subject: The Environment of E-Learning [print this page] The Environment of E-Learning The Environment of E-Learning
Majority of people now are into electronic learning or e-learning where information are passed or received via electronic transfers. This is in fact part of everybody's lives now where people do check e-mails, post blogs, wikis or discussion boards. Classroom discussion uses Powerpoint presentations or slides to save time making visual aids for the students. There are also people who subscribe to distance learning where they take diploma course online. E-learning can also be classified as computer-based learning because computers are the key component in the educational environment and computers are use for teaching purposes. These can now be attributed to the evolution of computers.
E-learning comprises all forms of learning and teaching that are supported electronically. These are in-classroom and out-of-classroom educational experiences that use technology in their curriculum. E-learning, essentially, is the transfer of skills and knowledge using applications and processes that include Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classroom opportunities and digital collaboration. Content can either be transferred through the internet, intranet/extranet, audio or video tape, satellite TV, and CD-ROM. It also includes media in the form of text, image, animation, streaming video and audio. E-learning can be instructor-led or it can be self-paced. Traditional schools are also into e-learning where classroom aids are using Powerpoint presentation/slides through a course website or learning management system or laptop programs, where students are required to bring laptops to class. In this way, classroom time is reduced but not totally eliminated. There are also on-line courses now which are a form of distance education.
A learning managements system or LMS, meanwhile, is the software use for delivering, tracking, and managing of trainings or education. LMSs range from systems for managing training/educational records to software for distributing courses over the internet and offering features for online collaboration. This can allow teachers and administrators to track attendance, time on task and tracking the student's progress. This is useful for parents where they can log on their LMS to track grades. The students also can log on their LMS to submit homework and access the course syllabus and lessons. Some LMS providers include performance management systems which encompass employee appraisals, competency management, skill-gap analysis, succession planning, and multi-rater assessments. Now, modern technique employs computer-based learning to discover learning gaps and guide training material selection.
A learning management system should be able to centralize and automate administration. That way, there is a centralized administrator. It must use self service and self-guided services and they must be easy to understand for the students and teachers or administrators. It must assemble and deliver learning content rapidly as time is of the essence here. It must consolidate training initiative on a scaleable web-based platform and support portability and standards. The content must be personalize and enable knowledge reuse. The applications for the learning management system varies, like it is use in corporate training for automate record-keeping and employee registration. Students use this for self-registration on instructor-led training, training workflow or the provision for on-line training. Computer-based training, continuous professional education and collaborative learning are just some of the dimensions of the Learning Management Systems.
