http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-app www.dojolearning.com Blog RSS Feed en 2025-09-11T16:55:48 GMT hourly 1 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.64/title.how-online-education-offers-unparalleled-learning-freedom-for-students As the information age rolls on, we are finding more and more universities that are willing to invest in the education of students who may not necessarily be in a position to attend classes at that particular university. The offerings are still somewhat limited but there are opportunities to earn associates, bachelors, and even master’s degrees strictly though online course work. This is something that was virtually unheard of even a few years ago. Today’s students truly do have more options available to them than ever before if they are willing to invest the time and effort into their studies, there are few limits to the level of education you can receive, even if it has been years since you last attended a university or community college. Even those colleges and universities that do not offer full fledged degree programs exclusively through online learning mediums are beginning to offer many courses online for students with busy schedules and lifestyles. This means that you now have the opportunity to combine distance or online learning with a few night or weekend courses in order to complete your degree even if you have a full time day job and family that needs to see you at home on occasion. Even if a degree is not something you are necessarily seeking, you will be amazed at the wide array of courses that are available for those interested in increasing their depth of knowledge on different issues from the comfort of their own homes. I know that the idea of self-directed online learning opportunities appeals to me on many levels. These opportunities however, are not necessarily a good idea for everyone. We all learn in different manners and some of us learn best by actually being in the classroom and hearing what has to be said or from hands on experience. This type of learning is not necessarily possible when it comes to distance learning in an email or bulletin board type of environment, which is how the majority of eLearning operates. Online learning is also not a good idea for those who aren’t perfectly willing, able, and capable of holding themselves responsible for their learning. Lets face it, for some of us it is much easier to get up and go to a classroom than it is to force ourselves to log on and pay attention at home. We all have areas in which our discipline is well in hand and others where we seem to have no discipline whatsoever. If you can’t hold yourself on task or have difficulties not being distracted by the many other novel things there are to do online you might be best served through an actual classroom experience rather than a distance learning environment like those of online classes. This is not meant to discourage you from distance learning or online classrooms. In fact, I think these are by far the best option for many working professionals who are seeking to advance their careers, knowledge, and/or earning potential. You will not need to feel as though you are choosing between the future needs of yourself and your family and the limited time you have with your family already. You can schedule around your family time and make the sacrifice when it comes to sleep if needed. With online classes, it doesn’t matter if you are in your pajamas or in a suit and tie, you can still do the work you need to do online and no one will be the wiser. You also might find that you can squeeze your education into your lunch hour, particularly if you can type and chew at the same time. The truth is that online classes offer superior flexibility to those hoping to further their education. Whether you are hoping to earn a degree or simply wish to broaden your horizons by taking a few online classes, you just might find that the possibilities are limitless once you begin taking these courses from home.       Features http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.61/title.can-online-education-replace-classrooms 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. Features http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.62/title.how-to-hire-a-voice-over-talent 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! Features http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.63/title.good-distance-learning-study-habits 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. Features http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.60/title.defining-your-course-objectives Before creating content stop and plan your course objectives. They will ensure you create a coherent course that is easy for the learner to follow and they will keep you focused during content creation. What is the purpose of the course? Define the end goal – “At the end of the course learners will be able to…” What is the purpose of each module? “At the end of module 1 learners will be able to…” Are your learning objectives measurable? Create quizzes and assessments that when completed show the learner is on track for each modules learning objective. What percentage or level should a learner achieve to have successfully achieved the learning objective and completed the module/course? Are your objectives interesting? You will most likely add your course objectives to your course description – do they sound convincing and interesting enough to entice someone to sign up? Are they meaningful and motivating for the learner? And lastly… Are learners made aware of how each element of the course relates to their achievement of a course objective? Next Steps… Now you can go ahead and create your course. Make sure you look at your course objectives regularly – all your material, assignments, activities and assessments should align with the course objectives. How To http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.59/title.7-top-e-learning-books-you-must-read E-Learning Uncovered: Articulate Storyline by Diane Elkins and Desiree Pinder E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning by Gilly Salmon E-Learning: Strategies for Delivering Knowledge in the Digital Age by Marc Rosenberg Moodle 2.0 E-Learning