Английский для магистрантов. Практикум

member that the best way to sound credible is to focus on the audience, and its concerns, rather than your concerns, or the concerns of your government. There are a good many other tactics you can apply to difficult groups or difficult people. Our half-day seminar on the subject is available to help.

6. Training & Development/Learning

E-learning, Distance Education, Not Equivalent to Full Time Study

Even though almost everybody can understand that:

–a conversation on the phone is not the same as a conversation face to face;

–watching a sport on television is not the same as being there in person;

–watching people have sex is not the same as actually having it.

Many people believe that e-learning is the same as learning in a live group, and distance education or online learning is the same as full time study.

It’s pretty weird. When I suggest that online learning is DIFFERENT from classroom learning, I’m always challenged even if I make absolutely NO allusion to whether one is better or worse.

It is always the attendees and graduates of the online or distance programs that get defensive and deny what even basic common sense says. They are different.

But Are They Different Enough To Matter?

No doubt those with degrees from online programs would say no, but they don’t even grasp different does not mean better/worse.

But they are different enough to affect learning. That’s not to say that one person will better learn facts from one program or another. It is however, reasonable to assume that if the process and experience of learning is different, then the learning has qualitative differences.

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As Marshall McLuhan suggested, the medium affects the message.

Using an analogy, if the only contact you’ve had with hockey is by watching on TV, your understanding of the game WILL be different than someone who has seen many games live in person and on television. What you learn about hockey is different. Television does not provide the same learning experience, even if the same game is watched.

Let me give you one example that exemplifies how the process of learning affects the learning, by using language learning.

An immersive environment is one where the learner is «immersed» in the language/learning environment. If it’s French immersion, that’s what is spoken all the time. It’s a powerful way of learning a language quickly and to help people become close to natural speakers in the second language. If you compare someone who learned a language in an immersive environment with someone who took courses once or twice a week, even if you equalize for total time spent, the results are completely different. One speaks like a natural speaker, and the other doesn’t.

The WAY one learns affects the learning and sometimes in ways that are hard to measure.

The same is true of education. Different media do not result in the same results. For example, in a full time study program it’s possible to be literally immersed in a field of study, and in fact, that is often what happens at good graduate schools. You go to classes, you set up study groups, you discuss the field over beer, you socialize with the professors, and on and on, provided it’s a small high quality program.

You will never get this type of immersion in distance, part time, or online study. As a result your learning is different. In fact, it will probably be inferior but you may not notice, because it’s likely you are taking online courses as a means to advance your career. You aren’t as interested in learning for learning’s sake.

The additional good news is that at the undergraduate level, it probably doesn’t make a substantial difference whether you take things

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online, via e-learning, or in classes, simply because the quality of undergraduate education generally tends to be somewhat low in many fields — in fact in the fields where it’s likely you can take online version. The demands of the profession you strive for are probably lower than, let’s say a surgeon, lawyer, engineer (where online courses may be hard to find).

Where the difference lies is in higher education — graduate level work, where face to face programs can involve personal mentoring, strong interpersonal relationships between student and professors, and less of an emphasis on getting a job. There the experiences are hugely different.

Again, if your desire is to complete a program for career advancement, you’ll probably want the easiest path and that won’t be in a demanding, 24hr. a day immersion type graduate program.

Conclusion:

I can understand that people will disagree with what is «better», and I suppose we’ll never resolve that question without proper data, but the one thing that I do not believe a rational person can deny is that:

Different process of experience and learning will yield different learning results.

If you don’t believe me, GO to a hockey game live — even a minor league game if you’ve never been, and tell me that you understood how fast and violent the game was just by watching on TV. Maybe

I’ll buy you a beer.

PS. Now the next question is whether employers trust alternative degrees as much as they do traditional ones. Stay tuned. Or comment. Always comment.

Learning File — Going To Training? Some Hints

People attend training for a lot of reasons. The obvious one is to learn some new skills to use on the job or to further one's career. There are other reasons too. Sometimes training sessions provide an opportunity to visit with people you don't ordinarily see and find out

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what's going on elsewhere. Or, sometimes, it's just a pleasant (hopefully) break from the usual routine.

If you are attending training, whether it's for learning new software, or to learn to cope with stress, what you learn from it is going to depend on what you put in, and how you plan the process. In this article we'll provide some hints so you can maximize your learning and make use of what you have learned on your job (or perhaps the next one).

SELECTING TRAINING

There's lots of training out there, some of it great, some average, and some poor. Since tastes differ, it's hard to help you choose what will work for YOU. However, if you have a choice of choosing the training you will attend, compare the topics to be covered to your own needs (see next section). Don't make your decision based on the length of a course. Often the shorter ones will only give you an overview and not help you use new learning on the job. Ask around to see if others have attended the course, and solicit their opinions, but remember that tastes differ. If the course you are interested in is offered internationally by a large company, you can ask on the Internet.

WHY ARE YOU GOING?

It's always good to be clear about why you are going to a training session. If someone has requested that you attend (let's say your boss), make sure you understand your boss's expectations before you go. Ask: «How do you expect me to use what I have learned?» If you are going because you have a training need, ask yourself what you want to learn, and how you might apply it to your job (or career development). The clearer you are about why you are going and what you want to get out of it, the more likely you will get what you are hoping for. Knowing this will allow you to be more of an active learner.

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INVOLVE YOUR BOSS

Most organizations require that you get approval to attend training sessions, since there is a cost involved and you will be away from your desk for the length of the session. When you approach the boss, there's several things to discuss. Again, why are you going? Second, how it will be useful. And third, what you need from the boss to make use of the training. For example, if you are taking a course on a new software package, let's say the Acme Word Publisher, you aren't going to get much use from it unless it's already set up on your work system and easily accessible IMMEDIATELY upon you return to work. If something is «missing» on the work end that will mean you can't use what you've learned IMMEDIATELY, then consider delaying the training.

It's always a good idea to schedule a «debriefing» with the boss after the training, to explain what went on, your opinions of it and how you intend to use it. The best reason for doing this is that it reinforces your own learning, and serves as a reminder.

WHILE YOU ARE THERE

Trainers can't read minds (although the really good ones seem to). While you shouldn't be pressured to participate actively if that's not your style, it really helps everyone if you ask questions when things aren't clear, and express your opinions and experiences. Remember that you and your fellow training participants can learn as much or more from each other than the trainer (and sometimes know more than the trainer!). In the event that things aren't to your liking, approach the trainer privately and break time. If you don't get some positive response, then you can always choose to leave (provided that's OK with the boss). If you do get into such a situation, communicate your reasons to the boss. Still, try to be flexible. Sometimes some kinds of training can be personally uncomfortable due to the subject matter, but that may pass if you hang in there.

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AFTER THE SESSION

Here's a few hints so that whatever you learned doesn't get lost.

–Consider doing a presentation to your colleagues on what you learned (that's a great review process that helps you remember).

–Try to begin using what you have learned the FIRST DAY back on the job.

–Remember you have both the course material and your notes to use. Periodically go through them (you'd be amazed how many people chuck this material in a drawer, never to be viewed again.

There you have it. If you follow these basic hints, you'll probably get more out of the training session. That helps everyone, and justifies the company's investments (both present and future) in training programs.

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Источники информации

1.Business World online edition.

2.MakeUseOf [Электронный ресурс]. — URL: www.makeuseof. com

3.The Economist online.

4.The Economist printed edition.

5.Work911.com Business, Management and Personal Development Resource Center : Bacal & Associates Online Home.

6.World Science [Электронный ресурс]. — URL: www.worldscience.net

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