of intelligences and how you can design a course best suited to help your students succeed. Accommodating various learning styles could generate better learning outcomes.Click To Tweet Spatial These learners like to conceptualize. They are aware of their environments and think in terms of space. They learn best using models, charts, photographs, and videos. Example: Teach the different planets in the solar system by having students manipulate a scaled 3D model online. Bodily-kinesthetic These learners are aware of their body. They are keen on touch, movement, and sensory awareness. They learn best by physically doing, learning hands-on, and role-playing. Example: Teach choreography by having the students practice the steps at home. Musical These learners are sensitive to sounds in their environment, such as rhythm, pitch, or tone. They learn best by using musical instruments, transforming lessons into lyrics, or listening to music while studying. Example: Teach the stages of cell division by asking the student to compose a song about it. Linguistic These learners are sensitive to the semantics, sound, and metre of words. They like to use language to explain complicated meanings. They learn best by reading, writing, storytelling, and abstract reasoning. Example: Teach what caused a specific brand to grow by having students debate on the topic using Thinkific’s integrated Disqus forum. Logical-mathematical These learners have the capacity to recognize patterns among actions or symbols, and use inductive reasoning to conceptualize thought processes. They learn best by formulas, equations, operations, and thought maps. Example: Teach students aspects of international trade by having them create a Venn diagram comparing the imports and exports between the US and Canada. Interpersonal These learners are able to collaborate in a group and communicate ideas with other people. They are often sensitive to the changes in mood, temperaments, and the feelings of other people. They learn best by doing group projects. Example: Teach creativity by inviting students to a Google Hangout and having them peer review each other’s personal work. Intrapersonal These learners are able to work individually and are sensitivity to their own feelings, emotions, and consciousness. They learn best by doing independent study projects. Example: Teach photography by having students keep a journal and reflect on a photo they take everyday. Naturalistic These learners appreciate the natural world and view various phenomena with a sense of wonder. They are able to identify and classify species, plants, flora, fauna, and physical history. They learn best by experiencing things firsthand, making observations, and exposing the senses to nature. Example: Teach math tessellations by showing students natural plant patterning. Build online courses that are best suited to help your students succeed.Click To Tweet How many different learning styles does your course currently support? Thinking about the information you are trying to teach in a different way can lead to a more diverse and engaging learning experience? We’d love to hear if you’re doing anything unique with course delivery - leave a comment below! The post How to Build Content for Different Learning Styles appeared first on Thinkific.

There’s one thing bookworms love about the long, lazy days of summer vacation, it’s summer reading time! Yes, summer for bookworms means beach reads, rainy day novels, reading by flashlight in a tent, and muggy days spent in the quiet cool of a library. It means three glorious months to catch up on all the great classics, new fiction, and bodice-ripping paperbacks you missed out during the year. So we decided to combine our love of books with summer’s favorite treat - ice cream. We’ve come up with a list of 8 literary ice cream flavors we wish were real. Any ice cream-makers out there want to take us up on these fiction-inspired flavor challenges? War & Peach - Summer’s favorite stone fruit mixes with sweet cream ice cream to cool you off faster than a Russian winter. A taste as aristocratic as it is historically and philosophically significant. Clockwork Orange Sherbert - A deliciously dystopian twist on the retro flavor of orange sherbert. A shocking "ultra-violent" orange hue finds redemption in a milky flavor. Best served while enjoying a rousing rendition of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. One Flew Over the Cocoa Nest - You’ll go mad for this flavor, or fake madness at least. A hell-raising, rebellious sugar rush that will inspire you to overthrow the most tyrannical of authority figures. It’s so chocolate-y, it’s against the nurse’s orders. Monkey Crunch Gang - Fight the power with this bananas and peanut butter flavored ice-cream, filled with four kinds of environmentally-friendly nuts and crunchy granola bits. You could live off this flavor for days while camping in the American Southwest and sabotaging construction sites. The Man from Lemon-cha - The ultimate Quixotic flavor - it’s sour yet sweet, creamy yet icy, light yet luxurious. The taste of Spanish lemons will cause you to thirst for adventure, long for the golden age of chivalry, and act slightly insane. Brave New Swirled - Caramel swirl is the Alpha flavor in this highly-controlled dystopian concoction, but there’s a fudge ripple of discontent that that questions the social hierarchy and a little inferiority-complex nuttiness. The more ice cream you eat, the more you refuse to accept your station in life and act out individualistic tendencies. Catcher in the Pie - Vanilla ice cream and apple pie bits - that is the taste of teen rebellion and angst. Slivers of apple pie will have you longing for the simple purity of youth and make you daydream about saving children from losing their innocence. Bland vanilla makes you worry that you’ll become acclimated to the tedium of adult life. Finnegans Cake - The most challenging ice cream flavor you will ever encounter, but consistently named the best in the world. Few attempted it and even fewer have finished it. It’s experimental ice cream base is filled with completely nonsensical chunks of cake. You don’t know where the ice cream starts and the cake begins. Covered in sprinkles for added confusion.