Course Development (Community Experience Distilled) by William Rice E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumes and Designers of Multimedia Learning by Ruth C. Clark and Richard E. Mayer ELearning: NOW! How To Create Successful Elearning Courses and Teach Online Today by Nicolas Francois E-Learning Skills by Dr Alan Clarke Features http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.58/title.7-helpful-tips-for-using-the-dojo-learning-creator Go through our ‘How to use Dojo Learning’ course when you login. Need some inspiration? Have a look at some of our top courses, such as Brian Mayne’s Goal Mapping for ideas: http://liftinternational.dojolearning.com Browse our blog for checklists, getting started guides and more! Use social media sites to enhance your learning. Follow us and top e-learning influencers on Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Facebook. Gather all your resources (graphics, course objectives, content etc) in 1 folder on your computer before you start. Don’t expect to put your course together in 1 sitting – although many have achieved this remember you are learning how to use a new tool and we recommend going through 1 module of our course a day. Not sure about adding graphics or have some questions? Get on a call with us, we are here to help!     How To http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.57/title.8-super-e-learning-tips #1 – Add a quiz at the end of each module. #2 – Use case studies and examples to explain key points. #3 – Add a variety of media to the course – videos, animated pictures, layered pictures etc. #4 – Add a FAQ question for learners who need extra assistance on the course #5 – Make mindmaps part of the course. Encourage your learners to use mindmaps as they go through your course #6 – Supply an audio version of your course to your learners so they can listen, learn and revise on the go #7 – Create downloadable info sheets summarizing the main points at the end of each module #8 – Check the spelling, grammar, layout etc for mistakes! An easy tip but often overlooked. Ideas http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.55/title.exciting-times-ahead-at-dojo-learning After great feedback we are now offering two additional services alongside our re-branded Dojo Learning Creator™ – Dojo Learning Institute™ and Dojo Learning Trainers™. Dojo Learning Creator™ Our online course creation authoring  tool is perfect for creating your own branded course/portal from scratch or from existing material.   We are also offering an Authoring Service where we do it ALL for you  – We create the course content or use your existing content to create your online training modules for you to use either with your own LMS or ours. Dojo Learning Institute™ The Dojo Learning Institute provides affordable off the shelf e-learning soft skills courses created by our team at just $99 each or a discount for access to the whole soft skills library. Dojo Learning Trainers™ Dojo Learning Trainers are International certified experts hand-picked by us to deliver various online video based training courses from just $297. They cover a range of topics and include LIVE support via our LMS. They are also available for face-to-face training at your workplace through our trainers bureau. News http://www.dojolearning.com/index/siteblog-post-action/id.54/title.e-learning-checklist A quick list of things to check BEFORE you publish your course…If you’ve already published your course DON’T PANIC! Use this checklist to ensure your course is the BEST it can be…   1.Are you keeping your students hooked throughout? Enthusiastic engaged students retain 25-60% more! Have you added 2-3 of the following: Quizzes, Media e.g. photos, charts, graphics… Storyboards, Downloadable worksheets to fill out. Using a variety of teaching method caters for more learning styles. 2.Have you provided scenarios, case studies or examples of how to apply your training? Providing your learners with solid examples of how to use the training at the end of each module/lesson will solidify their learning, increase their confidence and give them the necessary tools to implement the training immediately. 3.Do your learning objectives + content match? If not, change your learning objectives, content or both so your learners know what to expect. Have you included the learning objectives in the course description or at the beginning of every lesson? Don’t overcomplicate this - use simple bullet points. 4.Is the course organized logically and effectively? Are the chapters/modules organized by topics, learning objectives or date? Have you included a table of contents for quick reference? Including a description at the beginning of each chapter/module/lesson as described above will add structure to the course. 5. Does your course have a clear, consistent design throughout? Are you using the same templates, colours, writing font and layout throughout? Have you used colours logically in your course to enhance learning points? e.g. black for the main points/words. Are the main points easy to see? Are the pages cluttered or clear? 6. Have you created an action plan for the learner following the course? Is there a higher level or related course your learner can progress onto? Can the learner continue to contact you after the course? Do you have a workbook or any homework the learners need to complete? *SUPER TIP * 7. Are there any content gaps? Set your course to private using our in built tool and invite a handful of learners to test it before your official release. Ask your test learners: Did they discover any content gaps? Did they stay focused throughout? Were there any chapters in particular where they lost focus? What else could you add to improve your course? Are there any points that needed further explanation? or where an example would be useful? At the end of the course, did they feel they had accomplished the learning objectives? Did you find this checklist helpful? Do you have any further suggestions we can add to this checklist? Let us know! How To Warning: Unknown: write failed: No space left on device (28) in Unknown on line 0 Warning: Unknown: Failed to write session data (files). Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct (/var/lib/php5) in Unknown on line 0