E-learning: Types, Tools and

UNIT 5 E- LEARNING: TYPES, TOOLS AND Standards

STANDARDS
Structure
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Objectives
5.3 Concept and Types of E-learning
5.3.1 Genesis of E-learning
5.3.2 Communication Technologies used in E-learning
5.3.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of E-learning
5.4 Synchronous Learning
5.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Synchronous Learning
5.5 Asynchronous Learning
5.4.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Asynchronous Learning
5.6. Blended Learning
5.6.1 Strengths and Limitations
5.7 Mobile Learning
5.7.1 Strengths of Mobile learning
5.7.2 Limitations of Mobile Learning
5.8 Flipped Learning
5.9 Learning Management Systems (LMS)
5.9.1 Features of LMS
5.9.2 Strengths and Limitations
5.9.3 Criteria for Selecting LMS
5.9.4 Some More Criteria for Selecting Learning Management System
5.9.5 Learning Management Systems: Examples
5.9.6 E- learning Standards
5.10 Word Processing and PowerPoint Presentations
5.11 Let Us Sum Up
5.12 Suggested Readings and References
5.13 Answers for Check Your Progress

5.1 INTRODUCTION
All of us are familiar with face-to face classroom learning. With the advancement
of Internet technology, learning space is no longer confined to face-to-face
classroom learning environment. Learners from school to university level are
increasingly not only accessing a lot of learning materials from the Internet but
also are getting themselves engaged in several E-learning activities as well as
enrolling themselves in a number of online learning programmes to enhance their
academic as well as professional careers. In this unit, we will discuss the potentials
of E-learning, synchronous learning, asynchronous learning, m-learning, blended
learning and flipped learning. Also we will discuss learning management system
(LMS) which is required for teaching learning process, and criteria for selecting
LMS. In the end, we will discuss E-learning standards. 107
Technology for Enhancing
Learner Autonomy 5.2 OBJECTIVES
After working through this unit, you should be able to:
 explain the concept and types of e-learning;
 differentiate between synchronous and asynchronous instructional delivery;
 discuss the concepts of m-learning (mobile apps); blended learning; and
flipped learning;
 explain Learning Management System;
 select criteria for developing learning management system; and
 familiarize yourself with e-learning standards for e-content development.

5.3 CONCEPT AND TYPES OF E-LEARNING

As in any growing field of knowledge, the terminology in e-learning field has
also not been standardized yet. Many scholars use the term differently and some
use the same interchangeably. These terms do have their differences, and let’s
look at some of these terms:
i) Web-Based Instruction: It is a “hypermedia based instructional programme
which utilizes the attributes and resources of the World Wide Web to
create ameaningful learning environment where learning is fostered and
supported”(Khan, 1997).
ii) Virtual Learning: “The educational process of learning over the Internet
without having face-to-face contact is known as Virtual Learning” (French,et
al., 1999). However for some, virtual learning may also include tele-learning.
iii) Online Learning: It is synonymous to web-based learning where learning
is fostered via hypertext transfer protocol (http) in Internet or Intranet.
iv) E-Learning: “The term e-learning covers a wide set of applications and
processes including computer-based learning, web-based learning, virtual
classrooms, and digital collaboration” (WR Hambraecht & Co., 2000:
p.8).E-learning is a broad term, encompassing a wide variety of electronic
technologies used for educational purposes, and a wide variety of educational
formats and designs (Bates and Poole, 2005; OECD, 2005; and Allen and
Seamen, 2008). E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported
teaching and learning. E-learning helps learners learn at their own pace, any
time and anywhere with the help of computers, LCD projectors, TV, CD
ROMs, electronic storage devices, web based tools, virtual classrooms, etc.
So, we may define e-learning as the use of networked information and
communication technology in teaching-learning process. The network being
Internet or intranet is the most important aspect of the educational communication
process, and its access and usability decide the kinds of interactions and teaching
that may happen in e-learning.
5.3.1 Genesis of E-learning
The e-learning was originally developed in 1969 using Internet technology by the
Advanced Research Project Agency of the Department of Defense,United States.
Since then the Internet has grown exponentially with the emergence of the World
Wide Web (WWW) in 1991. According to one estimate, the Internet reached 50
million people in just four years. In comparison, it took 38 years for Radio and
108 14 years for TV to reach the same number of target audience (Huber, 1997).
The Internet and its WWW have simultaneously captured the imagination and E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
interests of so many educators around the world leading to use of terms such as
web-based learning, online learning, etc. The interests in the educational use of
the web has been driven by higher demands for education and training, shift in
the societal economy from labour intensive work to knowledge intensive work,
and need for earning while learning. E-learning has become an important means
of educational delivery to those having access to the WWW.
There are 4.39 billion internet users in 2019, an increase of 366 million (9 percent)
from January 2018. There are 3.48 billion social media users in 2019, with the
worldwide total growing by 288 million (9 percent) since this time last year
(Source: Digital 2019: Global Internet Use Accelerates, https://wearesocial.com/
blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-accelerates). Internet users in the
world also shown as Asia 49.8%, Europe 16.3%, Africa 11.9%
(Source:https://internetworldstats.com/stats.htm).
5.3.2 Communication Technologies Used in E-Learning
Communication technologies used in E-learning are given below in diagrammatic
form.

Fig. 5.1: Various E-Learning Technologies

Source: IGNOU (2018)

