Overview In this tutorial you will: understand what learning styles are understand the importance of creating a positive e-learning environment. There is also a podcast version of this tutorial – there’s a link to it on the page you just came from.

What is a learning style? Think about the different talents and interests that people have. You will often hear a person described as sporty or good at maths You may know someone you think of as creative A sporty person probably likes doing things and is good at remembering scores and times A person who likes maths can probably figure things out easily in her head Your creative friend will probably like making things and will find it easy to remember how something looks. Each of these people learns and remembers things in different ways. These are learning styles.

Your learning style There are many different ways to describe learning styles. There are two learning styles surveys in the ‘Try it’ section – you can take either survey, or both. Knowing how you prefer to learn and how you remember information is a big step towards becoming a better learner. You can use this knowledge to pick learning strategies that work for you. There are several worksheets in the ‘Try it’ section that will step you through this process.

Your e-learning environment You can also improve your learning by improving your environment. Here are a few tips. E-learning may mean you are listening to podcasts or building your e-portfolio. To do these things it helps to be organised - either have equipment and files at hand or know how to access them. E-learning may mean you spend a lot of time sitting at a computer. This can cause muscular problems, so making sure the computer and desk you work at is properly adjusted can save you from injury. Exercise your eyes. Every now and then look away from your computer screen and focus on something in the distance.

Summary and follow up Summary In this tutorial you have: learned what learning styles are learned the importance of creating a positive e- learning environment. Follow up Close this window then: listen to the interviews on learning strategies try the activities and worksheets in the ‘Try it’ section.