After finishing two years of studies at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Nick left rural civilization to take on the concrete jungle of Toronto to complete his History, English and Education degrees at York University. Apart from his classes, Nick ran an education news press as well as writing and editing magazines at York University. Currently he is the publicist for Toronto’s online theatre publication, ‘The Theatre Reader’. When he’s not busy critiquing theatre pieces or filling a student position in the Dean’s office of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies at York University, you can usually find him swapping paint colors for his condo or picking out new outfits and man purses for his future Pomeranian, Efron. Ready to work with Nick? Get in touch with him on HelpHub or learn more about him below: Twitter: @elliscatania Instagram: @nicolanti Education: York University, Honors Bachelors of Arts and Bachelors of Education Hardest class ever taken: Grade 11 Advanced Functions, hands-down. I run the other way when I see anything remotely having to deal with numbers and strange rules. I despise authority, but Math is the reason I’m not an architect! I’m creative and can add spunk to an interior, but you wouldn’t want me measuring out buildings. How long have you been tutoring/teaching: As of January, I have been tutoring students for five years. I began assisting French students in high school and have recently completed my placement with gifted and AP students in History. I also taught Dramatic Arts back in Thunder Bay for two years while running a non-profit organization at the age of eighteen, but that is another story for another day. What do you like most about tutoring/teaching? This will sound cliché, but I absolutely adore helping people. I really enjoy fostering growth and expanding critical thinking. Tracking the student’s progress is the best part because many will not view this as an accomplishment. You could say I enjoy making a positive difference in peoples lives simply through challenging the way people think…now that’s an educated answer! (See R.S. Peters, 1965, p. 110) What made you decide to major in History and English? Well funny enough, I had no choice. I wanted to focus on Theatre Studies and even applied to various schools for this but was given the ultimatum of choosing something more "practical." I have a strong background in the Performing Arts but also an adoration and skill for Historical Studies. I was terrible at English during high school, but I’ve since sharpened my knowledge and writing technique with proven sessional academic achievement (I’m on the list!). Anything is possible. Favorite school memory? Coming to York University. Lakehead University was a great establishment but I was isolated to the bush. My high school and elementary experiences were also anything but pleasant. Both the university and Toronto are highly accepting spaces to live in and explore with expanded opportunities and personal independence. This gave me the needed power I deserved and I have since used it to my advantage. I really enjoy fostering growth and expanding critical thinking. Tracking the student’s progress is the best part because many will not view this as an accomplishment. Favorite subject in school? Even though we may not have the greatest history despite what people think, I really enjoy all of my Canadian History courses simply because it is something I can connect with. It’s always good to learn about the land you live on, but the social history is my favorite. People are always arguing, thus making political history too dry. I like flavor in my History! Favorite late night snack? Water. I used to weigh close to 220lbs about four years ago. I struggled with weight related issues my entire life. Never eat three hours before bed because your stomach won’t digest properly! However, if you were to catch me lingering through the cupboard after dark, I would probably be heading for the artisan crackers and sun-dried tomatoes…I love tomatoes, it must be the European heritage. Favorite book? If I could pass on one piece of literature, it would have to be Danzy Senna’s, Caucasia. The story takes place during the 1970s in Boston, MA. I could say more but the racial/gender/sexual critiques that this book takes on, are astounding given the time and setting it’s placed within. You’ll fall in love with Birdie, that’s all I will say! Worst part-time job you’ve ever had: I used to work outdoors in maintenance for the past five summers. It paid really great, but the work environment was far too machismo. I’d rather exercise my brain than my muscles - I can do that at the gym. I’m constantly thinking and I’m far too pretty to make a career out of physical labor. Favorite thing about your summer so far? I recently moved into a downtown condo back in May. I made a major life decision and have found it to be completely worth the risk, especially considering I am not one to be spontaneous. I also