The intricate construction of online educational systems lies within three principal
activities: Design, Implementation and proper Post-implementation Assessment. There is not
enough knowledge or experience in those aspects. Efficient execution of these three major
activities necessitates the use of design and educational models to achieve the cost and time
efficiency, as well as high academic quality. Utilization of online educational systems would
benefit from a structured approach to design, implementation, and student’s assessment. We
propose a general formulation of model as well as a framework for finding such patterns, so
that it can improve the online educational systems for both teachers and students – allowing
for more accurate assessment and more effective evaluation of the learning process.
1. Introduction
We live in the era of Information Technology. We have to learn where we are? And
equip us suitable to the changing scenarios. There is no end for the learning particularly to the
academicians. ‘Learning that is supported by information and communication technologies
(ICT) is the new technology. Every academician must be aware of this. E-learning is, not
limited to ‘digital literacy’ (the acquisition of IT competence) but may encompass multiple
formats and hybrid methodologies, in particular, the use of software, Internet, CD-ROM,
online learning or any other electronic or interactive media.’
E-Learning is defined as all forms of electronic supported learning and teaching,
which are procedural in character and aim to effect the construction of knowledge with
reference to individual experience, practice and knowledge of the learner. Information and
communication systems, whether networked or not, serve as specific media to implement the
learning process.
E-learning is essentially the computer and network enabled transfer of skills and
knowledge. E-learning refers to using electronic applications and processes to learn. E-learning
applications and processes include Web-based learning, computer-based learning,
virtual classrooms and digital collaboration. Content is delivered via the Internet,
intranet/extranet, audio or video tape, satellite TV, and CD-ROM. It is used by the
educational Institutions to enhance and support the class room teaching and offering courses
to a larger population of learners across the Globe. It can be self-paced or instructor led and
includes media in the form of text, image, animation, streaming video and audio.
E-learning has created new markets for teaching and learning material and
equipment, attracting the attention of academic institutions as well as companies supplying
them in different sectors – computer manufacturers, software producers, publishing houses
and special training providers. It has also led to the reorientation of government policy, in
particular, towards encouraging the spread of e-learning techniques and developing the skills
and know-how required for their use. Therefore, e-learning was assigned a key role in the
pursuit of the policy objective, announced at the Lisbon Summit in March 2000, of making
the ‘the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-driven economy in the world’. The elearning
initiative was launched by the European Commission to encourage its spread. This
was followed by its incorporation into the European employment strategy in the form of a
specific objective of ‘developing e-learning for all citizens’. To achieve this, States
committed themselves to ensuring that ‘all education and training institutions have access to
the Internet and multimedia resources by the end of 2001 and that all the teachers and trainers
concerned are skilled in the use of these technologies by the end of 2002 in order to provide
all pupils with a broad digital literacy’. Despite its central importance in government policy
and significant interest in the scale of the actual and potential market, there is an acute
shortage of quantitative information on the extent of e learning in providing initial and
continuing vocational education and training and on the rate at which it is growing.
There is also an increased use of virtual classrooms (online presentations delivered
live) as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers. In
addition to virtual classroom environments, social networks have become an important part of
E-learning. Social networks have been used to foster online learning communities around
subjects as diverse as test preparation and language education. Mobile Assisted Language
Learning (MALL) is a term used to describe using handheld computers or cell phones to
assist in language learning.
2. Approaches to E-Learning Services
E-learning services have evolved since computers were first used in education. There
is a trend to move towards blended learning services, where computer-based activities are
integrated with practical or classroom-based situations.
Bates and Poole (2003) and the OECD (2005) suggest that different types or forms
of e-learning can be considered as a continuum, from no e-learning, i.e. no use of computers
and/or the Internet for teaching and learning, through classroom aids, such as making
classroom lecture Power point slides available to students through a course web site or
learning management system, to laptop programs, where students are required to bring
laptops to class and use them as part of a face-to-face class, to hybrid learning, where
classroom time is reduced but not eliminated, with more time devoted to online learning,
through to fully online learning, which is a form of distance education. This classification is
somewhat similar to that of the Sloan Commission reports on the status of e-learning, which
refer to web enhanced, web supplemented and web dependent to reflect increasing intensity of technology use. In the Bates and Poole continuum, 'blended learning' can cover classroom
aids, laptops and hybrid learning, while 'distributed learning' can incorporate either hybrid or
fully online learning.
It can be seen then that e-learning can describe a wide range of applications, and it is
often by no means clear even in peer reviewed research publications which form of elearning.
However, Bates and Poole argue that when instructors say they are using e-learning,
this most often refers to the use of technology as classroom aids, although over time, there has
been a gradual increase in fully online learning.
2.1 Computer-based Learning
Computer-based learning, sometimes abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of
computers as a key component of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use
of computers in a classroom, the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in
which computers are used for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being
distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of
the experience (e.g. computer games and web browsing).