Now let us discuss these E-Learning technologies separately.
Online Learning: Online learning is an Internet or Intranet-based teaching and
learning system designed for web-based delivery, without face-to-face contact
between teacher and learners. Internet is the main tool used in online learning.
The other different tools used in online learning are either asynchronous (email,
mailing lists, bulletin boards) or synchronous (text-based chat, audio chat,
videoconferencing) in nature.
Virtual Classroom: A virtual classroom duplicates the context of a real classroom.
In virtual classroom students and teachers use their computers to go to a virtual
meeting place instead of a classroom. Students can indicate when they want to 109
Technology for Enhancing speak. Teachers can let students speak through audio and video conferencing.
Learner Autonomy
Teachers and students can use instant messaging and chat. Teachers can choose
from a variety of synchronous technologies for interaction between them and
students.
Audio and Video Conferencing: These are two type of strategies used in
E-learning. In audio conferencing conversation happens between students and
teachers without both of them seeing each other and while in video conferencing
students and teachers can see each other.
Online Chat: Chat allows several people to communicate with each other. Each
participant uses a computer to type his/her comments. The other participants can
see the name of the persons and their comments.
Instant Messaging : Instant messaging is similar to chat. One person
communicates to another through typing. Instant messaging also provides some
additional features. With instant messaging, you can keep a list of people that you
might like to chat with. The list will indicate if they are online, offline, available
for chat or busy.
Shared Whiteboard: A shared whiteboard lets a group of people communicate
by typing comments, drawing, highlighting and pointing. A shared whiteboard
is a common feature within virtual classroom software packages.
Application Sharing: You can demonstrate how to use software applications
to remote learners with application sharing. A teacher can also let learners take
control of the application to practice performing tasks.
Self-Paced Courses: The obvious advantage of a self-paced course is convenience.
People can get the training they need at any time. This can include just-in-time
training where a person gets exactly the training he or she needs to perform a
task. Self-paced courses are created with E-learning authoring tools. Self-paced
courses can be delivered in many ways including Internet, Intranet or Local Area
Networks, CD-ROM or DVD.
Discussion Groups: A discussion group is a collection of conversations that
occur over time. It allows for comments to be posted and viewed by students
and teachers as per their convenience. Other names for discussion groups are
message boards, bulletin boards and discussion forums.
Electronic mail: It is one of the most popular tools used in E-learning. By
definition it is mail delivered through electronic means. Today, e-mail is primarily
known as communication from one person to another or many others through
the use of computer and networks.
Podcasting: Podcasts are digital audio or video files containing meaningful
content for learning that are available in websites and podcasting is the process
of creating and distributing such learning material.
Online Video: Online videos are video files containing learning contents available
in the Internet. Educational online videos are available in You Tube, Blip T1,
and Google Video etc.
Blogs: Blog is a personal website that contains content organised like a journal
or diary. Each entry is dated, and the entries are displayed on the webpage in
reverse chronological order, so that the most recent entry is posted at the top.
Readers catch up with blogs by starting at the top and reading down until they
encounter material they have read. Usually blog is the work of an individual but
110 blogs combining contributions of several people make “group blogs”.
Collaborative Video (Vlog): A video-blog or vlog is simply a blog that uses E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
video as its primary medium in each post and vlogging is the act of publishing
video to a blog.
Webcasting: Webcasting is defined as the dissemination of recorded or live
content over the internet
Wiki: Wikis are open, dynamic websites with collaboratively constructed
knowledge, information, and resources, which are freely available to any internet
user. Wikis allow users virtually from anywhere to create and contribute to any
wiki of their choice. At the same time, wikis enable users of the technology to
critically review and collaboratively revise the wiki they use. As a result, users
can quickly and frequently update information, fix errors, and constantly extend
the knowledge network.
Interactive Whiteboard: It is a large interactive display that connects to a
computer and a projector. A projector is used to display a computer’s video output
onto the whiteboard, which then acts as a huge touch screen, where users control
the computer using a pen, finger, or other device (SMART technologies, 2006).
Interactive whiteboard are usually equipped with four digital writing utensils that
use digital ink replacing the traditional whiteboard markers.
Learning Management Systems: In order to provide online courses and
programmes on World Wide Web (WWW),we require a software system called
Learning Management System(LMS).An LMS is an integrated set of softwares/
programmes that automate the administration, tracking and reporting of online
courses /programmes. It provides a centralized organizational approach to learning
for scheduling of courses and registration of learners, and assessment of their
learning outcomes. Some of the examples of LMS are Moodle, Black-Board etc.
Source; IGNOU (2018)
5.3.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of E-learning
Before proceeding further, it is worthwhile to look into the advantages and
disadvantages of this new technology for teaching and learning. This will enable
to understand what can be done with this technology and what can’t.
The web-based learning environment provides tremendous advantages over
traditional distance learning or classroom-based teaching. Some of these
advantages are:
i. Quick production, alteration and up-dating of course materials;
ii. Interaction with tutors, course writers, and students to enrich learning;
iii. Location and time independent delivery of course materials;
iv. Ability to serve a large number of students at a potentially reduced cost;
v. Interactive and dynamic learning experience through online assessment tools,
simulations and animated learning objects;
vi. Platform independent delivery, accessible through any computer with a
simple browser interface;
vii. Increased learner control through hypertext based presentation of information;
and
viii. Seamless integration of multimedia, enabling instructional designers to
prepare quality materials and learners to get a rich learning environment
(McCormack and Jones, 1998; Goldberg et al, 1996; Weller,2000 and Starr, 111
1997).
Technology for Enhancing In spite of its enormous advantages, the web-based learning is not devoid of
Learner Autonomy
problems. It is essential to understand these problems to design useful learning
environment for the learners. Some of the problems associated with e-learning are:
i) Students as well as teachers need to be trained to make use of this new
technology. Preparedness to use technology for learning is very low with
teachers; as a result technology dominates the pedagogic purposes.
ii) Lack of any acceptable standard of quality in web-based learning allows
uncontrolled growth of teaching on the web.
iii) Application of copyright laws on the web is indeterminate at this time as the
users can download any text or image file that he or she can view.
iv) Authentication and security over the network are still problematic to facilitate
online assessment for certification (Starr, 1997; Mc Cormack and Jones,
1998). The authenticity of a student's work is also a problem as online accepts
anyone’s project rather than the authentic student.
v) The computer marked assessments generally have a trend of being only
knowledge-based and not essentially practical-based.
vi) Self-discipline need to be inbuilt to get benefit of online learning by the
learners.
vii) Isolation can be faced by learners even though they interact with teachers
and peer group through online.

Check Your Progress 1

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1) Write two advantages of e-learning?

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2) Write two disadvantages of e-learning?

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5.4 SYNCHRONOUS LEARNING

Synchronous learning, often called as traditional learning or classroom teaching
and learning, where instructor monitor or teach and all students are present. The
teaching and learning are completed on a schedule with interaction between
the students and the instructor. Synchronous learning can take place either in a
classroom setting, in an online chat room, through a video conference, or using
a web-conferencing application, and there is a constant interaction between
instructor and students. In synchronous communication, interaction between
112 teacher and students occur at the same period of time. Synchronous mode helps
students acquire information within no time, since both are engaged in the process E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
of conversation at the same time. Examples of synchronous communication
are face to face talk through online, online chat, phone calls, video chat, virtual
classrooms, video conferencing and audio conferencing.

Fig. 5.2: Various Forms of Communication in Synchronous Learning

Source: IGNOU (2018)

5.4.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Synchronous Learning
The following are the advantages of synchronous learning:
i) Instructors interact with many students in real-time, making group
discussions/activities possible;
ii) Instructors can clear the misconceptions about contents when students require;
iii) Students can interact with peer group and answer any questions raised during
the learning process.
The following are the disadvantages of synchronous learning:
i) Both the student and the instructor have to stick on to time schedules;
ii) Training required to deliver quality instructions by instructor as time is
limited;
iii) Students may not be given individual attention as other students need wait
to clear their doubts;
iv) The learning pace is set by the instructor, not the students.

5.5 ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING

Asynchronous learning is a not real-time, designed particularly for self-pace
learning. Students understand and learn from reading, watching, and listening
to different types of content and interact with instructor and peer group at their 113
Technology for Enhancing own time and pace. Students are free to complete the course, assessment, and
Learner Autonomy
submit their works at their own pace by meeting the deadlines given to them.
Asynchronous learning helps students who are engaged in jobs and cannot devote
time for study due to their personal work, family commitment and job demands.
Examples for asynchronous communication technology are blogs, wikis, video-
blogs, vlog, forum, discussion boards, and electronic mail (Email).

Fig. 5.3: Various Communication Technologies used in Asynchronous Learning

Source: IGNOU (2018)

5.5.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Asynchronous Learning
The following are the advantages of asynchronous learning:
i) Students can learn at any time and any pace, according to their own needs.
ii) Students can repeatedly study the content to understand the concept.
iii) There is the chance for students to review other resources and web links for
their learning.
The following are the disadvantages of asynchronous learning.
i) Limited access to an instructor and peer group when required immediately.
ii) Some students may require appreciation real time and motivation, guidance
and interaction for their study.

