EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION
The Leap into Maritime e-Learning Solutions By Maarit Vähäkangas ( Pedagogical Advisor ) Novia UAS , Technology and Seafaring , Aboa Mare .
The pandemic forced many maritime training centers to start educating online , basically overnight . Polar Code Basic was the first course that Aboa Mare transformed into an online course . Other courses are under development , in cooperation with shipping companies .
Let us take a closer look at some e-learning solutions , focusing on the strategies we found feasible as we started delivering Polar Code Basic training online . We will also look at the advantages and challenges with online courses for course participants and training centers .
E-learning combines pedagogy and technology
Some maritime courses are quite easy to transform into online courses , as other courses require more development before they can be conducted virtually . There are endless possibilities with online courses as the technology evolves and new solutions are introduced .
The same objectives matter in online environment as in an on-site classroom . We must define the outcome , what do we want our course participants to learn by participating in an e-learning course ? What skills should they have at the end of this course ?
Strategies for Polar Code Basic training in the virtual learning environment
For us , it was natural to transform Polar Code Basic to an online course , as ice navigation is one of our core competences . The content and structure of the course had to be re-designed to work well in online environment , as the pedagogical method of presentation changed .
We achieved the best outcome by dividing the Polar Code Basic training content into concise
You can access the online material with all devices . Offline training is also enabled .
segments i . e . modules . A clear module structure , along with proper description of the course outlines and content , helps the course participant to understand the objectives while studying . It is important that the course content is simple to understand at a glance . Our course overview includes information about the duration of the course and an introduction to the different modules . There is also a test after each module to check if the student understood everything in the module , and a final exam at the end of the course .
We believe that a good e-learning course consists of compact information in a nice package , where the amount of text is limited and emphasis is laid on visualizations such as images , graphics and videos that support
“ E-learning training possibilities are endless as the technology evolves ”, Ahti Hyppönen explains .