The world of the eleven plus has been embracing the idea of testing children over the internet for some time. The Extra Tuition Centre put an early eleven plus test, with sound and movement, onto web site some seven years ago. The internet, however, has allowed us to develop new tools.
Universal tests and eleven plus papers, produced especially for the internet, may not, however, be all that valuable to some children. What is the point of working through an eleven plus paper on the internet if there is no interaction? Many years ago children worked off CDs with instructions, help and a multitude of questions. Large organisations moved into the market of web based instruction. Some primary child, for example, may be using packages like `My Maths’. Other children will be watching videos. All this is a far cry from the patient and kind one to one tutor who arrives at the house with a basket of papers and sits with the eleven plus child for an hour.
Bill Gates feels that web based learning for adults will become more accepted in the future. An interesting article in Tech Crunch gives a pointer to the education of the future.
We, at the Extra Tuition Centre, have developed our own VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) where children are tested online; these results are used to build an Action Plan. The children then can take part in interactive lessons through the internet. This is innovative and exciting stuff. Some children do not want to sit at home working through papers. Online lessons may help some children achieve their potential because they are using the internet in a meaningful and active manner.
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