Elearning - Introduction And Planning

eLearning Introduction and Planning

Written By,

Tushar B Kute, Lecturer in Information Technology (K. K. Wagh Polytechnic, Nashik – 3, Maharashtra, INDIA) Email – [email protected]

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Abstract Electronic learning or E – Learning is a general term used to refer to computer-enhanced learning. It is used interchangeably in so many contexts that it is critical to be clear what one means when one speaks of 'E – Learning'. In many respects, it is commonly associated with the field of Advanced Learning Technology (ALT), which deals with both the technologies and associated methodologies in learning using networked and/or multimedia technologies. Classrooms are boring. Today students feel school is not challenging or interactive enough. It has been said that there are two reasons why we learn; some leaning is essentially forced on us while the other is what we sit back and enjoy. E-Learning has brought back the joy in learning through its innovative and interactive content and delivery.

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1. Introduction The old correspondence courses were the first Distance Learning courses but with the advent of Internet in the eighties, E – Learning became new mantra for delivering higher education courses over really long distances. The Internet opened new possibilities and now any type of learning content, be it for school, graduate or masters level, employee training, research activity or any other type of academic offering is called E – Learning. E – Learning has already established its credentials and its popularity can be gauged from the fact that delivery is not restricted to just plain text but has crossed boundaries to video creating virtual class rooms via video conferencing. The introduction of a variety of technologies has made it possible to convert it from impersonal to highly interactive medium of pedagogy (the art and science of teaching). Training in key business and professional skills in today’s competitive environment cannot be ignored if you want your employees to develop and help drive the growth of your company. The worldwide E – Learning industry is estimated to be worth over 38 billion euros according to conservative estimates; although in the European Union only about 20% of E – Learning products are produced within the common market. Developments in internet and multimedia technologies are the basic enabler of E – Learning, with content, technologies and services being identified as the three key sectors of the E – Learning industry. 2. Goals of E – Learning E – Learning lessons are generally designed to guide students through information or to help students perform in specific tasks. Information based eLearning content communicates information to the student. Examples include content that distributes the history or facts related to a service, company, or product. In information-based content, there is no specific skill to be learned. In performance-based content, the lessons build off of a procedural skill in which the student is expected to increase proficiency. 3. The Future According to Market Data Retrieval (MDR) two thirds of colleges and universities offer long distance learning courses and the number of institutions offering accredited degrees have increased to 55%. New varieties of E – Learning have emerged with help and push from emerging technologies. Besides distance learning now there is distributed learning. This term describes the educational experiences of individuals and groups that are distributed over geographies and cultures using variety of media delivery methods. This has moved education beyond the classroom to more interactive information by joining learning and experience together. This is developing into learning communities with their own focus on various branches, cultures and sub-cultures. It is a mind boggling explosion of information that is now available with lot of imagination and little effort. With collaborative tools E – Learning is moving into virtual classes and virtual communities where the old methods of practice and test have melted into new interactive teaching-learning methodologies. Tuition on line has taken a new meaning where a varied help is now available both free and paid for on demand on any subject instantly. This has relieved pressure both on the teacher and the students. Future learning is now