5.6 BLENDED LEARNING

Blended learning is a term which means instruction and learning experiences
are provided through some combination of both face-to-face and technology-
mediated learning inputs. While providing technology-mediated learning
experiences, students are not required to be physically present at one place but
may be connected digitally through online communities. For example, one blended
learning course could involve students attending a class taught by a teacher in a
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traditional classroom setting while completing online components of the course E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
independently, outside of the classroom, on an online learning platform.
Classroom instruction time may be replaced or augmented by online learning
experiences, and online learning can include varying degrees of interaction
among learners or carrying out studies and learning activities by themselves
independently. However, in a quality blended learning programme, the content
and activities of both in-person and online learning are integrated with one
another and work toward achieving the same learning outcomes with the same
content. The various learning experiences are planned in a synthesized manner
and provided to learners in an orchestrated form.
Blended learning is sometimes called hybrid or mixed-mode learning. It uses
many types of teaching and learning experiences and also utilizes various design
and implementation across for academic programmes teachers and schools. The
potential variations of blended or mixed-mode learning are virtually endless. A
good way to get a sense of the range of possibilities of using mixed-mode learning
is to consider some examples:
i) In one school, teachers create mixed-mode delivery in their individual
classrooms. In another school, teachers choose to deliver a whole programme
through blended learning to its students. In both cases, teachers work together
to learn how to teach in a blended delivery system;
ii) Video recorded lectures, live video and other digitally enabled learning
opportunities can be a student’s primary instructional interactions with other
students and the teacher. In some cases, students may work independently
on online lessons, projects and assignments at home or elsewhere, only
periodically meeting with teachers to review their learning progress, discuss
their work, ask questions or receive assistance with difficult concepts. In other
cases, students may spend their entire day in a traditional school building,
but they will spend more time working online and independently than they
do receiving instruction from a teacher.
(Source: http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/3095, CC By SA 4.0)

5.7 Mobile Learning

With the rapid expansion of mobile technology, mobiles and smartphones, iphones
are becoming popular among learners. Although mobiles are used for a number
of personal purposes, they can be effectively used for student learning. Learning
through mobile is called mobile learning or m-learning. Mobile learning is an
emerging field that requires more research and development if the potential of
mobile learning to education and training is to be realised. Before studying the
concept of m-learning, it is essential for one to know what the term means in the
context of teaching-learning process. Many scholars and practitioners have tried
to define m-learning, but as the field is still changing, and will be for many more
years, many different definitions have been provided to recognise those changes.
For example, m-learning:
iii) is using the Palm (an early brand of mobile technology) as a learning device
(Quinn, 2000; Soloway et al., 2001).
iv) is any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed,
pre-determined location, or learning that happens when the learner takes
advantage of learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies
(O’Malley et al., 2003). 115
Technology for Enhancing v) is a form of eLearning that specifically employs wireless communication
Learner Autonomy
devices to deliver content and learning support (Brown, 2005).
vi) is any educational provision where the sole or dominant technologies are
hand-held or palm-top devices (Traxler, 2005).
(source: http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/558)
Thus, mobile learning includes access to electronic materials and resources
mediated by mobile devices for the exclusive purpose of teaching and learning
support. Taken this view, m-learning is a sub-set of e-learning available through
mobile technology to facilitate learning. Koole (2009) has proposed a framework
for understanding mobile learning. According to this framework, mobile learning
falls within the intersection of device, learner, and social aspects as represented
 Device Aspect — refers to size, weight, input or output capabilities, file
storage and retrieval, processor speed of the equipment.
 Learner Aspect — refers to their prior knowledge, memory, context and
transfer, discovery learning, emotions and motivations.
 Social Aspect — refers to conversations, co-operation and social interactions
among users.
 Social Technology (DS) intersection — refers to device networking, system
connectivity and collaboration tools.
 Interaction Learning (LS) intersection — refers to interaction, situated
cognition and learning communities.
 Device Usability (DL) intersection — refers to portability, information
availability, psychological comfort and satisfaction.
 Mobile Learning (DLS) — refers to information access and selection,
mediation and knowledge navigation in mobile learning.

Fig. 5.4: Koole’s Framework on Mobile Education

116 Source: Koole - A Model for Framing Mobile Learning (2009)
5.7.1 Strengths of Mobile Learning E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
Some key advantages of mobile learning include the following (Attewell,2005):
 It allows truly personalised learning anywhere, and anytime;
 It can be used to enliven, or add variety to, conventional lessons or courses;
 It can be used to remove some of the formality which non-traditional learners
may find unattractive or frightening and can make learning fun;
 It can help deliver and support literacy, numeracy and language learning;
 It can help learners and teachers to recognise and build on existing basic
literacy skills which allow young people to communicate in notational form
via text messages; facilitates both individual and collaborative learning
experiences;
 It enables discrete learning in the sensitive area of literacy;
 It can help to combat resistance to the use of ICT by providing a bridge
between mobile phone literacy and PC literacy;
 It has been observed to help young disconnected learners to remain more
focused for longer periods; and
 It can help to raise self-confidence and self-esteem by recognizing
uncelebrated skills, enabling non-threatening, personalised learning
experiences and enabling peer-to-peer learning and support.
5.7.2 Limitations of Mobile Learning
Most of the limitations of mobile learning are due to the small screen size of the
mobile devices and their limited battery life. A study by Doolittle and Mariano
(2008) found that learning while mobile was negatively affected in comparison
to learning while stationary. This is a serious drawback, and exclusive use of
mobile device for any teaching and learning is, therefore, not recommended.
Maniar et al. (2008) reported that regardless of the screen size of a mobile device,
students tended to have a positive overall opinion of m-learning, and watching a
video significantly increased their knowledge of the subject area. Because of the
small screen size in mobile devices, the interface should be built in such a way
to convey the message using the smallest amount of text, and proper navigation
must be built into the system to allow learners to move between screens and
sections of the lesson (Ally, 2004). Despite these small limitations, mobile devices
should be seen as an opportunity to deliver just-in-time learning and support
to learners in remote areas. As Sharples (2003) suggests, rather than seeing
mobiles as disruptive devices, educators should seek to exploit the potential of
the technologies children bring with them and find ways to put them into good
use for the benefit of learning practice.

Check Your Progress 2

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
3) Write two strengths of m-learning?
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Technology for Enhancing
Learner Autonomy 4) Write two limitations of m-learning?

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5.8 FLIPPED LEARNING

Nouri (2016) published in his article that the flipped classroom model is based
on the idea that traditional teaching is inverted in the sense that what is normally
done in class is flipped or switched with that which is normally done by the
students out of class. Thus, instead of students listening to a lecture in class
and then going home to work on a set of assigned problems, they read course
literature and assimilate lecture material through video at home and engage in
teacher-guided problem-solving, analysis and discussions in class. Proponents
of flipped classroom list numerous advantages of inverting teaching and learning
in higher education according to the flipped classroom model: it allows students
to learn at their own pace, it encourages students to actively engage with lecture
material, it frees up actual class time for more effective, creative and active
learning activities, teachers receive expanded opportunities to interact with and
to assess students’ learning, and students take control and responsibility for their
learning (Gilboy, Heinerichs, & Pazzaglia, 2015; Betihavas et al., 2015).
5.8.1 Advantages of Flipped Learning
i) Encourages Spirit of Research in Students
In flipped classroom students get to see what everybody else has seen and think
what nobody else has thought. Teacher allots some concepts to students in class
which they go home and find about those concepts by themselves .They make
notes in their own style, which paves way to original and unique understanding.
ii) Liberation in Homework
The flipped classroom technique gives ample scope for students to make their
own choice of expressing views on the given concept. They get to watch videos,
and read different learning materials which give them freedom to make notes.
Previously students, who took running notes, would always have a risk of missing
points. But now students can pause, rewind and save the information to carry to
class or for further use.
iii) Develops Collaborative Work Culture
Unlike traditional learning, students share the information they collect with their
classmates in a flipped classroom. Eventually, this technique encourages peer
learning, project based learning, etc. which encourage slow learners to learn
and participate in sharing their views by putting aside their inhibitions. They
are kept busy with the activities and tasks; moreover they get to seek help and
personal attention from the teacher who was not approachable otherwise. The
flipped classroom gives more freedom to teachers to zero on how much time
to spend with each student. Students like struggling students, great performers,
introverted kids, can get the attention they need. In this case, a teacher gets chance
to observe the students' pace of learning and frames the instructions accordingly.
The flipped class caters to the needs of irregular students who can catch up with
118 the peer group faster and learn easily.
iv) Student Centered Classroom E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
The focus in the classroom shifts from teacher needs to student needs as it
stresses on student centred or learner centred teaching approach. Teacher makes
use of time in classroom by supporting students in grasping the concepts through
practical application and giving hands on experience as they already have an
idea of the concept.
v) Versatile and Engaging Learning Environment
The flipped classroom inspires teachers to offer a versatile and engaging learning
environment to share learning content, while entrusting more responsibility on
students regarding their own career. At work place like-minded teachers can
share resources, tips, to make successful flipped classrooms. While this model
of education has not spread in each and every classroom yet, it seems it is going
to happen in the future.
(Source: R. Srilatha, “Flipped Classrooms: Advantages and Disadvantages”, International
Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities, Volume 3, Issue 1, Page
Number 307-309, 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International)

