Chapter 10 E-Learning: Tomorrows Technology Today

Ambuj Agarwal, Ann Thomas, Rashmi Gupta and Tamas Mandal, Students of Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur

Abstract
!ith the ad"ent of globalisation and "irtualisation, the education and the process of #nowledge impart has ta#en a turn $rom being a part of "irtual classrooms to learning while pla%ing games, e"er%thing is a part of the umbrella term we call e&learning
Keywords: e&learning, "irtual classrooms, '%perte(t courses, Interacti"e learning, Audio)Visual *earning, +&d learning en"ironments, VGSoM

The learning a"enue has been broadened significantl% and new inno"ations are coming up da% and night 2&learning toda% is just a glimpse of tomorrow1s technolog% toda% The e&learning mechanisms can be broadl% categorised in the following fields The% are e(plored one b% one hereunder

!irt al Classrooms
A Virtual -lassroom is an online space that teachers can use to support student learning It might contain acti"ities for indi"idual or group learning b% means of discussion forums, chats, ,ui33es and sur"e%s etc The% also maintain full online courses with modules of wor# 'omewor# acti"ities and assessment documents can be submitted online "ia this space These enhance collaborati"e learning since others can re"iew and comment on the a"ailable material and thus form online learning communities The important ad"antages of "irtual classrooms are that the% eliminate the need for web authoring s#ills -ontents can be easil% created through the site control area using templates Also, the curriculum resources for students are a"ailable during and outside school hours, unli#e most school intranets Students can onl% access their own Virtual -lassroom "ia a uni,ue username and password It is not without its drawbac#s too Virtual -lassrooms do not come with a ,ualit% assurance This happens because the

Introd ction
The dissemination of education has been a noble initiati"e since the earl% ages in histor% Scholars ha"e tra"elled leagues in ,uest for #nowledge and education -hinese scholars who "isited India ha"e been re"ered largel% in the histor% boo#s in India !ith the ad"ent of technolog%, this process has been facilitated in a major wa% The tra"el has become easier and the #nowledge is a"ailable online The latest technological platforms ha"e allowed for inno"ations in the field of e& learning Knowledge is now not restricted to the esoteric societies in far off areas Knowledge hunt has become a journe%, not onl% in the real world but also the "irtual world .eople can now #now about new things sitting in the comfort of their rooms /ne can "enture to the depths of the pacific sitting on a screen, stroll through the 0ubai airport or listen to the most comple( lectures in the world sitting in the comfort of one1s home

content and design is chosen at the local le"el of use All cop%rights should be chec#ed at the local le"el to ensure all material is clear of infringement 4lac#board *earning S%stems, /*AT, Moodle, 5oomla*MS, !i6i7 etc are some of the well accepted learning management s%stems

Indian Institute of Sciences also pro"ide a lecture series with one hour "ideos in more than BB; subjects $or the teacher, the combination of "ideo and audio helps to mimic the one on one e(perience of the classroom for deli"ering clear and complete instructions unli#e te(t $or the learner, this gi"es the ad"antage to store the lectures and mo"e at one1s own pace with pause and rewind which is something a classroom cannot alwa%s offer

Lect re "roadcasts
*ecture broadcasts do awa% with the time and cost constraints of tra"elling long distances to attend a particular course in a particular uni"ersit% Toda%, man% uni"ersities deli"er lecture broadcasts regularl%8 for instance, Stanford 9ni"ersit% broadcasts about :; courses e"er% ,uarter Most lecture broadcasts are deli"ered to users "ia podcasts In a podcast, all audio and "ideo files in a lecture series are maintained centrall% on the distributor<s ser"er as a web feed The learner uses special client application software #nown as a podcatcher to access this web feed !ith the application software a"ailable, the user can chec# for updates and download an% new files in the series, automaticall% if re,uired After download, the files can be used offline, gi"ing simple and con"enient access to episodic content Some also differentiate the distribution of "ideo content deli"ered "ia Atom or RSS enclosures with the name Video .odcasts =or "odcasts> 0istribution s%stems li#e iTunes and /deo made podcasting popular in !eb ? ; iTunes 9 has material from 9ni"ersities li#e /(ford, Stanford, -ambridge, MIT with more than @:,;;; files a"ailable for download Man% uni"ersities ha"e AouTube channels for broadcasting lectures The Indian Institutes of Technolog% and the

