Mantex

Tutorials, Study Guides & More

>> Home / Archives for eLearning

Plan and Manage E-learning

by

Plan and Manage E-learning looks at the practical steps that need to be taken to create E-learning courses and the infrastructure that supports them. It covers all aspects of this process – including planning, course design, materials creation, course delivery, and tutoring. Lewis and Whitlock take a Web-oriented approach to their exposition. Each step is broken down into manageable chunks, and they use a wide range of examples and plenty of checklists to make this a very practical route map in course design.

Plan and Manage E-learningDespite its reliance on technology, E-learning is heavily dependent for its success on personal interaction, and they spend a lot of space offering support for teachers and learners. This is the part of online learning which is often forgotten by people racing to get onto the technological bandwagon. Much of their content is a sensible and practical approach to course planning – every step geared to think carefully about aims and how they are to be achieved. There are lots of checklists of things to take into account when planning, designing, and running a learning program.

They even deal with tricky issues such as online assessment and moderation, as well as the costs of development time, making the materials cost-effective, and cost-recuperation via clever marketing.

This book will be of most use to course designers, heads of department, or training managers who have been given the task of organising learning programs by people who think it’s just a matter of transferring information quickly from paper to screen.

© Roy Johnson 2004

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Roger Lewis and Quentin Whitlock, How to Plan and Manage an E-learning Programme, London: Gower, 2003, pp.185, ISBN 0566084244

More on online learning
More on technology
More on digital media
More on web design
More on computers

Studying at a Distance

by

learning skills for further and higher education

Distance learning is nowadays much more than receiving correspondence course units through the post. Radio and TV broadcasts, video tapes, CD-ROMs, email, online courses, and Web-based conferencing are all common means of learning. This book offers support and learning skills for anybody undertaking this form of education – which goes under lots of different names. Having taught distance learning courses for over thirty years myself, I can confirm that Christine Talbot covers all the important issues. She starts with preparation for studying, showing you how to assess your existing skills and identify what you will need. This also involves becoming aware of the different modes of learning.

Studying at a DistanceNext comes a chapter on E-learning, now rapidly expanding to include submitting electronic assignments, conferencing, and using virtual learning environments. This is becoming a more and more important part of most distance learning courses – for economic as well as technological reasons. She tells you what equipment you will need, how to plan your time, and how to make the best use of the support and resources available to you.

There’s also coverage of the core skills required for any form of course in further or higher education – note-taking, essay writing, and revision and examination skills.

The guide ends appropriately enough with advice on tackling a research project – probably the largest piece of work you will have to undertake below post-graduate level.

This is a short and readable guide which offers a clear explanation of how to prepare for independent study. It will be particularly useful for those people returning to education after a gap of some years.

© Roy Johnson 2010

Studying at a Distance   Buy the book at Amazon UK

Studying at a Distance   Buy the book at Amazon US

Christine Talbot, Studying at a Distance, Maidenhead: Open University Press, third edition 2010, pp.256, ISBN: 0335238068

More on study skills
More on writing skills
More on online learning

The Digital University

by

academic essays on the e-Learning revolution

The Digital University is a collection of academic position papers and reports dealing with the relationship between information technology and teaching in universities. From my experience of IT awareness in higher education, it should be compulsory reading in most departments.

The Digital UniversityUniversity education is currently being revolutionised by the use of Web-based teaching and learning systems. Everybody wants online learning systems – at least as a supplement to conventional teaching methods. This compilation looks at the impact which this revolution is having on all aspects of university life, including research, student support, teaching, and course management.

It covers authoring tools, multimedia learning systems, collaborative environments, distance learning, and course management.Some of the papers even discuss such small but important details as the spatial layout of computer labs, and using ready-made systems such as Lotus Notes for collaborative learning projects.

Most of the accounts are reports of practical projects and ongoing developments, and they include items such as checklists, questionnaires, and diagrams which other practitioners will undoubtedly find useful.

This is likely to be of most use to departmental heads, managers, administrators, or anyone else involved in the rapidly expanding world of online learning in higher education.