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focusing on learning beyond the classroom and curriculum. Companies need to upgrade employees by offering re-training programmes. These are both costly and time consuming. By designing these programmes and content via E – Learning methods both time and money are saved. The innovative method is also self promoting as it increases the curiosity level of individuals for self promotion and career enhancements. In the technical field too doctors and other professionals are getting a fair chance for keeping abreast of developments and discoveries and even participation in these activities through interactive delivery processes. Looking further, this being the global market era, the consumer is being made aware of immense openings, opportunities and bargains through this method. Medical tourism is one recent example of e-Learning where serious information and fun have been mixed for delivery of marketing content. 4. E – Learning tools E – Learning is a concept of learning electronically using the internet. This type of learning is particularly successful for higher studies or corporations. There are many tools used in the E – Learning procedure. They are: Web Blog A blog short for ‘web log’, is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. The term "blog" is a mingling of the words web and log. Blogs provide comments or news on a particular subject, some function as more personal online diaries. The modern blog evolved from the online diary, where people would keep a running account of their personal lives. Most such writers called themselves diarists, journalists. Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software, such as WordPress, Movable Type, blogger or LiveJournal, or on regular web hosting services, such as DreamHost. Social book-marking Social book-marking is a web-based service to share Internet bookmarks. The Social book-marking sites are a popular way to store, classify, share and search links through the practice of folksonomies techniques on the Internet. In a social book-marking system, users store lists of Internet resources that they find useful. These lists are accessible to the public or a specific network, and other people with similar interests can view the links by category, tags, or even randomly. Some allow for privacy on a per-bookmark basis. Wiki A wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content, without the need for registration. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. A wiki enables documents to be written very collaboratively, in a simple markup language using a web browser. A single page in a wiki is referred to as a “wiki page”, whiles the entire body of pages, which are usually highly interconnected via hyperlinks, and is "the wiki". A wiki is an uncomplicated, easyto-use user-maintained database for creating, browsing and searching information. In a wiki pages can be created and updated easily.

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RSS RSS is a web feed formats used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts, vodcasts etc. Users of RSS content use software programs called "feed readers" or "feed aggregators". The user subscribes to a feed by entering a link to the feed into the reader program. The reader can then check the user's subscribed feeds to see if any of those feeds have new content since the last time it checked and if so, retrieve that content and present it to the user. Podcasting Podcasting is a fusion of two words: iPod, Apple’s popular digital music player, and broadcasting. Podcasts are basically digital audio programs that can be subscribed to and downloaded by listeners by RSS (Really Simple Syndication). It can be accessed on an array of digital audio devices, like MP3 players, desktop computer, laptops, mobiles etc. They can be easily produced with any computer having a soundcard, microphone, recording software and an Internet connection. Though podcasters' web sites may also offer direct download or streaming of their content, a podcast is distinguished from other digital media formats by its ability to be downloaded automatically. Instant Messaging An instant messaging application allows one to communicate with another person over a network in relative privacy. There are many options like Google Talk, Skype, Meetro, ICQ, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger and AOL for instant messaging. You can add associates to a contact list or buddy list, by entering their email address or messenger ID. Text chat Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and other online chat technologies allow users to join chat rooms and communicate with many people at once, publicly. Users may join a pre-existing chat room or create a chat room about any topic. Whether you are in another person's chat room, or one you've created yourself, you are generally free to invite others online to join you. This facilitates both one-to-one communication and many-to-many interaction. Internet forums Originally modeled after the real-world paradigm of electronic bulletin boards of the world before Internet was born, internet forums allow users to post a "topic" for others to review. Other users can view the topic and post their own comments in a linear fashion, one after the other. Most forums are public, allowing anybody to sign up at any time. A few are private, gated communities where new members must pay a small fee to join for example, the Something Awful Forums. These E – Learning tools are a practical, inexpensive and uncomplicated method for learning online. They are available to one and all and are great for propagating E – Learning. 5. Need for e-learning

