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Welcome to the Toucan House Online Ed. Updater
6 April 2001
This occasional newsletter keeps you up to date with innovation and change in online and flexible learning.
In this edition:
- Free Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Content
- Examples of Online Courses
- Case Study: Online delivery of information skills to health professionals
- Terminology tangles: LMS, CMS, LCMS? Will the latest tools serve us well?
- Who speaks what on the Net? Breakdown of activity by language
Previous updaters are archived at www.toucanhouse.co.nz
Free Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Content
MIT has announced it will offer the content of over 2000 courses online
- for free. Students wishing to get recognition for their learning will
need to enrol, and there will also be a fee for making contact with
professors and other students.
This initiative recognises some fundamental truths about the online environment.
While raw content has some value, it is actually the way learners interact
with it, instructors and each other that provides the bulk of the learning
process, and the value.
Simply mounting raw content on the net is the electronic equivalent of publishing
a book. If that in itself were enough for effective learning, training
and educational providers would have gone out of business long
ago. The real world experience is that, for most learning, learners
need interaction and guidance. In this sense, the Internet is proving
to be not so different after all.
Organisations
that persist in taking the easy option of dumping text online and assuming
students will do the rest are likely to find it harder and harder to
maintain a credible online presence as bandwidth increases and the level
of interactivity follows suit. The key to effective online learning
therefore is good educational design: matching the needs and experience
of the learner with content, interaction and feedback.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/04/technology/04MIT.html
http://www.localbusiness.com/Story/0,1118,NOCITY_711669,00.html
Examples of Online Courses
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/24/onlinesch.html
Fastcompany.com (no, not an adult site) has conducted a review of several online learning
offerings. It contains useful information on pricing and delivery systems.
However if you follow the links and actually manage to get into one
of these sites to view the course, please let us know. Most subscribers
comment that it's hard to find free access to good models of online
learning.
School Baker College On-line http://www.baker.edu
City University http://www.cityu.edu
The Open University of the United Kingdom http://www.open.edu
University of Phoenix Online Campus http://www.uophx.edu/online
Walden University http://www.waldenu.edu
Case Study: Online delivery of information skills to health professionals
Learning Circuits has published a substantial case study about an online
course. It provides good descriptive information on the development
and delivery process, together with useful commentary on the issues
raised. The
course trains maternal and child health professionals in U.S. state
and local health departments to collect, analyse, and interpret data.
http://www.learningcircuits.org/2001/apr2001/farel.html
Terminology tangles: LMS, CMS, LCMS? Will the latest serve us well?
As investment is poured into developing online learning solutions, categories
of products and solutions are emerging, each with their own acronyms.
It can be hard enough to keep up with the acronyms, let alone the products
themselves.
Some of the key categories are:
- LMS (learning management system): Software that automates the
administration of training events. The LMS registers, tracks, records
and reports on learning. It usually doesn't include its own authoring
capabilities.
- CMS (content management system): Software that structures
and makes available content for learners. It provides the framework
for accessing information, but does not generally provide interactivity
or any depth of
learning.
- LCMS (learning content management system): The latest buzzword.
A system for organising information (content) so that educational
developers can construct interactive learning experiences from original
source material. Information is stored so that it is hierarchical,
retrievable, and reusable. The actual learning experience is customised
to suit the learner profile and technology being used.
Companies leading the charge are:
- Avaltus
- Gemini Learning Systems
- Generation21
- IBT Technologies
- Knowledge Mechanics
- LeadingWay Technologies
- LearningByte International
- MindLever
- Peer3
- WBT Systems
The concept of keeping information in an easily accessed and customisable
form is great; it has strong links into knowledge management principles.
The trade off though will be in terms of the fragmentation and 'dumbing
down' of information. One of the criticisms levelled at the National
Qualifications Framework has been that it compartmentalises knowledge,
leading to superficial learning, especially at higher levels. LCMSs
will clearly have benefits in terms of managing information, whether
this will translate into effective learning outcomes will depend on
how flexible they are in allowing educational designers to develop learning
experiences.
Who speaks what on the Net? Breakdown of activity by language
Global Reach has published statistics on Net usage on the basis of language
spoken. Statistics by country are also available. Go to: http://www.glreach.com/globstats/index.php3
eLearning Newsletter © Toucan House Ltd. 2001
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