5.8.2 Limitations of Flipped Learning

Flipped classroom is inspiring teachers to change the way they've always done
things, and it is motivating them to bring technology into their classrooms through
the use of video and virtual classrooms. However, flipped learning suffers from
some limitations.
i) More Workload on Teachers
Teacher needs to spend more time in planning her lessons as each individual
student watches various videos and tools. She must put in extra effort to make
activities and tasks which would test the potential of all kinds of students. Students
with their prior learning experiences demonstrate their mastery of contents
differently. "Are we doing things differently or doing different things?" It is an
important question to reflect on by teachers and practitioners around the globe.
ii) Technical Issues
There are various technical issues associated with flipped learning. Students
must have access to Internet to perform various learning tasks. Without access to
Internet they cannot do their projects and homework. Lack of technical knowledge
or technology means no work or no progress on the part of both teachers and
students. There is another threat that students may spend more time in front of
the screens and there is the possibility of getting distracted by unwarranted and
not useful e-materials.
iii) Initial Set Up Needs More Time
Teachers need to plan, organise and implement their lessons, tasks and activities
in such a way that students find them interesting. In case of lack of technical
knowledge or if students are unable to catch up with teacher’s guidelines, the
whole purpose of it would be lost. Students need to have zeal to do new things.
The socio economic background of students and teachers plays a vital role as
they need to have access to different technological resources. Thus, teacher
needs to be more patient in working out things. Initially, flipped classroom can
be experimented in a few schools. Later on, it can be scaled up to more schools
based on the initial experiments.
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Technology for Enhancing iv) Interest of Students
Learner Autonomy
If students are not interested and drop the idea of doing homework, there is no
room for flipped class.Teachers creativity primarily needs to focus on motivating
students to do their homework.
v) Not Every One’s Cup of Tea
The flipped classroom method would be more apt for self disciplined and self
motivated students. Students should have good knowledge in coping with
technical problems too. On the other hand, in case of failure to complete the
homework, it would demotivate students further. It consumes more time for
students to familiarize themselves with the new learning approach.
vi) Highly Expensive and Risky
In order to implement flipped classrooms, educational institutions need to be
financially ready to bear the cost of installing devices, projects, new curriculum
and training the teachers in skills needed. The managements need to plan and
decide on issues like at what level of teaching and which subjects and curriculum
can be suitable for flipped class.
vii) Change May be a Bitter Pill
Teachers, who though are aware of the drawbacks of traditional methods, still
don’t mind implementing the new method but this change requires a lot of
efficiency, patience, willingness to accept the change and self motivation. Teachers
themselves need a lot of training in order to equip themselves with new trends in
teaching and embrace innovative techniques. The more challenging role a teacher
needs to play is with same amount of exuberance teacher requires to motivate
students. Further, there is still a doubt if one would be sure of accomplishing the
targeted goals.

5.9 LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LMS)

One of the most recent innovations in distance education has been the
implementation of course management or learning management systems that
allow educators to develop and deliver instruction and learning opportunities in
an organized and collaborative manner. These systems can incorporate a wide
variety of materials, including text and multimedia resources such as learning
objects obtained from various learning repositories.
They can offer a variety of assignments that students can complete at a time
that is convenient to them working alone or with other students. Learners can
collaborate on projects and mentor each other. Instructors can provide timely and
constructive feedback. Through the use of course management systems, educators
are able to deliver the same quality learning experiences to students who are on
campus and students who are many kilometers away.
A Learning Management System (commonly abbreviated as LMS) is a software
application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting
of learning activities and events. Most LMSs are web-based which facilitate
“anytime, anywhere, any pace” access to learning content and administration.
Some LMSs can also help us to deliver and manage instructor-led synchronous
and asynchronous online teaching. In essence, an LMS is a strategic solution
for planning, delivering, and managing most learning events, including online,
virtual classroom, and instructor-led courses.
120
The LMSs are also called Content Management Systems. However, according E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
to Chapman and Hall (2001), they are designed for a much broader purpose
and are used to create information portals for organizations and can serve as the
foundation for the practice of knowledge management. Generally LMS should
be able to do the following (ASTD, 2009):
 centralize and automate administration
 use self-service and self-guided services
 assemble and deliver learning content rapidly
 consolidate training initiatives on a scalable web-based platform
 support portability and standards
 personalize content and enable knowledge reuse.
5.9.1 Features of LMS
Generally LMS consists of a variety of features and Edutools (2009) provides a
comparison of both proprietary and open source products based on the features
identified by the users. According to Edutools (2009), the following list shows
some of the basic features of LMS:
i) Communication Tools
 Discussion forum is a threaded online text conversation between participants.
 Discussion Management includes all of the accessing and scheduling
associated with running a discussion forum.
 File exchange tools allow learners to upload files from their local computers
and share these files with instructors or other students in an online course.
 Internal email is electronic mail that can be read or sent from inside an online
course.
 Online Notes/Journal enables students to make notes in a personal or private
journal. Students can share personal journal entries with the instructor or
other students but cannot share private journal entries.
 Real-time chat is a conversation between people over the Internet that
involves exchanging messages back and forth at virtually the same time.
 Whiteboard tools include an electronic version of a dry-erase board used
by instructors and learners in a virtual classroom (also called a smart board
or electronic whiteboard) and other synchronous services.
ii) Productivity Tools
 Bookmarks allow students to easily return to important pages within their
course or outside their course on the web. In some cases bookmarks are
for an individual student’s private use, and in others can be shared with an
instructor or amongst a group.
 Calendar/Progress Review tools enable students to document their plans for
a course and the associated assignments in a course.
 Searching within a course is a tool that allows users to find course material
based on key words.
 Work offline/synchronize is a set of tools that enable students to work offline
in their online course and for their work to be synchronized into the course
121
Technology for Enhancing the next time they log-in. Sometimes students can download course content
Learner Autonomy
to their local computers and work offline.
 Orientation/Help tools are designed to help students learn how to use the
course management system. Typically, these tools are self-paced tutorials,
user manuals, and email or telephone help desk support.
iii) Student Involvement Tools
 Group Work is the capacity to organize a class into groups and provide group
work space that enables the instructor to assign specific tasks or projects.
 Community Networking tools allow students to create social group, study
groups, or collaborative teams without instructor intervention.
 Student Portfolios are areas where students can showcase their work in a
course, display their personal photo, and list demographic information.
Content Authoring and integration in text, audio, video, graphics, animation
and multimedia.
 Provision for student and instructor blogs and wikis.
5.9.2 Strengths and Limitations
The LMS has the following strengths:
 It provides a centralized learning environment to provide consistency in
teaching and student assessment;
 It is available 24X7 to the learners, and multiple students can access the
course content simultaneously;
 It provides simple and easy templates to help the teacher to develop software
related skills easily;
 It provides tracking of the students to know how they are performing, how
much time they have been spending in the course pages and activities, etc.;
 It saves teacher time to provide more quality time in class, as they can delegate
some routine tasks to be done after the class using the LMS;
 It can provide collaborative group learning opportunity to the students;
 It gives one stop solution to the learners as all related activities are done
through the LMS, and the learners can depend on this as a guide to search
and find information.
Limitations of LMS
Many LMSs provide templates for the creation of online course content. Templates
allow teachers to design and create courses easily and quickly in a familiar
environment without the need for much training. Templates are acceptable where
discussion and debate are central to understanding and knowledge building.
However, they are rather insufficient when there is a need to develop knowledge
of subject matter such as mathematics and science, which require illustration and
demonstration.
Most modern LMSs have the capability to collect, organize and report data on
learners’ activities. Tracking may include data on time spent on a learning activity,
when it was started and completed, and number of attempts at an assessment
item. But, tracking eliminates a key benefit of LMS, which is the creation of a
safe environment that frees students from the fear of failure and the pressure of
122 time that is common of a conventional classroom.
Some learners, who know that all their learning activities are being tracked and E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
recorded, may feel less comfortable experimenting, taking chances, and pushing
the limits of their knowledge. It is possible that instead of learning from their own
mistakes (which is quite effective way to learn), they will try to avoid making
any mistakes at all.
As users become more knowledgeable and comfortable with the use of LMS,
they will demand many advanced features and functionality, including support
for wireless devices, better collaborative learning tools, and better content
management capabilities. The next-generation of LMSs may have better
functionalities, customizability, flexibility, interoperability, and scalability.
Moreover, after users move beyond the thrills of the new technology, they will
focus their attention on the educational functions of the tools. This will lead to
the development of robust LMSs that are guided by pedagogical considerations
and not by what the developers or the tools can do.