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New values: In the old days, corporate value and value creation were defined principally through material and financial assets. Nowadays a premium is put on intellectual capital. To retain their competitive edge, organizations have started to investigate which training techniques and delivery methods enhance motivation, performance, collaboration, innovation, and a commitment to life-long learning. New technologies: The life of knowledge and human skills today is shorter than ever, mounting the pressure to remain up to date with ones education and training throughout a career. In the age of globalization and technological revolution, four-year degrees are just the start of a forty-year continuing education. Life-long learning is quickly becoming an imperative in today’s world. Competitive Edge Corporations: view learning as a competitive weapon rather than a bothersome cost factor. Business success depends increasingly on top-quality employee performance, which in turn requires top-quality training. Corporate executives now understand that developing employee skills is the key to creating a sustainable competitive lead. Cost Effective: In the run to remain competitive in today’s labor-tight market, companies are exploiting advances in technology to train employees rapidly, effectively, and at less expense. Globalization: As trade borders become less significant, global competition intensifies. International expansion has led to larger and more complex corporations. Today’s businesses have more locations in different countries and employ larger numbers of workers with diverse backgrounds and educational levels. Abundance of information: More information has to be delivered in increasingly bigger organizations, testing internal planning, logistics, and distribution. Corporations worldwide are now in search of more innovative and competent ways to deliver training to their geographically dispersed workforce. 6. Types of E – Learning There are fundamentally two types of e-learning: synchronous training and asynchronous training. Synchronous, means "at the same time," involves interaction of participants with an instructor via the Web in real time. Asynchronous, which means "not at the same time," allows the participant to complete the WBT at his own pace, without live interaction with the instructor. A new form of learning known as blended learning is emerging. As the name suggests it is an amalgamation of synchronous and asynchronous learning methods. Asynchronous Methods

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Embedded learning: Embedded learning is information that is accessible on a self-help basis, 24/7. It can be delivered to the place of work, or to mobile learners. Electronic Performance Support System (EPSS) is a type of embedded learning. The advantage is that embedded learning offers learners the information they need whenever they need it. Courses: The clear advantage of a self-paced course is convenience. Participants can get the training they need at any time. This can include just-intime training where a participant gets exactly the training he or she needs to perform a task. Discussion groups: A discussion group is a gathering of conversations that occur over time. They are also called message boards, bulletin boards and discussion forums. Discussion groups can be used to support a group of participants taking the same class or can be used to support participants performing related tasks. A discussion group is a very competent way to supply expert answers to a large group people. A single answer to a common question can help many. Synchronous Methods Virtual classroom: Virtual classroom duplicates the features of a real classroom online. Participants interact with each other and instructors online .instant messaging, chat, audio and video conferencing etc. Blended Method: Most companies prefer to use a mix of both synchronous and asynchronous e-learning methods according to their requirement. 7. Effective E – learning E-learning consumers expect programs that include the same inventive tools and techniques used in the computer gaming industry (like graphics, interface, and skill-building challenges) to deliver a learning experience that's gripping, informative, and fun. Games have a lot to teach us about creating effective learning. One must use the rules and parameters of authentic situations to test the learner in actual tasks in virtual situations. Give the learner "game situations" in which the learner must apply specific knowledge to a specific situation. The learning content should be designed with a lucid story line and interactive drills that are appealing and relevant to course aims. Ideally, a computer game and game based e-learning experiences should leave the participant free to make choices that directly impact the conclusion of the story line. For instance, an E – Learning program might establish the following setup--Your Company is at a turning point, and you must choose a strategy that will help distinguish it in the marketplace. The strategy you choose will recommend the investments you need, the employees you hire, and the clientele you pursue. As events unfurl, you may alter your strategy, suffer the penalty of poor decisions, and reap the rewards of good decisions. Despite the result, the story line provides familiar frames of reference for all players and can make possible individual or group learning at any scale.