#yperte$t Co rses
In this method, structured course material is pro"ided electronicall% and can be "iewed with a browser '%perlin#s connect te(t, multimedia parts and e(ercises '%perte(ts will be present in almost all forms of web ? ; learning, as h%perte(ts are the norm rather than an e(ception in !eb ? ; It enables information to be non linear b% lin#ing to other pages

A dio%!ideo based Learning

Audio)Video learning is generall% based on streaming technologies or "ideo conferencing tools Video conferencing presents a two&wa% communication platform, lowers the cost of deli"er% and o"ercomes the need for centrali3ed location&based training A "ideo based e&learning session can pro"e to be more effecti"e and efficient as it can impro"e retention and appeal to a "ariet% of learning st%les b% including di"erse media such as "ideo or audio clips, graphics and animations The animations can be created using Macromedia $lash or similar technologies S#%pe and !eb2( are two popular !eb ? ; tools of "ideo conferencing

In the conte(t of audio and "ideo based learning, podcasts are becoming a popular and powerful distribution s%stem for e"er%thing from lectures to language lessons, films to labs and audio boo#s to tours A podcast is a digital audio or "ideo file that is downloadable8 usuall% a"ailable in a series of episodes8 ha"ing a central theme8 programme&dri"en, deli"ered usuall% "ia an automated feed to the user .odcasts for learning a foreign language are among the most popular ones *atinum, 2nglish -afe, Spanishpod, 5apancasting, etc are a few among these 4abbel, ital#i Mango etc are interacti"e websites helping people to learn new languages A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output, also #nown as a "ideo screen capture, often containing audio narration Screencasts are useful for demonstrating and teaching software features Screencasts are a useful tool for ordinar% software users as well, to help report bugs or to show others how a gi"en tas# is accomplished in a specific software en"ironment CDE Screencasts are e(cellent tools for learning how to use computers, and se"eral podcasts ha"e started to teach computer users how to use software through screencasts -amtasia, Adobe -apti"ate, -amstudio etc currentl% offer screencasting tools for "ideo tutorials

browser that can be used to define and access a networ# of interlin#ed +0 "irtual en"ironments in much the same wa% that web browsers are used to define and access web based content on web pages It includes the abilit% to design, create, publish, and h%perlin# a"atar&based multi&user "irtual worlds CB;E /pen -obalt differs from some better #nown multi&user "irtual world s%stems such as Second *ife b% its peer to peer technolog%

)nline *e+erences
!i#is were a re"olutionar% concept in e& learning that emerged in the earl% ?;;;s A wi#i is a website that allows the eas% creation and editing of an% number of interlin#ed web pages "ia a web browser using a simplified mar#&up language The% are t%picall% used to create collaborati"e websites, to power communit% websites, for personal note ta#ing, in corporate intranets, and in #nowledge management s%stems CBBE It uses the collecti"e intelligence of its large number of users to #eep itself accurate and updated Mostl%, wi#is are good starting point for an% #ind of research or ,uic# reference though the% are critici3ed to be not alwa%s accurate 0ictionaries, Thesauri, 2nc%clopaedias etc ha"e also gone the !eb ? ; wa% Merriam& !ebster /nline, 0ictionar% com, American 'eritage 0ictionar% etc are hugel% h%perlin#ed, pro"ides audio interfaces and has other dail% updated features embedded in them Google Scholar, 7uestia, 'ighbeam Research etc enables one to search specificall% for scholarl% literature, including peer&re"iewed papers, theses, boo#s, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research

&-' Learning en(ironments

+&0 en"ironments pro"ide an e(perience of being in the en"ironment being tal#ed about This touch and feel e(perience is particularl% useful in simulating situations that are rare or e(pensi"e F li#e in aircraft training, underwater e(ploration, wor#ing in mines etc /ne of the popular +&0 en"ironments, the /pen -obalt application, is a t%pe of +0

Interacti(e Learning
In the past ha"e games li#e crossword and Sudo#u ha"e pro"ided a learning en"ironment for the game pla%ers 'owe"er these games had a single dimension 2"er%thing was hard coded li#e the stone scriptures of the past and the games could not react to the changing user intelligence or preference !ith the incremental growth in technolog% of Artificial intelligence, these games ha"e surfaced which react to human intelligence and pro"ide an apt learning e(perience The future of this technolog% seems bright as it is being implemented on multiple platforms The latest being the dth ser"ices The mobile phones are fast emerging as the medium for interacti"e learning Games are being de"eloped for the mobile phones which ha"e learning e(periences and can be used b% people of wide linguistics This has been possible b% the "ast research in the field of interface design .rojects li#e MI*22 and -lo3er are being underta#en for the future and show us a glimpse of the future The most common pla%ers in this field are game de"elopers li#e /(%labs, 6inga, .la%fish, 6apa# etc These de"elop such interacti"e products for personal computers Most Indian 0T' ser"ice pro"iders pro"ide an interacti"e learning e(perience Tata S#%, 0ish TV and Airtel ta#e the lead in this case for India Major source of cash for these organisations include the umbrella organisations which ta#e these ser"ices in their product offerings