Check Your Progress 3

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
5) Define LMS

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6) Write about two open source LMS?

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5.9.3 Criteria for Selecting LMS

Selecting the right online-learning management system and achieving a successful
implementation is a big challenge. This is particularly true for organizations
which have historically relied on conventional classroom based approaches to
learning and teaching. Evaluating the many associated issues regarding selection
of LMS and ensuring that the organizational infrastructure is able to support it
is a major challenge.
Every institution will have different requirements, and therefore, one LMS may
not be useful for all organizations. People tend to buy or use a particular LMS,
because someone else has used it, and has recommended the same. Though it may
be a good approach to start with, it is not a good idea to implement the strategy
for an institutional decision making process. It is recommended that some steps
to follow while deciding on the use of LMS institution-wide. The steps to be
followed are as follows:
Step 1: Form a core selection team in the institution by including teachers who
are knowledgeable about LMS, and/or have some experience of using the same.
If no internal expertise is available, it is also a good idea to have people from
outside the institution to be member of the selection group. However, their number 123
Technology for Enhancing may not be more than the internal people, and no one in the group should have
Learner Autonomy
any conflict of interest.
Step 2: Decide on the major goal of the institution to use LMS. It is essential to
clear about why the institution wants to use LMS, and why it wants to go ahead
with this approach. This may not be a question in many institutions to address, but
it is better to have clarity of this. One institution may want to improve teaching and
learning by using LMS, others may want to increase its reach to more students.
Both these goals would have different implications; one may require the LMS to
be robust to handle more concurrent students, while the other may not require this.
Step 3: List a set of criteria to evaluate the LMS. These criteria will be first
level of evaluation for assessing the LMS in the context of the organization.
Some of these criteria may be: Cost of Ownership, Maintainability and Ease of
Maintenance, Usability, Ease of Use, and User documentation, User Adoption/
Vendor Profile, Standards Compliancy, Learning Object Metadata Integration,
Scalability, Security, Hardware and Software Considerations, Multilingual
Support, etc.
Step 4: List the requirements for the LMS in terms of the features. This will be
second level of criteria for selecting LMS. Categorize these requirements as ‘must
have’, ‘should have’ and ‘nice to have’. For example, institution may not want an
in-built synchronous videoconference option in the LMS, and may like to put it
as ‘nice to have’, while an institution wants a variety of quizzes to be used, and
want this as a ‘should have’ that institution may like to compromise on different
types of questions only; and then it may like to have a feature like discussion
forum as ‘must have’, on which it will not compromise at all. The requirement
analysis and specification is unique to each institution, but as different departments
will have different needs, it is important to involve all stakeholders. However,
it may be noted that it would be impossible to find the right LMS with all the
features that the institution may like to have. So, it is needed to take decisions
using some criteria.
Step 5: Review the LMS options available by identifying candidate options and
visiting their website to prepare a chart showing availability of different features
as listed in the requirement document. Shortlist some of the LMS vendors.
Step 6: Send Request for Proposals (RFP) to these identified vendors to give
their quotes for deployment of the LMS with hosting option and without hosting
option; for direct one time purchase and for per user license basis; for content
conversion and for maintenance of the system.
Step 7: Review the proposals received, and select 2-3 vendors. Ask for
demonstrations by the selected vendors. Take decision.
5.9.4 Some More Criteria for Selecting Learning Management
System
Institution may like to include some or all of the following questions in the criteria:
i) Cost of Ownership
 What are the costs for licensing, software, hardware and custom development
requirements?
 How fast can you be up and running?
 What level of expertise is required?
124  What kind of support and assistance are available?
ii) Maintainability and Ease of Maintenance E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
• How many valuable resource hours will this take to administer and maintain
at the server level, and at the program level?
 How granular and distributed is the administration (the more granular the
better)?
 Are all of the data processes automated and will they integrate easily with
your other systems?
 Does the program run on a server platform on which your staff already has
excellent expertise?
iii) Usability, Ease of Use, and User documentation
 How available is documentation? What about guiding , training and providing
online help?
 How responsiveness will support be?
 Will the program require lots of training or is it fairly intuitive to use?
 How long will it take faculty to set up their courses at a minimal level?
iv) User Adoption/ Vendor Profile
 Will the vendor be around tomorrow? How much is the market share?
 If the product is Open-Sourced, is there a strong development community
associated with the program?
 Are comparable institutions currently utilizing the program?
v) Openness
Note: This criterion is applicable to Open-Sourced LMS’s only.
 How open is the source code?
 Is it written in a modular format that is designed for easy modification and
new, custom modules?
 Are there clear code specifications for writing new modules?
vi) Standards Compliancy
 Does the LMS adhere to specifications like SCORM, IMS, OKI, AICC?
 Can the LMS import and manage content and courseware that complies with
standards regardless of the authoring system that produced it?
 Is XML support available?
vii) Integration Capacity
 Has the application been integrated with other systems?
 Does the solution allow for ready integration with other systems?
viii) Learning Object Metadata Integration
 How available is compatible content?
 What is the capacity to integrate with existing and newly created learning
objects?
ix) Reliability & Effectiveness
 Is the solution reliable? How well will this program help an average group
of faculty deliver their materials online? 125
Technology for Enhancing x) Scalability
Learner Autonomy
 Is the program suitable for both small and large installations?
 How easily does the solution allow for growth of users, and content,
functionality?
xi) Security
 Will it handle security or authentication schemas?
 Are there tools for digital right management (DRM)?
 Are there the provisions for privacy issues?
xii) Hardware and Software Considerations
 Does it support multiple Operating System platforms (including Open-
Sourced OS, Linux, Windows)?
 What are the client browser requirements?
 What are the database requirements?
 What additional server software is required?
 What are the hardware specifications?
xiii) Multilingual Support
 Does the system support additional languages?
5.9.5 Learning Management Systems: Examples
Educators can choose from several hundred CMS and LMS products. Below are
examples of two well-known open-source course delivery platforms.
 ATutor is a web-based learning content management system that was initially
developed by the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of
Toronto to offer maximum flexibility regarding accessibility and adaptability
of online courses. It can be accessed bylearners with disabilities who have
access to assistive technologies.
 Moodle is a LMS that is guided by the social constructivist learning
philosophy, i.e., learners construct new knowledge as they interact with
their environment. The software comprises various modules that include
assignments, chats, forums, glossaries, lessons, journals, quizzes, and
resources.
MOODLE
Moodle is an acronym for "Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning
Environment''.
Moodle is a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and
learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalised
learning environments. website: http://moodle.org. According to Moodle statistics
(retrieved on 15.08.2019 from https://moodle.net/stats/) there are 104, 230
registered sites by 225 countries and 19,480,805 courses created using Moodle.
Moodle is designed to support a style of learning called Social Constructionism.
This style of learning is interactive. The social constructionist philosophy believes
that people learn best when they interact with the learning material, construct
126 new material for others, and interact with other students about the material. The
difference between a traditional class and the social constructionist philosophy is E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
the difference between a lecture and a discussion. Moodle does not require using
the social constructionist method for your courses. However, it best supports this
method.
Moodle is primarily developed in Linux using Apache, MySQL and PHP(also
sometimes known as the LAMP platform). It is also regularly tested with Windows
XP/2000/2003/2007/2010 (WAMP), Solaris 10 (Sparc and x64), Mac OS Xand
Netware 6 operating systems. Support for PostgreSQL, Oracle and Microsoft
SQL Server is also available.
The requirements for Moodle are as follows:
Hardware
 Disk space: 160MB free (min). You will require more free space to store
your teaching materials.
 Memory: 256MB (min), 1GB (recommended). The general rule of thumb is
that Moodle can support 50 concurrent users for every 1GB of RAM, but this
will vary depending on your specific hardware and software combination.
 This includes hosting limits of PHP or MySQL on a hosting service.
 The capacity can limit the number of users your Moodle site can handle.
Software
 Web server software. Most sites use Apache as the web server software.
Moodle works fine under any web server that supports PHP, such as IISon
Windows platforms.
 PHP scripting language. (Please note that there have been issues installing
Moodle with PHP-Accelerator). There are currently two versions (or
branches) of PHP available: PHP4 and PHP5. See the PHP Moodle version
requirements here PHP settings by Moodle version.If you want to run Moodle
on your own computer, please see Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP for
step-by-step instructions for installation on most popular platforms.
Moodle enables to add five kinds of static course material:
 Text pages
 Web pages
 Links to anything on the Web
 A view into one of the course’s directories
 A label that displays any text or image
However, Moodle enables you to add six types of interactive course materials:
 Assignment (uploading files to be reviewed by the teacher)
 Choice (a single question)
 Journal (an online journal)
 Lesson (a conditional, branching activity)
 Quiz (an online test)
 Survey (with results available to the teacher and/or students) 127
Technology for Enhancing Moodle also offers five kinds of collaborative activities where students collaborate
Learner Autonomy
with each other:
 Chat (live online chat between students)
 Forum (you can have none or several online forums for each course)
 Glossary (students and/or teachers can contribute terms to site-wide
glossaries)
 Wiki (a familiar tool for collaboration)
 Workshop (For peer review and feedback of assignments that the students
upload)
So far, we have listed five kinds of static course materials, six kind of interactive
course materials and five kinds of collaborative course materials. In addition,
some of Moodle’s add-on modules add more type of interaction. For example,
one add-on module enables students and teachers to schedule appointments with
each other. For more about Moodle check the website.