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Another important factor is to offer the same learning without the game format to anyone who wants it, so that no one is obligated to play a game they do not like. If trainees can switch in and out of the game format at will and still continue the learning path, many will start with the game and later switch out, while some will start without the game, investigating it only after they get jaded with the non-game learning approach. Benefits Research shows that people learn better when they are comfortable and having fun. Excellent teachers, all through the ages have known this and used fun, play and games as part of their teaching strategies. It is possible to teach not only facts, but judgment, logic, behavior, skills, safety, ethics, etc. through welldesigned games. The key is to coalesce the engagement power of games with the content we want people to know at the conclusion - designing games which are fun, but unlike many commercial games, not frivolous. Making something enjoyable does not make it frivolous, and can make it much more memorable. Bankers Trust uses a Doom-style game (with the aggression removed) for policy training. PricewaterhouseCoopers uses a game for tricky and serious product training. The Boston Consulting Group uses a game to connect clients in the business development process. Games are part of important medical and legal training. . Gaming develops temperament of play, flexible attitudes and innovative thoughts. Today the importance of games in teaching is well realized and respected in the E – Learning industry. E benefits in Corporations E – Learning is very effective in industries such as financial services, entertainment, health care, government, and education. E – Learning provides communication, delivery of information, and efficiency of business practices which have tremendous and long-term benefits. • E-learning can be a highly-effective delivery mechanism for training courses, where: • There are a number of students spread over a large geographical area. • Qualification is global in nature. • A corporate client requires confidential discussion among learners. • Managers want to track (and record) effectively the progress of individual learners. • It is cost and time saving. E-learning helps in optimizing E – Learning is great for optimizing. • Optimizing sales channel – Increase in tempo of sales force development. Getting channel partners up to speed on new products, learning to sell solutions instead products. • Optimizing customer relationships – helping and educating customers to learn and teaching them how to use products. • Optimizing the workforce –learning new business models, up gradation, instant product information, learning new techniques and better communication.

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Optimization of learning- You can use the same software for 10 people as well as for 1000 people. It can be customized and paced according to the learners need.

Effective Corporate E – Learning Program or LMS LMS or learning management systems is a software package that enables the management delivery of online content to learners. There are many corporate LMS, but an effective LMS must incorporate features such as • Auto enrollment of learners in courses according to predefined criteria, such as job title or work location. • Manager enrollment and approval • Boolean definitions for prerequisites or equivalencies • Integration of performance tracking and management systems • Planning tools to identify skill gaps at departmental and individual level • Curriculum, required and elective training requirements at an individual and organizational level • Assigning and grouping learners according to geographic region, product line, business size. • Assign corporate and partner employees to more than one job title at more than one demographic unit If a corporate wants to succeed in today’s rat race it will need an army of well-informed, sharp and educated workers. To create this army the best and most cost effective and time saving tool is E – Learning. In the era of information, learning is the ultimate survival tool. So to make your workers proficient achievers E – Learning is the only solution. 8. Accrediting Organizations for E – Learning The evolution of the Internet and other technologies has led to incredible growth in opportunities to teach and learn, away from the traditional classrooms. The Internet has brought E- learning that offers many advantages: it is convenient, accessible at any time and can be used from nearly anywhere in the world. E- Learning created a number of programs and platforms, but only a few have gained accreditation. The importance of Accreditation is that it sets certain standards by which students, professionals, government bodies, and the general public know that a program or institution provides a quality education. The four main accreditations are AICC, IEEE, ADL and IMS Global Consortium. AICC The Aviation Industry CBT (Computer-Based Training) Committee –AICC, is an international organization that trains technology-based professionals. The AICC develops guidelines for aviation industry in the development, delivery, and evaluation of Computer-Based Training and web based training technologies 9WBT). AICC has developed guidelines to enable interoperability and provide an open forum for the discussion of CBT and WBT other technologies. These technologies are the basis for many e-learning programs. Its computer-managed instruction (CMI) guidelines have had a great influence on shaping e-learning. IEEE