make friends with the concierges…we have a great relationship. They only buzz the door open for me! Favorite way to study? This is going to sound like horrible advice, but I watch movies. My learning skills are largely shaped towards the visual. If I see it, I can conceptualize it better and devise a more precise judgement rather than simply reading from a page. I specifically do this with Shakespeare plays and historical pieces to better "get in that time." I remember watching Mankiewicz’s 1963, Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton for my Roman History class. I’m not a classics person at all, so this got me in the mood. Plus, who doesn’t love Elizabeth Taylor? Subject/trade to learn separate from your major? Math! I wish my mind could think mathematically, or rather, I wish I could commit to taking on serious Math skills. I have no interest in Science opposed to Human Anatomy, but I would love to be drafting and designing skyscrapers, houses and buildings. Oh well, maybe in another life. I’ll just take up gardening for the time being. Study anywhere in the world for free? I would go straight to Italy, not just one city but right up the peninsula. Everything from the art, history and culture just pulls me in that direction. Plus, I have roots in the Mediterranean, not to mention my last name is a city in Sicily…by all means though, stay clear of that area-it’s rough! If given the means, I would take on Fashion studies. Such a sweeping change, but I love Italian designers and the power of dress. Everyone from Valentino to Donatella Versace; they’re so elegant and posh, I’m enraged with envy. Best advice give by a teacher or mentor? When I was attending Lakehead University, my favourite professor Dr. Rhonda Dubec always used to remind our class that: "the only thing you have to do in life is die." Life is short, but it’s also what you make of it. Don’t waste your time. See the world, share experiences and create positive change. The world is yours if you commit and apply yourself. Just watch me, I’m going to marry into the Royal Family some day! To connect with Nick, sign up for HelpHub and start chatting with him and thousands of other tutors now!

If you’re a book lover, beachcomber and travel extraordinaire, then you’ll want to add each of these little literary spots to your list. In the last few years, there’s been a growing trend of libraries right on the sand, offering reading material to all manner of sun worshippers. We’ve rounded up some of the best spots around the world to browse and borrow a beach read or two! 1. Coogee Beach Library in Sydney, Australia Head south for the winter and dive into some great novels on the shores of Coogee Beach. This seaside library stand, Sydney’s very first, offers over 1,000 books and magazines for your reading pleasure - all for free! No membership is required and there’s plenty to choose from for readers of all ages. 2. Romaniquette Beach in Istres, France If you should ever wander to the south of France, make a stop at Romaniquette Beach to visit this mobile beach library. Design buffs and book lovers alike will marvel at this mod literary haven by industrial designer Matali Crasset. It’s not just shelves and sand, it’s got seats in the shade too! 3. Albena Beach Library in Bulgaria Head to the sandy perimeter of the Black Sea and you’ll find a one of the most well-stocked beach libraries in existence. 2,500 books in 10 different languages line the water-resistant and sun-resistant shelves designed by German architect (and library project manager) Herman Kompernas. 4. Metzizim Beach Library in Tel Aviv, Israel This beachfront book-mobile, launched by the Tel Aviv Municipality, offer hours of literary entertainment to sunbathers. Over 500 books in a variety of languages are available to borrowers for free - just remember to return them when you’re done! 5. "Read on the Beach" Cabins in the Seine-Maritime, France It’s the 10th anniversary of the Seine-Maritime Department’s Read on the Beach Cabins, and that means it’s the perfect time to go browsing and beachcombing through the northern shores of France. Twelve colorful little mini-libraries dot the beaches of the Haute-Normandie region, from Le Havre to Treport. The program boasts a collection of 12,000 books, with each of the twelve locations housing about a thousand books each. 6. All over the world If you look hard enough, you can find Little Free Libraries everywhere you go, and you just might find one in the beach town you’re frequenting this summer. Little Free Libraries is a nonprofit organization that builds free book exchange boxes around the world. There are an estimated 25,000 Little Free Libraries installed around the U.S and internationally. They’re cheery little literary outposts - almost all of them are colorfully painted, creatively handmade wooden boxes that house a small collection of books. You’re free to leave a book or take a book, and if you can’t find one in your neighborhood, you can even build your own!