Fig. 5.5: Sample screenshot of l Moodle Website

ATutor
A Tutor is an Open Source Web-based Learning Content Management
System(LCMS/LMS) and social networking environment designed with
accessibility and adaptability in mind (Website: http://www.atutor.ca).
Administrators can install or update ATutor in minutes, develop custom themes
to give ATutor a new look, and easily extend its functionality with feature
modules. Educators can quickly assemble, package, and redistribute Web-based
instructional content, easily import pre-packaged content, and conduct their
courses online. Students learn in an adaptive, social learning environment.
ATutor requires the following to run in a web server:
 HTTP Web Server is required. (We highly recommend using Apache)
 PHP 5.4+ is not supported in ATutor versions prior to 2.1.1.
 PHP 7 support added in A Tutor 2.2.3+)
 MySQL - 4.1.10 to 5.6.* (Mysql 5.7 added in A Tutor 2.2.4 which is the
128 latest version as on August 2019.)
 E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards

Fig. 5.6: Sample screenshot of ATutor

Important ATutor features are as follows:

For Learners
 Social Networking: Teacher can turn on social networking within courses
and create course networking groups to enhance class interaction.
 Security: Login passwords are encrypted. Forgotten passwords must be
reset, rather than retrieved by email, removing the possibility they might be
intercepted when being sent over the Internet.
 My Courses: Instructors and students can manage the ATutor courses they
teach and/or are enrolled in.
 Inbox/Messaging: All users on an ATutor system have an Inbox, through
which they can send and receive private messages from other users. Messages
sent are saved to ‘Sent’ Messages, which remain for a set period before being
deleted. Messages can be exported and saved externally.
 Student Profile: Students can add personal information about themselves
for others to see, and include a profile picture, which is also displayed with
forum posts.
 Adaptive Navigation: Learners can move through ATutor content using
global, hierarchical, or sequential navigation tools.
 Work Groups: Learners can collaborate with others on course projects,
communicate as a group through the forums share resources using the File
Storage, and work together authoring project documents.
 File Storage: All users on an ATutor system have their own file storage
utility. File storage areas can also be shared across groups, or an entire
course. Version control can be enabled to keep track of drafts or changes to
documents.
 Group Blog: Each group has access to their own blog, to which they can
post public messages or private messages.
 Feedback: Following an action feedback is given on the status of the
operation. This could be a success message, warnings to consider, or errors
to fix.
129
Technology for Enhancing  Preference Settings: Learners can control ATutor features and the theme
Learner Autonomy
ATutor is presented in.
 Communication Tools: Learners can communicate with others using ATutor’s
private mail, the discussion forums, the chat rooms, or the “User’s Online”
tool. Students can communicate with those in other courses through a
community forum. Subscribe to forums or topic threads to have forum
messages sent by email.
 Content Tracker: Learners can keep track of the content pages they have
visited.
 Test Manager: Learners can take tests, review test results, and keep track of
their scores. Course Guests can take practice tests.
 Glossary: Words and phrases added to the glossary by the instructor,
can be accessed from terms embedded within content pages, or viewed
alphabetically in their entirety using the Glossary tool.
 Links Database: Each course, and groups within courses, has a tool for
collecting links to Web-based information. Both students and instructors
can add links.
 Course Search: A search engine allows learners to search course content.
Search for courses in the course catalogue.
For Teachers
 Instructor ATutor Handbook: A link to the full Handbook is available one
very screen.
 Guest Access to Courses: Guests can be granted access to private courses.
Guests can view, but not post content to a course.
 SCORM Run-Time Environment & SCO Manager: Add pre-packaged,
interactive, interoperable, content to your courses with support for SCORM
1.2.
 Course Tool Preferences: Instructors can choose from the available course
tools and menu modules, selecting only those that are used in a particular
course. Optionally display tools in the main navigation bar, or link them into
the course home page for quick access.
 Course Manage Page: All ATutor tools can be accessed quickly from a central
course Manage Page.
 Content Usage: Individual usage statistics can be reviewed to identify gaps
in content coverage and the learning tendencies of each learner.
 Work Groups Manager: Instructors can manually create, or automatically
generate work groups for a variety of purposes.
 Course Tools: Instructors have access to all the learning tools that are available
to learners.
 File Storage: The File Storage utility can be used to store private files, files
to be shared with course members or group members, or used as a place to
collect assignment submissions.
 Assignment Drop Box: Extending the File Storage, instructors can create file
folders for collecting assignment submissions. A collection of assignments
can be zipped together and downloaded.
130
 Content Editor: Instructors can create content in HTML or plain text. This E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
content can be imported from a local editor, or edited directly online. Release
dates can be set to control when content is viewable to learners.
 Visual Editor: A JavaScript based WYSIWYG editor is available as an
extension of the Content Editor so content creators can format course
materials without knowing any HTML.
 Interoperable Content: Instructors can export or import content from or to
ATutor as IMS/SCORM conformant Content Packages that can be viewed
offline in the accompanying viewer, or imported into ATutor or another
conformant e-learning system. Entire courses, or individual course units
can be packaged for viewing or redistribution.
 Reading List: Instructors can gather a list of resources (books, papers,
etc.) related to topics in a course, and create a Reading List based on those
resources.
 Learning Objects Repository: Search the TILE learning objects repository
for course related materials. Import or export content from or to ATutor.
 Backup Manager: The entire content and structure of a course can be backed
up and stored on the ATutor server, or downloaded and saved to your local
computer. Create a copy of a course as a master for future sessions, or move
a course to a new location.
 News & Announcements: Instructors can post messages to the course Home
Page to guide learners through the course. News can be used for weekly
introductions, announcing important dates, or posting critical information.
 File Manager: Instructors can upload and manage course related files.
Directories can be created.
 Test Manager: Instructors can create tests with multiple choice, true/false,
Likert, ordering, matching, drag and drop, and a number of open ended
question types. M/C, multi-select M/C, ordering, matching, and T/F questions
are marked automatically. Self-marking tests can be created to provide
students with instant feedback. Create surveys and link them to the course
home page. Select from a pool of questions to generate random question
quizzes. Add questions to a Question Database, then select questions from
the database to assemble a test or quiz.
 Polls: Instructors can create one question polls to quickly gather student
opinions.
 Forums: Instructors can create and manage multiple forums for each of
their courses. Messages can be edited, deleted, locked from reading and/or
replying, and “stuck” to the top of a thread list if a message is important.
Administrators can create forums shared across multiple courses. Subscribe
to forums, or to topic threads to have messages sent by email.
 Course Email: Instructors can send bulk email to course members, assistants,
or both.
 Course Properties: Instructors can view course login statistics, edit course
