New breed of learners

A new breed of learners has developed and will continue to develop in time.  Teachers should, thus make the lessons more interesting.

There are students with short attention span . There are multi-taskers and there are MTV learners who literally channel surf in the classroom.

When lessons become monotonous to this new breed of learners, chances are, learning would not take place.

A good way to hold the attention of students is through E-learning.

This is the main objective of Genyo, an integrated e-learning management program developed by Diwa Learning Systems , one of the main sources of books and educational materials for Filipino students for the past 25 years. Diwa Learning Systems believes that the perfect e-learning environment is where superior learning happens.

Jose Maria Policarpio, Vice President of the Diwa Learning Systems Inc. noted that e-learning should be adopted in today's classrooms to guide the new breed of learners to quality education.

"Technology is changing the way we teach and learn. Students of today have different characteristics and learning styles. E-Learning is one of the most effective means of adapting to the challenges change brings," Mr. Policarpio said.

He added that e-learning is more responsive to the students' different learning styles. There are visual learners who need to see the teachers' body language and facial expression to fully understand the lessons, think of pictures, and learn best from visual aids. There are auditory learners who learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, listening and interpreting speeches; while there are  tactile or kinetic learners who learn through a hands-on approach and actively exploring the physical world.

Mr. Policarpio further said E-Learning is beneficial to the students as they retain 20% of what they see; 30% of what they hear; 50% of what they see and hear; and 80% of what they see, hear and do simultaneously.

He added that the other benefits of e-learning include: increased retention and grasp of subject matter since e-learning combines audio and video elements to reinforce the message; reduced learning time; consistent delivery of content and the problem associated with different instructors teaching different materials on the same subject is resolved; ease of update since digital contents are relatively easier to revise over printed materials; inspired and creative teaching; and more efficient use of instructor time.

Genyo (pronounced jen-yo) is a fully integrated e-learning management program serving schools and its various stakeholders -- teacher, students, schools and parents. It includes a multi-media software that contains Math, Science, English, Filipino and Araling Panlipunan modules, broadband internet connectivity, a cellphone driven homework helper plus broadcast center, an integrated learning portal and teacher training program.  The newest feature is the Genyo Learning management system which will allow the students to access multi-media content online. It also lets teachers administer and record grades online.

Educating students has never been easy and technology can be of great help for teachers to make their students love learning.