Doing and Connecting

I am firm believer in "hands-on-learning". This may be actually using your hands to put something together (like the light fixture I installed last night), or creating a presentation on Prezi (something I still have not really tackled).  I think the key to making any learning, be it elearning or traditional face to face, relevant is giving multiple opportunities to do the skill and make connections or generalizations to the rest of the world. When I go to training for my job I almost never get the opportunity to try out what I have just learned in the learning environment. Yes, I am presented with new information, policies, procedures and standards, but it is then left to me to "bang it out" at work "on the fly" to see if I have gotten it. Guess what? I haven't gotten it! I think it requires creativity to think of new ways to keep elearning relevant, especially since live dialogues may not be available. But with the opportunity to be asynchronous through a period of time (say a week), then the instructor can present the information, allow the learners to absorb it and then return to do and connect. This is not always possible with face-to-face training because everyone must be in the room at the same time for  a limited period.