response !ith the rising globalisation, it became more and more important to standardise some e"aluation criteria It is not alwa%s possible to tra"el to a single destination for the same As such some organisations ha"e come up with a standardised e&testing mechanism across the world The rising trend to use internet and computer as a testing tool has also relie"ed the burden on the person correcting the answer scripts It has also gi"en an opportunit% for people to appear for moc# tests in order to gauge their progress Tests started in an oral en"ironment in the earl% age The% migrated to the paper based tests graduall% The methods of testing ha"e become more and more comple( and sophisticated The concept of multiple choice ,uestions allowed for greater fle(ibilit% As such man% inno"ations ha"e ta#en place in the field !e can see them in light of what is to be e(pected in future There ha"e been a lot of pla%ers "%ing for the spot here 2(ams li#e I2*TS, T/2$*, GMAT, GR2 etc ha"e seen an upscale trend world o"er 2"en India has seen its share in online tests with -AT, 4ITSAT and GMIMS etc going for online e(ams this %ear $urther, man% of the online courses are mostl% going for online testing mechanisms These online tests mostl% thri"e on the subscription fee

*e(en e ,odels
2"er% business and idea needs funds to sur"i"e in the current world 'ere is a brief anal%sis of what these inno"ations ha"e ban#ed upon in general to garner up resources for fulfilling their "entures

)nline Tests
!hilst the people ha"e en"isaged on learning tours, the need for testing people at distant people arose in parallel and in

 Selling partial solutions to schools that offer h%brid classroom online programs Materials sold directl% to consumers including parents who home school their children -ontract with agencies and organi3ations for the training of their emplo%ees Subscription or /ne Time .a%mentH Most journals li#e 5ST/R, .roject Muse, .ro7uest, Science0irect etc follow this method $ree&miumH 'ere some part of the content)ser"ices is gi"en for free and entire pac#age is a"ailable onl% at a premium .a% .er 9seH This is appealing to users who are unable or unwilling to commit to a longer&term Institutional .a%mentsH 9ni"ersities) Schools ma#es blan#et pa%ments to digital libraries, online databases etc 'ost Institution SupportH .restigious 9ni"ersities li#e Stanford, /(ford etc fund their *ecture 4roadcasts -orporate SponsorshipsH the "er% popular MIT -ourseware is supported b% Ab Initio Ad"ertisingH -lassified Ads, 0ispla% Ads, Search Ads .a% .er Impression where pa%ment is based on the number of times ad"ertiser1s banner is displa%ed on the site .a% .er clic# where pa%ment is made onl% when "isitors clic# the ad"ertiser<s banner .a% .er Sale where pa%ment is made onl% if the "isitors clic# through the banner and purchase an item from the ad"ertiser

.hilanthropic $unding F The !i#ipedia is entirel% based out of philanthropic funding *icense -ontent Models Re"enues are generated for content owners in the form of ro%alties $or e(ample 4loomberg licenses up to ?; news stories per da% -ontent creators ma% also s%ndicate content to a portal or aggregator

*e+erences
B ? + httpH))www dgp toronto edu)Ia#hil) httpH))www w+schools com httpH))www elearners com)resources)r eference&tools asp J httpH))www go?web?; net)KtagHe& learning : httpH))www adobe com)go"ernment)p dfs)promiseLelearningLwp pdf M httpH))research microsoft com)en& us)um)people)%ongrui)ps)mmsj;Jica m pdf @ httpH))en wi#ipedia org)wi#i).odcast N httpH))education ,ld go" au)learningpl ace)onlinelearning)"irtual& classroom html D httpH))en wi#ipedia org)wi#i)Screenca st B; httpH))www opencobalt org) BB httpH))en wi#ipedia org)wi#i)!i#i 12. Sustainabilit% and Re"enue Models for /nline Academic Resources, An Itha#a Report, Ma% ?;;N8 Ke"in Guthrie, Rebecca Griffiths, Ganc% Maron