properties, and send course-wide email messages. A default display language
can be set for each course. Assign a course as public, protected, or private,
or hide a course while it is being developed.
131
Technology for Enhancing  Enrollment Manager: Instructors may import or export an enrollment list
Learner Autonomy
for staff keeping. Create an enrollment list online to add new students to a
course. Automatically generate login names and passwords for students and
send them by email when a student is enrolled in a course. Assign students
as Alumni so they can participate in discussions for future course sessions.
 Privileges: Through the Enrollment Manager, instructors can assign
students access to various instructor tools, creating teaching assistants or
co-instructors.
Other LMSs
Examples of other learning management systems are:
 Blackboard Learning System ( http://www.blackboard.com/)
 Claroline (http://www.claroline.net/)
 ILIAS (http://www.ilias.de/docu/)
 Sakai Project (http://sakaiproject.org/)
5.9.6 E-learning Standards
While developing e-learning materials for a course or a programme, it is important
to follow the standards in e-learning. These standards explain the relationship
between the course and and a Learning Management System.
Although there are many standards which allow communication between a course
and a Learning Management System, top 4 comparability standards are majorly
followed while developing e-learning contents (https://elearningindustry.com/
compatability-standards-in-elementary-4-types, retrived on 21/7/2020). These
standards are briefly discussed below.
i) Standard 1: Installation and Initial Launch
This standard explains the relationship of the course between a learner and the
courseware. The learner should not find difficulty to login in and start the course.
The e-learning course needs to provide the technical requirements such as screen
resolution, macromedia flash player, etc. right in the beginning of the course. It is
no more a problem as the courses are hosted on a Learning Management System.
ii) Standard 2: SCORM Compliance
SCROM ( Sharable Content Object Reference Model) helps in tracking the course
as well as keeps a record of a learner's progress in a course, status of completion,
sores obtained by the learner through assessment, number of times the course has
been accessed by him/her, and the time spent by him/her on each screen. All these
information will be of great help to improve upon the courseware by knowing
about the learning difficulty, percentage of pass or fail in the assessment, etc.
iii) Standard 3: AICC Compliance
This standard is somewhat similar to SCROM standard in tracking learner'
s progress in a course. AICC( Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training
Committee) explains the interaction between e-learning courses and Learning
Management System to support tracking of courses. This standard allows a course
to communicate information in the HTTP format.
iv) Standard 4: Tin Can API
Tin Can API can track learner's progress in e-learning courses any where and on
132 any device. Whereas SCROM helps you to track learning experiences only on
desktops and laptops, Tin Can API can help in tracking mobile learning, gamified E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
learning, collaborative learning, simulations, etc.

5.10 Word Processing and Power Point

Presentations
Word processing denotes the creation, editing, formatting, storage, and output of
both printed and online or electronic documents (Young, 2020). Word processing
is essential part in education, business, industry, etc. for personal computers,
internet browsers and electronic-mail (e-mail) applications, printing, publication
and so on.
Word-processing software includes basic applications designed for preparation of
documentation. Many word-processing applications are as part of a suite which
includes word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, image creation, database, etc.
For example, Microsoft Word, the most widely used word-processing software,
is part of the Microsoft Office suite, which includes Microsoft's PowerPoint
presentation and Excel spreadsheet, Access, publication, etc. Corel WordPerfect is
very popular word-processing software used for publication such as book, image
multimedia etc. OpenOffice.org is a complete office suite which is open source
software, free to use that includes a powerful word-processing tool, WRITER is
alternative to proprietary word-processing software.
Word Processing Functions
• Typing letters from keyboard as text input which can be presented in the
word processing files.
• Formatting the text such as bold, italic, underline, copy, paste, numbering,
aligning, coloring, deleting, inserting, table form, find and replace, etc.
• Document can be previewed, printed, stored in the computer, transfer through
external devices, mailed to others, etc.
• Documents can be converted to HTML for Web pages, portable document
format (PDF) files, and to rich text format (RTF) files.
• Advance features like formatting style, margining, reviewing, macros,
references, indexes, inserting images, icons, decoration and designing etc.

Fig. 5.7: Sample screenshot of Microsoft Word

Power Point presentation

Power Point presentations consist of a number of individual pages or "slides".
The "slide" analogy is a reference to the slide projector. Slides may contain text,
graphics, sound, movies, and other objects, which may be arranged freely. Power
Point, however, facilitates the use of a consistent style in a presentation using a 133
Technology for Enhancing template or "Slide Master”. The presentation can be printed, displayed live on
Learner Autonomy
a computer, or navigated through at the command of the presenter. For larger
audiences the computer display is often projected using a video projector. Slides
can also form the basis of webcasts. When you open the Power Point Software,
you can find the home page as given in Fig: 5.8. It contains slides where you can
type the content that you are going to present to audience, animation schemes,
designs and other important tools to make your presentation attractive.

Fig. 5.8: PowerPoint Home Page

Source: IGNOU (2013)

Check Your Progress 4

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.
b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
7) Define LMS
..................................................................................................................
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..................................................................................................................
8) Write about two open source LMS?
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..................................................................................................................
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9) Mention any three E-learning standards
..................................................................................................................
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5.11 LET US SUM UP

E-Learning is developing fast, and refers to the use of networked information
and communication technologies for the delivery of teaching and learning. In
this unit, we discussed the interchangeable terminologies used in describing
e-learning. Because of the numerous advantages, e-learning is being widely used
by educationists world over. While discussing the advantages, we also cautioned
about the limitations of e-learning due to faculty time and security related issues.
134 We discussed synchronous and asynchronous learning and its advantages and
disadvantages. M-learning was defined and described along with the strength E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
and limitation of it. Flipped learning was also discussed and we also highlighted
its advantages and disadvantages. LMS is a software used for teaching learning
process and we have to make the selection of LMS using some criteria. Towards
the end of the unit, we discussed open source LMSs such as Moodle and ATutor.
We also touched upon E-learning standards for development of e-content, word
processing and PowerPoint presentations.

