Fragments

Green Learning?

June 13th, 2008 | by Marjan Bradesko |

I recently sat and discussed the upcoming course development project. One of the stakeholders asked me: »Does your company have ISO 9000?«
»Yes, we do.«
»And 14000?« He was testing my familiarity with standards (ISO 14000 specifies environmental management).
I confidently replied: »No. But we are working on 27000.« (security)
He was looking at me inquiringly…
»Do you want green course development,« I asked. We both laughed.
But, really, today when everything is green – from green data centers to green energy, do we have green learning? Actually, everything you learn without travelling and freezing under state-of-the-art air conditioning in the classroom could be considered »green«. Just to tell you that I returned with a cold from my last two alpha courses. They were not green, despite their early stage of production – we spent too much energy for travel, air-conditioning, and student kits.
So, e-learning is green, at least greener. You sit, listen and watch in the comfort of your home. No burnt fuel and no fallen trees (no printed student materials). And you have control. You take exactly what you need. There are quick learning modules and e-lessons. The content you were looking for but have not found anywhere is now available. Maybe you want something about Network Time Protocol (NTP)? Find a piece here, another there, and another reference somewhere else. You can find the information you need, possibly scattered across standard courses. The information you need is here in one package, just long enough that you keep your attention. The learning experience is coupled with a remote lab so that you can try it. We are sure that short focused content is what can make e-learning successful.