© Roy Johnson 2001

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Reza Hazemi, Stephen Hailes, and Steve Wilbur (eds) The Digital University: Reinventing the Academy, London: Springer Verlag, 1998, pp.307, ISBN 1852330031

More on online learning
More on technology
More on digital media
More on web design
More on computers

The Online Educator

by

complete guide to designing and teaching online courses

Online courses are big business in further and higher education right now. You know the reason why. Governments cut back funding, whilst colleges and universities are told to take in more students. The answer is – put courses on line, and let the students teach themselves. Well, it’s not quite as simple as that, and for those people charged with the ‘challenge’ of designing courses, Marguerita Lynch has a great deal of practical wisdom and experience to impart. The Online Educator offers detailed explanations of common terms and concepts; a practical, step-by-step format with useful checklists; guidance for both teachers and students; and links to useful web sites and other online resources. She starts from the three cardinal rules for online learning.

The Online EducatorFirst – we must push beyond our own comfort zones. Second – plan, plan, plan. And third – interactive communication is paramount. She outlines the need for careful planning, for support and training for both students and tutors, and the need to cater for different learning styles. There is plenty of discussion of the hardware and the course management systems (or virtual learning environments) necessary to run such courses – and she reveals the questions to ask in helping you to choose the best system.

Her argument insists on the need for backup and support – for both tutors and students. This means that course developers need to do much more than simply convert teaching notes into web pages. She deals with all the problems associated with putting courses on line: security, scripts, anti-virus issues, passwords, as well as the basics of page design and navigation, plus the thorny issues such as tutor overload and student plagiarism.

In this system the tutor is transformed from classroom instructor to eMentor – and the pedagogic focus moves from spoon-fed to self-directed learning. If the courses are well designed and properly supported, everybody can profit from the results.

There is full consideration of Web-based tools needed in the online environment, and full listings of the free programs available, as well as self-assessment quiz and course management software.

She ends by presenting a variety of software for assessment and evaluation. There’s an exploration of copyright problems and interesting solutions to them that will be of keen interest to the many teachers currently engaged in creating courses for their institutions. The good news is that most institutions are now leaving copyright with the authors, in return for reciprocal exploitation rights.

This is an amazingly thorough and comprehensive guide to all aspects of online learning. Anyone who is even remotely connected with the world of online course design, delivery, or management ought to have a copy of this book on their desk.

© Roy Johnson 2002

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Marguerita McVay Lynch, The Online Educator: A guide to creating the virtual classroom, New York/London: Routledge, 2002, pp.170, ISBN: 0415244226

More on online learning
More on technology
More on digital media
More on web design
More on computers

the Online Learning idea book

by

95 ways to enhance technology-based learning

I’ve been teaching online learning courses almost as long as they have existed, and I know that both course designers and students need as much support as they can get. This book is aimed at the tutors and course designers and has the sole aim of helping them make the experience of learning on line more interactive, more enjoyable, and more effective. There are two in-built problems with online courses. Schools, colleges, and universities (to say nothing of commercial enterprises) want to eliminate expensive tutor-contact time, and make courses available any hour of the day. But anything beyond elementary lessons requires students to produce work which is assessed by a live tutor – who needs to be paid for reading on screen or on paper. That’s the first problem: it’s not easy to teach complex issues and subjects on a computer screen.

the Online Learning idea bookThe second is that making online courses truly interactive is an expensive business. Confronting students with rich learning experiences usually ends up requiring Flash animations, specially shot video footage, or interactive games of one kind or another – all of which are costly to produce. Faced with these problems, many teachers end up doing nothing more than sticking their lecture notes online in the form of downloadable Word files.

This book is a collection of techniques and strategies which have been tried out by practising teachers – who are confident enough to give their names and the web addresses of their own materials. Suggestions start at a point even before formal learning begins, with ideas for ‘learning agreements and ‘study schedules’ which students sign up to and which hopefully keep them on track and up to date. Some struck me as mildly utopian, but I liked the ‘eLearning Portfolio’, which would undoubtedly be useful.

The next section deals with learning via social interaction – collaborative projects and team-working – then what follows naturally from that, learning via discussion. The guidance ‘rules’ for forum postings are sound – though in my experience it’s quite difficult to enforce these without seeming over-controlling.