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Our Learning Hero this week is Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz.com! Here’s why… Every day, thousands of people worldwide embark upon the rocky road of web marketing only to discover that it’s not the straight-forward journey they’d hoped it would be. Just as the wheels are falling off of their wagon, a plume of dust appears on the horizon and, like Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia, along comes Rand Fishkin on a metaphorical (yet no less trusty) steed! Why is Rand our hero of choice this week? Well, any teacher can help you understand a static topic like, for example, maths - it might be complicated and difficult, but it has rules and they don’t change (not normally anyway, but we’re not getting into that here!). However, it takes a real legend to teach a topic as fluid as SEO. Search Engine Optimisation is probably most famous for being dead. Every three or four months, an article will appear announcing the sad departure of the most popular web marketing strategy since people started strategically marketing on the web. But as soon as it ‘dies’, it is reborn again as something similar to what it was… but completely different. With Moz, Rand Fishkin has set out to guide people through one of the most dynamic landscapes you can imagine. With every new update to Google’s algorithm, the rules of SEO change, and sometimes quite dramatically, forcing practitioners to rethink their entire strategy. For the casual blogger, this can be quite frustrating but for web marketers who rely on search engine rankings to put bread on their table, it can be downright panic-inducing. When this anxious breed pays a visit to Moz, they are reassured that yes, SEO is a tricky beast to handle, but all is not lost, and there’s always something to be done to set your wheels in motion once more. Whiteboard Friday Every Friday, Rand takes us through a specific area of SEO with the help of his trusty whiteboard. Here, we see a guy who loves what he’s doing, is enthusiastic about the topic and he really REALLY wants to help you understand it better. Check out this example, but try not to be distracted by the AMAZING moustache! One of the things we love most about Moz is their core beliefs which, as far as we’re concerned, sum up everything that good learning should be. The TAGFEE Code states Moz’s dedication to a service that is as ‘Transparent, Authentic, Generous, Fun, Empathetic, and Exceptional as possible’. This shines throughout every element of the Moz website. As a small example, whenever a user is downloading a spreadsheet from Moz’s Open Site Explorer, and it’s taking a little longer than usual, the user gets an awkward apology from ‘Roger the Robot’ and, as compensation, an animated gif of a puppy reacting to its reflection in a mirror. The site is such a joy to navigate that you can visit with the intention of finding the answer to a specific question, and easily spend another couple of hours learning about things you never thought you’d discover. In almost every case, the articles in question will be based around the super-nerdy minutiae of web marketing, but every effort is made to keep them as engaging as possible. So, if you have an SEO-related problem, and no one else can help, and if you can find him, maybe you should hire Rand Fishkin! Like Moz, we’re all about creating a fantastic experience for our users - in our case, we treat learners to a veritable feast of badges, points, prizes, leaderboards and a healthy dose of competition. Find out more about what we do to delight and excite our learners by hopping on board the Academy LMS tour! Pop your email address in the box below to subscribe to our weekly digest and find out when we post similar articles!  

You lucky things! You get to read a snippet of our currently-in-construction white paper on Interactive Classrooms! "…Different learners need different kinds of stimulation in order to retain what they’ve learnt. We noticed it during the workshops of our Sales Superstars Programme: some learners were better at their online assessments than the workshop presentations; some were quiet in the workshops; some were outspoken; others bided their time until they could wax lyrical about their favourite topic. Using technology in classrooms and workshops - i.e. creating an interactive classroom - makes the learning content accessible and enjoyable for all kinds of learners. We’ve put together some ‘learner types’ and how technology can engage them in their classroom learning: Zombie Learners Well, actually, Zombies aren’t really a ‘type’ of learner at all - they represent the disengaged, demotivated learner. No one is truly a Zombie learner naturally; they become one through poor training, boring learning techniques and a lack of stimulation. All kinds of learners can be Zombies when the training fails. But technology is what can cure the Zombie virus and turn students into Active learners (more on them later!). Watchers Learners in this group learn best when they observe. They watch other people and can copy or imitate them. In practice, this could be watching their mechanic change a tyre and then replicating it the next time they get a flat. In a classroom setting, these learners are very visual - they’ll learn better watching a video or a presentation than discussing a theory with their fellow learners. Doers The Doers are active - they’re not comfortable sitting by passively and watching their trainer, and they find videos distance themselves too much from the learning content. These guys and girls wouldn’t wait until they had a flat tyre to try out what they learnt - they’d get their mechanic to teach them how to do it then and there. Thinkers Ah, the thinkers. Similar to Watchers, they are happy to sit back and observe - but they also consider it vitally important to have ‘thinking time’. Rather than watching a video and then going straight into the next topic, Thinkers will learn more when they are given the opportunity to take a step back and mull over what they’ve learnt. Listeners While Watchers learn by - duh! - watching, Listeners find they learn best by letting sounds wash over them. They probably have high attention to detail, a great memory and are able to multitask. Solo Artists Some of us are naturally more social than others, so it stands to reason that this preference will be seen in their learning, too. Solo Artists don’t need to bounce ideas off fellow learners or discuss the topic in groups to cement their understanding. Instead, they’ll go off on a learning journey on their own, picking up new information and a deeper understanding on their solo voyage. Talkers Just as some people prefer learning on their own, others thrive on interaction with other learners. They understand things best when they can talk about them, bounce ideas around, state their case and talk about any issues they’ve having trying to grasp the learning content. Active Learners When learners are engaged, enthralled, motivated, captivated and happy, they’ll break out of the Zombie mould and become Active learners. Taking an active role in learning means to strive for a deeper level of understanding, to seek out new life and new civilizations—sorry, that’s Star Trek—to seek out new topics of interest and to help others on their own learning journeys. All types of learners can be Active - Active Watchers, Active Talkers, Active Listeners. It’s all to do with the motivation behind the learning: the aim of Active learners is to improve their knowledge and change their behaviours. It’s exactly what we’re aiming for. It’s the epitome. It’s perfection. And it’s wholly attainable when we bring technology into the classroom. We’re nearly finished with the white paper, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here’s one we made earlier to keep you satisfied: Interested in finding out more? Subscribe to our weekly digest and get an update when we post the whole white paper!  

