Cognitive psychologists have researched how people learn and, in doing so, have developed a wide array of models that provide explanations of how people learn, and have mapped the processes in ways that can be utilized to create effective learning experiences, in both formal and informal settings.

One of the most fundamental ways in which people learn is to create mental file cabinets, which cognitive psychologists call "schema" or "schemata". The approach is not new—you may be familiar with Aristotle's development of categories, and later, the classification system that the botanist Linnaeus developed. Categories and classifications help people file, sort, retrieve, and talk about things and concepts.

Not only do the schema work effectively in keeping items well organized, they can help people learn to make connections across categories, and to compare and contrast the items.

Further, as learners begin to identify, discuss, and evaluate the items, they also practice taking the items in and out of working memory, and thus the approach of classification helps in developing memory skills as well.

According to many psychologists, our culture constructs us and we learn from the environment and from each other. According to the Russian theorist Vygotsky, who developed his theories in the 1920s while working with school children in group settings, knowledge is transmitted (or created) by the culture and the group. This may seem obvious, but the implications are rather dramatic, particularly in the case of e-learning. The group establishes what is knowledge and, by the same token, also determines what is not considered knowledge at all. An excellent example of social learning in the e-learning space is a wiki.

Of course, the major wiki that people are most familiar with is the online collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Think of how many numerous authors contribute to a single Wikipedia piece, and the same who contribute can also delete or challenge an item. The group decides what is knowledge and, perhaps more importantly, what is not. The Wikipedia item is always in flux, and ideas about what a thing is or is not are subject to constant discussions, debates, negotiations, and mediations. The socialization process that occurs in the discussions is also a part of the social learning equation. If you don't post in Wikipedia in the correct manner, you will quickly be informed of the correct rules and approaches.

Vygotsky points out that people who fail to accept the process quickly find themselves outside the group. They may seek their own group of like-minded people. But even in this case, knowledge is constantly in flux and people gain knowledge and learn acceptable behavior from the group.

We learn from each other and our leaders. We watch and we copy what we observe. You may wonder how this is different from social learning, and certainly there are areas of overlap. However, the idea of emulatory learning is much more basic—we see, we imitate; we hear, and we echo.

You may be familiar with the "Bobo Doll" experiments of the early 1960s. In this experiment, Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura asked a teacher to hit a life-sized clown shaped blow-up doll named Bobo. The teacher was filmed as she hit the Bobo doll with a stick.

Later, children around the age of five were required to watch the film of the teacher hitting the Bobo doll with a stick. Then each child was put in a room alone with only a Bobo doll and a stick for company. Researchers observed the children's behavior behind a two-way mirror and they also filmed what transpired. What they found is that the children invariably picked up the stick and then used it to hit the Bobo doll. The interesting point is that the children seemed to enjoy the experience, which is illuminating and disturbing at the same time. The children imitated what they saw, and they did it with relish.

Lesson learned? Be careful about the behavior that you are unconsciously modeling. Someone will learn from you. They will imitate you, which is either a very good thing or potentially harmful. In the e-learning space, it's an invaluable thing to keep in mind as you model positive behavior which will then be imitated.

Making sure that the courses include a good guide and a model to follow is important. Not only will learners imitate the behaviors, they will start to feel comfortable with the processes. In the e-learning world, Bandura's notion of emulatory behavior is a cornerstone to learning in Moodle, which contains a high level of interactivity.

People who share interests and skills like to work together. They share similar interests and have a strong sense of affiliation, which is often based on trust and a firm sense of mutual comprehension and acceptance.

Communities of interest are sheltering, nurturing, and liberating. They allow freedom of expression, which is simply not possible in the world at large. People (and learners) thrive when they can work in a friendly, non-judgmental environment. This is almost axiomatic with e-learners and at-risk populations (which often comprise a large segment of the online learning community).

Communities of interest that arise from shared prior knowledge, commonly held beliefs and cultural values, and shared experiences are often powerful because they motivate learners to stay as a part of the group. They provide a strong sense of affiliation. An e-learning program that builds communities of interest around cohorts can achieve great success.

You've probably heard the term, "learning by doing" many times, but have not really considered how it relates to e-learning. The key is application. Applying the concepts by doing activities is one way to keep the learning experience from becoming passive. In an ideal e-learning environment, application of concepts would occur often, and the big chunks of content are broken down into small chunks, to be followed by exercises and activities. Many effective practices involve collaborative activities that encourage learners to share and build on prior knowledge.

People sometimes wonder if the virtual world has any connection at all to the experiential world—the world of phenomena. It is easy to argue that there is no connection at all between virtual and real, particularly if it's a matter of role-playing in simulations that are not grounded in a corresponding real-life scenario.

However, when serious games, simulations, role-playing, and other virtual world activities have a corresponding counterpart in the real world, then it is possible to have experiential learning. Further, experiential learning that has taken place in the real world and then is reinforced by role-playing, simulations, or serious games, can be highly effective.

Experiential learning in Moodle can take place in a traditional e-learning space and it can also occur in a mobile learning environment. When the course content connects concepts to one's prior learning, or involves actual field work, data collection, and peer interaction via a mobile device, the experience can be quite powerful. For example, a course on environmental management could incorporate the use of mobile devices in conjunction with GPS. The GIS information could be collected, photos taken and tagged according to latitude, longitude, and time/date, and then the details could be shared with group members. The concepts, the practical application, and social reinforcement would happen in a single learning event.

Another possible way to share experiential learning would be to post videos to share, and then to post "response" videos. The "conversation" that ensues crosses disciplines and learning modalities, and it enables students to feel they are working with a live document and a dynamic process, rather than the static experience that characterizes much of traditional learning.

In order for the mind to be receptive for new ideas and to start the learning process, it is necessary to capture the learner's interest. Gagne and other researchers investigated the problem of getting learning started, and they found that unless certain "conditions of learning" were met, it would be very difficult to assure that learning takes place. One of the most important elements was to have an engaging experience. There must be spillover from the affective domain to the cognitive domain. In other words, learners must feel emotionally engaged in order to have ideal learning conditions.

In an e-learning course, there are several ways to create conditions of learning. One can engage the learner by making them feel curious, puzzled, or emotionally connected to the course content. You can relate the content to their lives and to current controversies or contemporary issues. You can use sound, color, design, and animations to keep the course lively (without being too distracting).

One good way to start a course or a unit is to kick it off with an illustrative scene or a case study that resonates with the learner's own experience of life. One might use the strategy of in medias res —jumping in the middle of things, for an emotional appeal. Remember that you're using a sound rhetorical strategy—one that Aristotle referred to as "pathos", and which is one of the most effective strategies for gaining and keeping other's attention.

Operant conditioning has a place in e-learning. We're not really talking about conditioning as basic as Pavlov's dog, but it is important to keep in mind that positive reinforcement works wonders in e-learning.

There are several ways to build in positive responses to desirable behaviors. For example, feedback from the instructor can be timely and always start with a positive note. Students can be guided to provide positive responses in collaborative work. In the case of automated activities, responses can be built and information provided is in a positive way.

As you start to build your course in Moodle, you'll have a number of components to choose from. As in the case of all formal learning programs, it is important to start by identifying course outcomes and learning objectives.

After you have finished learning objectives and course outcomes, you will develop a plan to build your course, which maps the Moodle components (resources and activities) to your learning objectives. How to create effective course outcomes and learning objectives will be dealt with in a future chapter. At this point, we'll simply list the materials you have to work with in Moodle. You will come to appreciate and enjoy the variety and flexibility.