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E-learning

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File:Webct-screenshot.png
Typical Managed Learning Environment with a navigation menu and icons giving access to automated tools and content pages.

E-learning most often means an approach to facilitate and enhance learning by means of personal computers, CDROMs, and the Internet. This includes email, discussion forums, and collaborative software, e.g. BSCW or CSCW. Advantages are seen in that just-in-time learning is possible, courses can be tailored to specific needs and asynchronous learning is possible. E-learning may also be used to support distance learning through the use of WANs (Wide area networks), and may also be considered to be a form of flexible learning.

Supporting learning online

Often, but not always, e-learning will also attempt to be a student-centred learning solution. Some view e-learning as a means to effective or efficient learning, due to its ease of access and the pace being determined by the learner, but to date little research has reinforced this.

The term e-learning is not very precise, and it should be pointed out that learning is just one element of education. So, the term online education should cover a much broader range of services than the term e-learning. One may also claim that e-learning companies often focus on course content, while online education institutions cover the whole range of educational services.

Not every e-learning resource, usage or provision is necessarily 'exclusively e-learning', sometimes a hybrid 'blended learning' solution is available, either combining distance learning with direct contact 'close at hand' human educational resources, or combining software driven resources with human intervention (whether remote or local, computer mediated [such as through email or chat] or non-computer mediated [such as face to face or telephone] or combining software driven resources with any other educational resource [TV, radio, books, tapes, etc.])Advances in technology have allowed for the growth of collaborative web-based learning opportunities. Asynchronous activities use technologies such as blogs, wikis,and discussion boards, and allow participants to contribute when time allows. Synchronous activities occur with all participants joining in at once, as with a chat session or a virtual classroom or meeting such as those offered by WebEx, Elluminate and Centra.

On the practical side some e-learning is about organizing the topics to be taught and creating multimedia CDROMs or web sites. An important advantage is generally seen in the fact that hyperlinking is possible and having interactive parts illustrating difficult things or for doing exercises. In higher education especially, the increasing tendency is to create a Managed Learning Environment (MLE; also called a Virtual Learning Environment, VLE) in which all aspects of a course are handled through a consistent interface, using specialised software that is standard through an institution so gives students a consistent user interface.

Often a design approach is implemented which involves creating or re-using Learning Objects. These are self contained units properly tagged with keywords, or other metadata, and preferably stored in an XML file format. These are put in a database and creating a course requires putting together a sequence of learning objects.

One important point is to help teachers organize their pedagogical perspective. Some institutes for Higher education are devoted to this mission (training, counselling, funding, development, etc.).

More recent approaches focus on dialogue, interaction and collaborative activities - courses still contain content but it is of secondary importance or is generated by the students. An open source course management system that makes this approach easier is Moodle. This advocates Social-Constructivism as a pedagogical perspective, whereby learners construct their knowledge through discussion, thereby enhancing their thinking skills.

The cost of developing and purchasing e-learning solutions has excluded many smaller or nonprofit organizations from taking advantage of this new approach to workplace performance improvement. Inexpensive e-learning resources make this approach more accessible to these organizations.

Organizing the content

  • For whom do we create e-learning content
  • What do they need to learn
  • How do we organize the content
  • Which tools / platform do we use? For creating? For delivering?

Instructional Design

instructional design

Educational Blogging

With the advent of blogs, several educational experts routinely publish their personal explorations in this burgeoning field.

Creating media

Binding it together

Most often HTML is used to bind together the different e-learning media. Sometimes XML based files are created which are then rendered to HTML/CSS/JavaScript by using an XSLT transformation. However often proprietary technologies are used like Macromedia Director, an authoring tool, which leverages the JavaScript-like language called ActionScript to enable advanced functionality and interactivity.

One standard for representing e-learning content is SCORM whilst others are under draft (UKLOM).

Knowledge avatar paradigm

Knowledge avatars are practical, results-oriented, online virtual experts that incorporate the expertise of masters.

E-Learning Experts

  • Michael Allen: creating engagement
  • Jane Bozarth: inexpensive e-learning; reflective practice in e-learning; author
  • Saul Carliner
  • Ruth Colvin Clark: "science" of online instruction; graphics; author
  • Lance Dublin
  • Brandon Hall:whitepapers, product comparisons
  • Jennifer Hofmann: synchronous training; author
  • William Horton: tools and tips
  • Jane Knight: editor of the e-learning centre uk site
  • Kevin Kruse: e-learningguru; whitepapers, articles, etc
  • Elliot Masie
  • Bob Mosher
  • George Piskurich
  • Marc Rosenberg: "business" of e-learning
  • Patti Shank: education in basics of e-learning and authoring
  • Clive Shepherd
  • Sivasailam Thiagarajan, "Thiagi", games and facilitation strategies
  • Thomas Toth: demystifying technology
  • Emiliano De Laurentiis: learning avatar paradigm
  • Yolanda Gayol. E-learning and international distance education

See also

E-learning standards

  • SCORM Reference Model (Most important standard)
  • IMS Series of XML Standards for e-learning
  • IEEE P1484.12 Learning Objects Metadata Standard
  • O.K.I. The Open Knowledge Initiative; Standards for application/service functional interoperability.

Free software or Open source e-learning platforms

Free software or Open source learning tools for collaborative learning

Commercial e-learning platforms

Commercial e-learning tools

Comparisons of e-learning platforms

E-learning web resources

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