e-learning environments

E-Learning Environments

Stephen Ruth · George Mason University

Anton Imhofaaimhof@mtu.eduJ. Cole jacole@mtu.edu

-- 22 April 2010

Is E-Learning Really Working?

The Trillion-Dollar Question

Personalized Service-Oriented

E-Learning EnvironmentsMario Munoz-Organero, Pedro J.

Munoz-Merino, Carlos Delgado Kloos· Carlos III University of Madrid

Outline• America’s Education• Quality of E-Learning• Cost Benefits• Dem Playa’s (Online Learning

Providers)• Learning Management Systems (LMS)• Personal Learning Environment (PLE)• Implementation

America’s Education• 1 trillion dollars annually• 27% of High School Students Fail to

Graduate• 75% are unable to serve in the Military– due to academic ineligibility

• U.S. has lowest percentage of graduates– among industrialized nations

• College tuition increases inflation rates• Technology is part of the solution

• Roughly 1 in 20 are taking online courses• Georgia has 440 high schools, only 88

qualified physics teachers

K-12 E-Learning

Post-Secondary Education• 1 in 4 college students are taking an

online course

Quality of E-Learning• “Students learn better in classrooms”• Researchers have conducted

thousands of studies– no significant difference– on average students in online learning

conditions perform better than those in classrooms

Cost Benefits• IT Interventions produce significant

reductions in unit costs

Dem Playa’s• University of Maryland's University College (UMUC)

– world’s largest provider of online education– forty bachelor’s and master’s programs available

• University of Massachusetts• University of Phoenix

– largest private university in North America– four billion dollars in annual revenue

• twice the budget of the entire University of Virginia• Kaplan, Laureate, Strayer among top e-learning

providers

Learning Management System (Monolithic LMS)

• Instructor-provided knowledge• Modular design• Uses self-service and self-guided services• Assembles and delivers learning content

rapidly• A scalable web-based platform • Personalizes content• Such as Blackboard

Learning Management Systems

• MOODLE• Sakai• ATutor• Proprietary Models–Web CT, Blackboard, GradePoint

• Blackboard and MOODLE most widely used

Where Its Going…• Two families– Service oriented LMS or Personalized

learning environment– Difference is central management

system• Mash-up of the two makes third

option

Future LMS• Separation of LMS and LCMS– Provides greater interoperability– Standards currently being defined

• New services can be added and used dynamically

• Code can be reused across system by developers

Personal Learning Environment (PLE)

• Set your own learning goals• Integrated LMS-type service• Uses available internet services

Mash-up• Peer-to-peer systems• More flexible than LMS

Implementation• Learning

Scenario:– Anytime– Anywhere

Problems Presented• Requires devices to have web service

server capabilities

• Several middleware solutions have been designed

• However…

Solution Proposed• Web Service Development

Middleware

• J2ME MIDP Profile based on simple servlet API implementation

Conclusion• Two Architectural Possibilities

• E-Learning Continuing to Evolve

• KBC Anyone?

Questions?