Once again I seem to stumble over our group assignments and the terms being used as the previous term „e-learning Einheit" and now the famous and infamous WBT. Since I am in the business of defining terms, I seem to be the only one confused :(
It must be a problem for me because I am a native English speaker and question English terms that pop-up in German and I simply want to know how others define them. I feel I know what they mean and suddenly I am struck with a new definition.
In American English, web-based training literally means training offered on the web. This can be self-instructed or instructor-led lessons.
Here some links to definitions I found on the web:
But, when I asked the question, what WBT was in German, I got a very clear answer. No, WBT only includes self-study done online. No instructor is involved in WBT.
So, once again English definitions seem to change when they are used in German or I must have gotten my wires crossed.
Thank you for this blog entry Regina. I think it is excellent that you want us to define terms carefully. This is just the sort of critical reflection that helps us all learn something valuable!
ReplyDeleteI did a Google search as well, and wikipedia defines WBT in the broader sense in which you understand it as simply training that occurs via the internet—in whatever form that might take.
I have actually only heard the term WBT in the context of CBT (computer-based training), which was in vogue in the 90s. At that time CBT meant specifically self-paced modules created with an authoring system that learners usually work through individually and without an instructor. I think what many people mean by WBT these days is simply CBT delivered over the internet instead of via CD-ROM.
But I think our definition of web-based training should include more social and real-world forms of learning that are delivered over the internet as well (see my latest blog entry for a real-world example of this from a large international organization).
I assumed that in the current assignment, WBT means „individual learning created with an authoring tool“ because this whole Einheit is about media production.
What I find schade is that we are students of Educational Media, and we are confronted almost exclusively with case studies involving self-paced WBTs. This seems outdated. (And in fact, many of the case studies seem to have been created a number of years ago). Rather, I think we should be spending much more time exploring emergent and inovative uses of media for learning. For example CSCL(computer supported collaborative learning).