For completely individual learners working in isolation, the suggestions include visual diaries, email biographies, shared bookmarks, ‘visiting’ expert speakers (using podcasts), the ‘mini quest’ (which I would call a ‘small project’) blogs, and peer editing.

Synchronous learning activities rely heavily on chat, instant messaging, and pre-arranged forums. The main thrust in the suggestions made here are to enable participants to feel comfortable interacting with each other.

When it comes to self-assessment exercises we are into puzzles and games, flash cards, drag-and-drop activities, and multiple choice questions. But be warned – these can be expensive, unless you use off-the-shelf templates.

The latter part of the book deals with the actual structure, design, and navigation systems of online courses. This offers templates to cut down on design time, tips for maximising usability, and ideas for creative design – including some very funny clips at www.zefrank.com.

One interesting feature in my reading of this book was that ideas for one learning strategy or technique would come to me whilst I was busy reading about suggestions for something completely different.

Two things are for certain: the range of suggestions is amazing, and you’re sure to find something amongst them which will appeal to you. The editor Patti Shank has wisely stuck to a very tight formula for presenting these ideas. None takes up more than three pages, including screenshots, and the authors are even asked to show how their ideas can be adapted for other uses. This is a boon for online course designers.

© Roy Johnson 2007

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Patti Shank (ed) the Online Learning idea book, San Francisco: John Wiley, 2007, pp.354, ISBN: 0787981680

More on online learning
More on technology
More on digital media
More on web design
More on computers

Understanding Virtual Universities

by

course design and construction for online learning

Teachers in higher education are under increasing pressure to develop novel methods of learning, to understand the latest developments in IT, and to make their courses available on line. The purpose of Understanding Virtual Universities is to help them gain an overview of what is involved. Roy Rada is very good at giving the overall picture – explaining the architecture of a university-wide learning program. He also describes in detail the courseware production cycle, and the role that individuals play in the process. He arranges his contents into four parts: virtual learning in relation to the student, the teacher, the administrator, and society in general. He explains the benefits of group and collaborative learning.

Understanding Virtual UniversitiesThis is undoubtedly fine in theory, but I sometimes felt that he didn’t take much account of real practice. My own experience suggests that students are often reluctant to engage in collaborative projects – particularly with people they hardly know. The most convincing example he describes is the group hypertext project on Tennyson’s In Memoriam – the long Victorian poem divided into sections to which are linked related documents, commentary, and criticism. This leaves behind a project which can still be accessed at the University of Virginia.

The experiments on which he reports make it quite clear that IT is most effective when it is combined with other, mixed learning activities in what he calls ‘studio’ classes. In this respect, I was rather surprised that he doesn’t cover any of the better-known Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) such as WebCT, Blackboard, and Learnwise.

For any teachers thinking of developing such courseware there are some detailed reports on the testing and results achieved – in courses ranging from Geography to ‘Design and Analysis of Algorithms.’ There’s a chapter on the history of teaching methods which I feared might be boring but which offered a fascinating survey, ranging from ancient Egypt to Web-based archives in the modern university.

He also includes a consideration of which subjects are best served by online courses – and he even looks the funding and cost-benefits of online learning, as well as the consequences of pursuing these innovations at the same time as maintaining quality assurance.

This leads into a consideration of the IT systems educational organisations need to have in place to deal with student records, finance, and administration. He then explores the partnerships and collaborative schemes between education and businesses which are providing courses for employees in the workplace. This also includes a consideration of revenue opportunities in the form of consultancies, franchises, and specialist publishing.

His range is wide, and he is very well informed. If there’s a weakness it’s that he flits around from one topic to another rather quickly, never exploring any issue in depth. But that’s also the strength of the book, because he cover all aspects of running Web-based learning in an institution. Many people might have a deep knowledge of one aspect of Web-based learning, but few people have an overview.

© Roy Johnson 2002

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Roy Rada, Understanding Virtual Universities, Bristol: Intellect, 2001, pp.122, ISBN: 1841500526

More on online learning
More on technology
More on digital media
More on web design
More on computers

Using Moodle (second edition)

by

open source software for online learning courses

Two or three years ago, attempts to put educational courses on line were stuck with using programs such as Blackboard and WebCT, which were costly, cumbersome, and deeply unpopular with the teachers who were being urged to use them. Now these programs are being swept away by the arrival of Moodle, the open source Content Management System (CMS), or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which has one killer feature: it’s free.