2.2 Computer-Based Training
Computer-Based Trainings (CBTs) are self-paced learning activities accessible via a
computer or handheld device. CBTs typically present content in a linear fashion, much like
reading an online book or manual. For this reason they are often used to teach static
processes, such as using software or completing mathematical equations. The term Computer-
Based Training is often used interchangeably with Web-based training (WBT) with the
primary difference being the delivery method. Where CBTs are typically delivered via CDROM,
WBTs are delivered via the Internet using a web browser. Assessing learning in a CBT
usually comes in the form of multiple-choice questions, or other assessments that can be
easily scored by a computer such as drag-and-drop, radial button, simulation or other
interactive means. Assessments are easily scored and recorded via online software, providing
immediate end-user feedback and completion status. Users are often able to print completion
records in the form of certificates.
CBTs provide learning stimulus beyond traditional learning methodology from
textbook, manual, or classroom-based instruction. For example, CBTs offer user-friendly
solutions for satisfying continuing education requirements. Instead of limiting students to
attending courses or reading printing manuals, students are able to acquire knowledge and
skills through methods that are much more conducive to individual learning preferences. For
example, CBTs offer visual learning benefits through animation or video, not typically
offered by any other means.
CBTs can be a good alternative to printed learning materials since rich media,
including videos or animations, can easily be embedded to enhance the learning. Another
advantage to CBTs are that they can be easily distributed to a wide audience at a relatively
low cost once the initial development is completed.
However, CBTs pose some learning challenges as well. Typically the creation of
effective CBTs requires enormous resources. The software for developing CBTs (such as
Flash or Adobe Director) is often more complex than a subject matter expert or teacher is able to use. In addition, the lack of human interaction can limit both the type of content that can be
presented as well as the type of assessment that can be performed. Many learning
organizations are beginning to use smaller CBT/WBT activities as part of a broader online
learning program which may include online discussion or other interactive elements.
2.3 Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL)
Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is one of the most promising
innovations to improve teaching and learning with the help of modern information and
communication technology. Most recent developments in CSCL have been called E-Learning
2.0, but the concept of collaborative or group learning whereby instructional methods are
designed to encourage or require students to work together on learning tasks has existed much
longer. It is widely agreed to distinguish collaborative learning from the traditional 'direct
transfer' model in which the instructor is assumed to be the distributor of knowledge and
skills, which is often given the neologism E-Learning 1.0, even though this direct transfer
method most accurately reflects Computer-Based Learning systems (CBL).
In Datacloud: Toward a New Theory of Online Work, Johndan Johnson-Eilola
describes a specific computer-supported collaboration space: The Smart Board. According to
Johnson-Eilola, a “Smart Board system provides a 72-inch, rear projection, touchscreen,
intelligent whiteboard surface for work”. In Datacloud, Johnson-Eilola asserts that “are
attempting to understand how users move within information spaces, how users can exist
within information spaces rather than merely gaze at them, and how information spaces must
be shared with others rather than being private, lived within rather than simply visited” . He
explains how the Smart Board system offers an information space that allows his students to
engage in active collaboration. He makes three distinct claims regarding the functionality of
the technology:
1) The Smart Board allows users to work with large amounts of information,
2) It offers an information space that invites active collaboration,
3) The work produced is often “dynamic and contingent”
Johnson-Eilola further explains that with the Smart Board “…information work
becom[es] a bodied experience”. Users have the opportunity to engage with—inhabit—the
technology by direct manipulation. Moreover, this space allows for more than one user;
essentially, it invites multiple users.
2.4 Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL)
Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has the goal to provide socio-technical
innovations (also improving efficiency and cost effectiveness) for e-learning practices,
regarding individuals and organizations, independent of time, place and pace. The field of
TEL therefore applies to the support of any learning activity through technology.
3. Learning Management System
It is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking and
reporting of training programmes, class room and on line events, e-learning programmes, and
training content. It is designed to teach how e learning can be implemented and made
effective using popular LMS Moodle. Moodle is a free and open source e learning software
platform that means there is no cost or license fee for deployment. Moodle is designed to help
educators create on line courses with a focus on interaction and collaborative construction of
content.
3.1 Objectives
e-Learning represents an innovative shift in the field of learning, providing rapid
access to specific knowledge and information. It offers online instruction that can be
delivered anytime and anywhere through a wide range of electronic learning solutions such as
Web-based courseware, online discussion groups, live virtual classes, video and audio
streaming, Web chat, online simulations, and virtual mentoring.
E-Learning enables organizations to transcend distance and other organizational gaps
by providing a cohesive virtual learning environment. Companies must educate and train
vendors, employees, partners, and clients to stay competitive, and eLearning can provide such
just-in-time training in a cost-effective way.
Developing and deploying effective eLearning programs may require products and
services supplied by a variety of vendors, leaving one to connect the dots. One way to start is
to define the goals of the desired learning solution. Definition of the goals of an eLearning
solution is driven by the following factors:
Perform task analysis
Determine the tasks to be taught, identify subtasks and other elements involved, and
identify the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to complete the tasks efficiently and
effectively.
Perform training needs analysis
Identify the target audience for the training. Identify the shortfall in knowledge, skills,
and attitudes of this audience and determine what the target learners need to know.
Review existing capabilities
Review existing methods and infrastructure for providing training or meeting learning
needs.
Determine expectations
Identify concrete expectations and/or ROI requirements from the desired eLearning
solution.
The development of an eLearning strategy begins by setting goals. Without a true
understanding of the goals of the eLearning strategy, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to
be successful.