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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), is an international organization that develops technical standards and recommendations for electrical, electronic, computer and communication systems. The Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC) of IEEE provides specifications that address best practices. The most widely accepted is the specification of the Learning Object Metadata (LOM). LOM defines element groups and elements that describe learning resources. ADL Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative was formed as a developer and implementer of learning technologies across the Department of Defense (DoD). ADL encourages the implementation and advancement of E – Learning, to develop the standards, tools and learning content for the learning environment of the future. The most widely established ADL publication is the ADL Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). IMS Global Consortium IMS GLC is a global, nonprofit, association that provides in the shaping and growing of learning and educational technology industries through collaborative support of standards, innovation, best practice and recognition of superior learning impact. IMS GLC focuses on the use of metadata to address content packaging; this is used to define how an LMS communicates with backend applications and content objects. Since it is a non-profit organization many of its standards are made available on its website at no fee. 9. Converting to E – Learning When moving to e learning, you must judge how to adapt classroom material to successful e learning experiences. Assets such as: slides, lectures, handouts, exercises, and motivational stories must be converted. Converting resources online can be challenging. Some conversion may involve simply switching to a file format; others may call for you to reconstruct the asset in a completely new form. Tools to Convert Assets To decide which tools to use when, start at a common beginning: judge your training objectives, including what degree of performance you're looking for and how you'll evaluate achievement. Always select a delivery technique that will allow you to evaluate the achievement of the objectives. If you cannot evaluate performance with a particular delivery technique, then it's the wrong one for you. Video The easiest way to convert lectures is to videotape the trainer, digitize and compress the film, and post the clip onto a streaming-media server. This method is suited to very simple learning needs. Audio Audio has some advantages over full video. High-quality audio files are smaller and need less bandwidth than even poor-quality video. Try out with various settings to produce a file that the trainee can download and play easily.

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Inserting the sound into a multimedia program, like Macromedia Flash, will take care of the compression. Slides Slide presentations have been the support of most training classes. Before altering classroom slide presentations for use in an online lesson, assess the complexity of slides, such as animation, transition, sounds, and other special effects. If you’re using PowerPoint slides, the simplest solution is to use the Save as HTML command. This selection creates a linked series of Web pages analogous to the slides and lets developers target certain browsers. You may want to add features. For example, to include voice narration, use the Record Narration command. Handouts Courses normally use handouts, textbooks, and assign library readings. All reading can be converted to electronic form. Adobe Acrobat PDF permits users to distribute copies of any document that can be printed. Creating PDF documents necessitate Acrobat publishing software, and trainee must have the free Acrobat Reader program. Acrobat documents can be simple imitations of their paper equivalent, or you can add hypertext links, thumbnail images of pages, sounds, and other multimedia. Interaction This includes Tests. Macromedia Authorware and CourseBuilder for Macromedia Dreamweaver offer regular test templates, including true-or-false, multiple choice, drag-and-drop, and text entry. Practice exercises Many courses include laboratory sessions or other practical activities. Remember that online versions need to exercise the decision-making processes rather than imitate the classroom activity. This kind of activity needs no technology other than plain HTML and a Web browser. Simulated tasks Sometimes it's too complex or expensive to have trainee interact with the actual system. Essentially, a fundamental simulator is a linked series of image maps of the various dialog boxes. Correctly performing a step, such as clicking on a tab or button, displays the next panel or dialog box in the procedure. Simulation uses Dynamic HTML and JavaScript programming. Tools as Macromedia Director, Authorware, and Flash help developers to build excellent interaction by automatic scripting. Discussion forums The majority of Internet server packages include a component to sustain discussion groups, and similar software is often included in browsers or email readers. New software programs have made life much easier for developers and facilitators of e learning! Interactive exercises, testing, collaboration, and content development are significantly simplified. What used to take days/weeks can now be done more quickly - with modest or no coding/programming skills required.

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10. Indian angle of E – Learning Till last decade, India was known as the rich country of poor peoples. But, this Indian image has now been changed due to emergence of Information Technology in India. Though, India is one of the giant in IT industry, this technology has not reached to the common people effectively. We have not changed our mind to use Information Technology as the learning media. Several organizations are trying to introduce Information Technology in learning. But, this process is not that much fast. Engineering education institutes, boards and councils has taken initiative to learn via process of E – Learning. Due to the growing population of India, there is a vast scope for E – Learning methodologies. They can be implemented effectively. In several states, E – Literacy is also made one of the factors of education. Youth population of India is growing fast as compared to rest of the world. They are expected to increase the effective use of E – Learning methods in education. It seems that India is moving from Gurukul to Macaulay’s education system to the world of E – Learning.

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