Using MoodleActually, it also has more technical features than its commercial rivals, but that’s not the only reason it’s being taken up by schools, universities, and colleges. In the jargon of educationalists, this is a ‘constructivist’ program. That is, it allows people to learn through building their own experience of learning, possibly in contact with other students. It is student-oriented, rather than teacher-led, and it promotes learning through doing rather than just passive reception. This is the second edition of a basic introduction to Moodle’s features – and it’s a big improvement over the first edition.

Jason Cole and Helen Foster start off quite rightly by taking you on a tour of the user interface – what you see when you start using Moodle. That is – how to log in and edit your user profile; how to navigate through the sections of a course using the breadcrumb trail; and how to explore all the tools and support information buttons which surround the main working area on screen.

Moodle allows you to arrange your courses chronologically, conceptually by topics, or socially according to the people using it. For tutors there is an amazing degree of control over every aspect of a course – its start date, duration, enrolments, course materials, quizzes, email forums, activities, reports, and student grades.

The heart of Moodle is the huge variety of interactive engagements it will support. These range from chatrooms, forums, and discussion boards, to collective activities such as building glossaries, journals, surveys, and (perhaps most novel of all) an option for student peer assessment.

The book’s basic assumption is that you are using what’s called ‘blended learning’ – that is, a combination of face-to-face tuition such as lectures or seminars, plus online course materials and lecture notes, email support, instant messaging – and anything else that will empower the student and enhance the learning process. It is also assuming a fairly mature and serious attitude to eLearning from the student.

From my experience of online teaching, they seem a bit over-optimistic about participation rates in discussion forums, but Moodle certainly does have some sophisticated features to help promote debate. For instance, the latest version allows participants to rate each other’s contributions (though you might have doubts about that being a good thing).

There are many other features that teachers will welcome. Add a news item for your group, and every member of it will automatically be sent an email informing them of the update. There are also handy tips such as reducing file sizes and saving PowerPoint presentations as Rich Text File format to save space.

They confront head on the issue of possible cheating in online tests, and provides a number of strategies for counteracting twisters. The most advanced current feature of Moodle is workshops – which allow students to see good and bad examples of coursework, and to offer critiques of each other’s work prior to formal submission.

That comes with the additional feature of what’s called an exercise. This is a piece of work the student submits along with a self-assessed grade. Their final grade is a combination of the tutor’s score and how well the student’s assessment matches it. This is an example of what struck me as verging on Utopian.

The journals feature is a tool that encourages students to reflect on their own learning process. Glossaries offers a similar property in that they can be created collaboratively. Lessons is a system of developing multiple-choice enquiries. That is, if you answer a question correctly, you move on the next topic; if you do not, you move back to check you understand the course materials.

Moodle even has its own built-in Wiki, so tutor and students can assemble basic information about their subject. Various levels of permissions for editing and access are also available so that the results can be safeguarded.

This is an excellently clear user’s guide, and almost every topic is illustrated with a screenshot. Full technical software documentation is available at Moodle, but if you’re anything like me, you will feel far more secure with a book to hand.

In this second edition there’s far more detail on how Moodle tools and features can be used to meet teaching objectives as techniques for the equivalent of classroom activity. This is getting closer to the book on constructing online learning courses which still needs to be written.

There are descriptions of how various IT champions are using Moodle to develop new forms of collaborative, blended and social learning . Some of these will seem rather advanced to even to even the most ambitious elearning tutor. Peer assessment, messaging and chat facilities could easily be seen as distractions for younger learners, but could be more appropriate for adults.

There’s still room for improvement in future editions. I would like to see some examples of course design and structure for instance. But for now, this is still the best guide to Moodle available in book form.

© Roy Johnson 2007

Using Moodle   Buy the book at Amazon UK

Using Moodle   Buy the book at Amazon US

Jason Cole & Helen Foster,Using Moodle, Sebastopo (CA): O’Reilly, 2007, pp.266, ISBN: 059652918X

More on technology
More on digital media
More on online learning
More on computers

Get in touch

info@mantex.co.uk

Content © Mantex 2016