E-learning

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Typical Managed Learning Environment with a navigation menu and online community building tools.

E-learning most often means an approach to facilitate and enhance learning through the use of devices based on computer and communications technology. Such devices would includepersonal computers, CDROMs, Digital Television, P.D.A.s and Mobile Phones. Communications technology enables the use of the Internet, email, discussion forums, and collaborative software.

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 where just-in-time learning is possible. Courses can be tailored to specific needs and asynchronous learning is possible. Where learning occurs exclusively online, this is called online education. When learning is distributed to mobile devices such as cell phones or PDAs, it is called M-learning.

Contents
1 Supporting learning online
2 Blended learning
3 Pedagogy of e-learning
4 Organizing the content
5 Instructional Design
6 Educational Blogging
7 Creating media
8 Binding it together
9 See also
10 External links

10.1 E-Learning Experts
10.2 E-learning standards
10.3 e-learning platforms
10.4 Free software / Open source (FLOSS) pedagogical tools for collaborative learning
10.5 Commercial e-learning platforms
10.6 Commercial e-learning tools
10.7 Software Comparison
10.8 Other related links
10.9 Portal offering Learning Materials, Courseware
10.10 E-learning web resources

Supporting learning online

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. Others point out that that e-learning software developers tend to limit their focus on course delivery and content, while online education institutions require a much wider range of educational services.

E-learning systems such as Moodle often work towards a student-centred learning solution, building upon a social-constructivist pedagogy.

Blended learning

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Typical Managed Learning Environment with a navigation menu and icons giving access to automated tools and content pages.

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 CD-ROMs 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 which is a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) combined with a Managed Information System (MIS)) in which all aspects of a course are handled through a consistent interface that is standard throughout an institution, giving 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 often stored in an XML file format. These are put in a database and creating a course requires putting together a sequence of learning objects.

Pedagogy of e-learning

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.

Organizing the content

Instructional Design

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Educational Blogging

With the advent of blogs, numerous educational experts routinely publish their personal explorations in this burgeoning field. Additionally, blogs are widely used in classrooms. See Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes. See also this list of educational bloggers by George Siemens. See also the Educational Bloggers Network.

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).

See also

External links

First step in e-Learning


E-Learning Experts

E-learning standards

e-learning platforms

Free software / Open source (FLOSS) pedagogical tools for collaborative learning

Commercial e-learning platforms

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Typical Lersus e-Learning authoring tool.

Commercial e-learning tools

Software Comparison

Other related links

Portal offering Learning Materials, Courseware

Several initiatives exist all over the internet to share learning content or to increase the visibility of existing learning objects. Most of them are totally free of charge.

E-learning web resources

See also: E-learning, ActionScript, Apache HTTP Server, Ariadne (software), Audio file format, Authoring tool, Blended learning, Blog