5.12 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES

Ally, M. (2004). Using learning theories to design instruction for mobile
learningdevices. In Mobile Learning: Anytime Everywhere, edited by J. Attewell
and C.Savill-Smith, 5–8. London: Learning and Skills Development Agency.
http://www.mobilearn.org/download/events/mlearn_2004/MLEARN_%20
2004_book_of_conference_papers.pdf (accessed 12-08-2019).
ASTD (2009). Field Guide to learning Management Systems, Retrieved
from theWWW at http://www.astd.org/LC/LMSfieldguide.htm (accessed on
12/08/2019)
Attewell, J. (2005). From research and development to mobile learning: Tools
foreducation and training providers and their learners. http://www.mlearn.org.
za/CD/papers/Attewell.pdf (accessed 12-08-2019).
Betihavas, V., Bridgman, H., Kornhaber, R., & Cross, M. (2015). The evidence for
‘flipping out’: A systematic review of the flipped classroom in nursing education.
Nurse Education Today, 6, 15–21
Brown, H. T. (2005). Towards a model for M Learning. International Journal
on E-Learning, 4(3), 299–315.
Chapman, B., & Hall, B. (2001). Learning content management systems,
Sunnyvale, CA : Brandon-Hall
Cleveland-Innes, M. and Wilton, D.(2018). Guide to blended learning is made
available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence
(international): http://creativecommons.org/licences/by-sa/4.0.
Crompton, H. (2014). A diachronic overview of technology contributing
to mobile learning:A shift towards student-centred pedagogies: Increasing
access through mobile learning is made available under a Creative Commons
AttributionShareAlike 3.0
Doolittle, P.E., and Mariano, G.J. (2008). Working memory capacity and mobile
multimedia learning environments: Individual differences in learning while
mobile. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 17(4), 511–530.
EduTools. (2009). CMS: Feature List. Retrieved from the WWW at http://
edutools.info/feature_list.jsp?pj=4&f=823 (accessed on 14/08/2019)
French, Deanie; Hale, Charles; Johnson, Charles and Farr, Gerald (Eds.) (1999)
Internet-based learning: An introduction and framework for higher education and
business, London: Kogan Page
Gilboy, M. B., Heinerichs, S., & Pazzaglia, G. (2015). Enhancing student
engagement using the flipped classroom. Journal of nutrition education and
behavior, 47(1), 109–114.
Goldberg, Murray W.; Salari, Sasan and Swoboda, Paul (1996) World Wide
Web course tool: An environment for building WWW-based courses, Computer 135
Technology for Enhancing Network and ISDN Systems, Retrieved on (12-0-2019) from the WWW: http://
Learner Autonomy
www.webct.com/papers/p29/
https://atutor.github.io
Huber, P (1997) The rise of the Internet, Inside Multimedia, 167, 11 May. p.12
IGNOU (2013). Unit-13 Computer and E-learning, in Block 3 : Assessment
of Learning and Use of ICTs in BES-002 Teaching-learning and Assessment,
IGNOU: New Delhi
IGNOU (2018). Unit 1 Meaning and natureof information and communication
technology (ICT), Block-1 Understanding ICT, in BESE-135: Information and
Communication Technology, IGNOU: New Delhi
Khan, Badrul H. (1997) ‘Web-based instruction (WBI): what is it and why
is it?’ InKhan, Badrul H.(Ed). Web-based instruction, Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ:
EducationalTechnology Publication, p5-18
Koole, M.L. (2009). A model for framing mobile learning. In mobile
learning:Transforming the delivery of education and training, edited by M. Ally.
Edmonton:Athabasca University Press. http://www.aupress.ca/books/120155/
ebook/99Z_Mohamed_Ally_2009-MobileLearning.pdf (accessed 12-08-2019).
Maniar, N., Bennett, E., Hand, S., and Allan, G. (2008). The effect of mobile
phonescreen size on video based learning. Journal of Software, 3(4), 51–61
McCormack, Colin and Jones, David (1998) Building a web-based education
system, NewYork: Wiley Computer Publishing.
Nouri, J. (2016). The flipped classroom: for active, effective and increased learning
– especially for low achievers. International Journal of Educational Technology
in HigherEducation vol. 13, Article number: 33 (2016) http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by/4.0/
O’Malley, C., Vavoula, G., Glew, J., Taylor, J., Sharples, M., & Lefrere, P. (2003).
Guidelines for learning/teaching/tutoring in a mobile environment. MobiLearn
Deliverable 4. Retrieved from http://mobilearn.mobi/on [14-08-2019] from
WWW: http://www.wrhambrecht.com/research/coverage/
Piskurich, G.M. (2006). Online learning: E-learning. fast, cheap, and good,
performance improvement, 45 (1), 18-24.http://oasis.col.org/handle/11599/3095,
CC By SA 4.0
Quinn, C. (2000). mLearning: Mobile, wireless, in-your-pocket learning.
Retrieved from www.linezine.com/2.1/features/cqmmwiyp.htm
Sharples, M. (2003). Disruptive devices: Mobile technology for conversational
learning. International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Lifelong
Learning, 12(5/6), 504–520.
Soloway, E., Norris, C., Curtis, M., Jansen, R., Krajcik, J., Marx, R., Fishman,
& Blumenfeld, P. (2001). Making palm-sized computers the PC of choice for
K–12. Learning and Leading with Technology, 28(7), 32–57.
Srilatha, R. (2018). Flipped classrooms: Advantages and disadvantages”,
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research in Arts and Humanities,
Volume 3, Issue 1, Page Number 307-309, 2018. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International
Starr, Robin M. (1997) Delivery instruction on the World Wide Web: Overview
136 and basic design principles. Educational Technology, 37(3): 7-15
Traxler, J. (2005, June). Defining mobile learning. Paper presented at the IADIS E-learning: Types, Tools and
Standards
International Conference on Mobile Learning 2005, Qawra, Malta.
Weller, Martin James (2000) Creating a large-scale, third generation distance
education course, Open Learning, 15(3): 243-251
W R Hambercht & Co (2000) Corporate E-Learning: Exploring a New Frontier,
Retrieved elearning/ir/ir_explore.html
www.moodle.org
Young, Ray "Word Processing ." Encyclopedia of Business and Finance, 2nd ed.
. . Retrieved June 08, 2020 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.
com/finance/finance-and-accounting-magazines/word-processing
Sources:
Unit 9: E-Learning, Block-2-Technology Primer, of course: MDE-418 Educational
Communication Technologies of M.A. Distance Education of IGNOU http://
egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/41856
Unit 10: M-Learning, Block-2-Technology Primer of course:MDE-418
Educational Communication Technologies of M.A. Distance Education of IGNOU
http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/41858

5.13 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. i. Quick production, alteration and up-dating of course materials;
ii. Interaction with tutors, course writers, and students to enrich learning;
2. i) Students as well as teachers need to be trained to make use of this new
technology. Preparedness to use technology for learning is very low with
teachers, as a result technology dominates the pedagogic purposes.
ii) Lack of any acceptable standard of quality in web-based learning allows
uncontrolled growth of teaching on the web.
3. i) can help learners and teachers to recognise and build on existing basic
literacy skills which allow young people to communicate in notational
form via text messages; facilitates both individual and collaborative
learning experiences;
ii) enables discrete learning in the sensitive area of literacy;
4. i) Most of the limitations of mobile learning are due to the small screen size
of the mobile devices and their limited battery life.
ii) learning while mobile was negatively affected in comparison to learning
while stationary.
5. A Learning Management System (commonly abbreviated as LMS) is a
software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and
reporting of learning activities and events. Most LMSs are web-based which
facilitate “anytime, anywhere, any pace” access to learning content and
administration.
6. Moodle and ATutor
7. i). SCORM Compliance, ii) AICC Compliance iii) Tin Can API

137