They say that curiosity killed the cat - but we don’t think it’s true. Sure, maybe it put the cat in some tricky situations; tightrope walking along a washing line, espionage in next door’s garden, breaking and entering into the larder… But little did you know, the cat is actually alive and well. And it’s having the time of its life! Like the cat, we should embrace our natural curiosity and start exploring and questioning everything. When we do this, we grow - we learn new things, develop new habits, discover new talents and arm ourselves with a whole host of facts and figures that help wow those we meet and lead our lives in new, exciting directions. Here are three reasons why questioning everything is a good tactic for life: 1. You get more answers You know the saying, ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t get’? Well, it’s true! If we sit there nodding, it’s like we are accepting everything we see and hear. But once we start questioning it, we can get the answers that we really need. Imagine you’re taking an eLearning module and you notice something you’re not quite sure is correct. If you ignore it and sweep it under the rug, thinking: "Oh well, it’s probably right…" you’ll never find out if it’s really true or not. But if you approach your eLearning with an open, questioning mind, you’ll be motivated to dig deeper to uncover the truth. Maybe it’s a typo? Perhaps it’s an outdated theory? Or maybe you need to go back a few chapters and take another look - don’t discount the fact that you might be wrong about it. When it comes to learning, if we don’t adopt a questioning mindset we will only ever know what our tutors are able and willing to teach us. Formal training - classroom-based learning, eLearning units and so on - has to stick to a strict syllabus. Tutors and eLearning designers are required to teach specific learning content. So unless you make the effort to push yourself on your learning journey by asking questions, you’ll never progress further than said syllabus. And who knows what you’ll be missing? 2. You will influence your own learning journey Whether you’re part of a training programme at work, trying to learn something new on your own or just curious about life in general, even little questions help us to grow and propel us forward on our learning journeys. It’s great to ask the ‘big’ questions - What is life? Why are we here? How many eLearning designers does it take to screw in a lightbulb? - but the little questions can make a big difference in the long run. How does this theory apply to me? Why is that the case? Who says it’s so? Every little bit of knowledge you gain from questioning will add up; each new fact, burgeoning skill and seed of knowledge planted will grow into something wonderful - so long as you nurture it. 3.  You’ll uncover new experiences If the cat was never curious, it would never get to experience the thrill of sneaking into the neighbour’s shed, the excitement of baiting the dog just to see what would happen or the joy of discovering that yes, garlic bread actually tastes very very nice yum yum. Similarly, if you’re willing to question everything, look at things around you more closely and approach situations with an open mind, you’ll find yourself experiencing new things. Questioning lets you take a step back from your behaviours and beliefs and reassess your priorities. You might find yourself enthralled by a topic once you start questioning it - and who knows where that learning journey might lead you? If you never question the world around you, you begin accepting everything at face value and that’s where we really come a cropper. Don’t believe everything you read, hear or see - no one is infallible, including your teacher. Of course, we’re not saying you should be the annoying student who never shuts up, is always talking back to his teacher and disrupting the lesson. ‘Questioning’ doesn’t have to be out loud, and you don’t need to question a person - asking Google and going off into the big wide questioning world on your own is just as effective! So next time you see the neighbour’s cat climbing up your drainpipe, don’t worry: it’s a good thing. That cat is happy. It’s flexing its questioning muscle, investigating the world around it and seeing what else the universe has to offer. It wasn’t curiosity that killed the cat: it was boredom. Questioning is just one way that we can further our knowledge. For other ways, check out our white paper on the power of social learning: Like this article? Pop your email address in the box below to get a weekly digest of related blog posts.