Reflections On e-Learning

1. Reflections On e-Learning Abdelfattah ABUQAYYAS Coordinator Arab Centre of Excellence abdelfattah.abuqayyas@ties.itu.int ITU BDT

2. Definition • The next big killer application for the Internet is going to be education. Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make email usage look like a rounding error. John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems. • E-learning (ASTD): Term covering a wide set of applications and processes, such as Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, and digital collaboration. It includes the delivery of content via Internet, intranet/extranet (LAN/WAN), audio- and videotape, satellite broadcast, interactive TV, CD-ROM, and more. • E-learning (Sisco):"online delivery of information, communication, education, and training. • The definition is falls between the version of electronic and internet • e-Learning is simply a medium for delivering learning and like any other medium, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

3. Growth of e-Learning • According to International Data Corporation The market for Web-based corporate training will increased from $2 billion in 2000 to $11.5 billion in 2003. • e-learning is the fastest growing segment of the corporate IT education market • 13 percent of all courses are delivered via computer-based training with no instructor in the picture.  • Of computer based training, 19 percent is delivered by the internet. • Presently, the bulk of e-learning is used to instruct workers about new technologies, particularly computers. • Corporate training falls into two major categories - 1) IT training and 2) soft skills, each with roughly 50 percent of the total market • As workers begin to master computer technology skills, they will then be able to use it for learning other skills

4. E-Learning Sectors • The Three Sectors of e-Learning • Portals-These companies pool educational resources, products, and services targeting their audience • Edu-commerce companies-These peddle items such as institutional procurement services, books.. • Network platforms-These provide everything from Web-based applications to full-service intranets • Internet-based training allows organizations to leverage the intellectual content of such mega-names such as Tom Peters and Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker and others. • With e-learning, the geographic barriers are lifted • New software tools are now able to teach HRM. • Managers and trainers must look beyond the hype of organizations wanting to make a dollar, instead they must look at the needs of their own organization.

5. Concepts and Skills • As things are going, the trainer will be left high and dry .There will, be training as we have traditionally understood it - training in Skills, but it is not a growth sector.The growth sector is learning, especially Conceptlearning. • Concept learning, means all learning that is not skills oriented • Skills learning, he means learning how to do something • But Skills and concepts go hand-in-hand and the same with c-learning and e-learning.

6. Bandwidth • What difference does it make whether the training is offline or online? • Offline courses do not suffer from bandwidth limitations • Online courses, however, can be delivered anywhere in the world where the Internet is available and to any computer on an organization's intranet • With on line courses, updates are instant and inexpensive • WBT can incorporate interaction with other humans – tutors, subject matter experts, and fellow learners • Cheap, unlimited bandwidth is some time away from becoming a reality, however, when it does arrive, it will give an extremely big boost to e-learning

7. E-Learning Aspects • Learning on-demand • For technology-related training, as telecommunications, technology is changing at very rapid pace and a continuing education program is needed • Traditional form of training can not keep up with the pace of demand • Through e-learning, individuals may choose to develop new skills, at their own convenience, from office or home by joining virtual classes, as needed. • Increased learning options • Individuals, through the Internet, have a broader array of courses to choose from as there are many organizations that conduct courses online. • Personal learning plan • E-learning, provides individuals the option to tailor their own unique plan of study and the opportunity to progress at their own pace with individualized assessment. • Collaborative learning opportunities • An e-learning platform offers two types of interaction - synchronous and asynchronous. • An example of a synchronous type of discussion is the online chat facility • Asynchronous discussions may be facilitated through the bulletin boards or discussion threads

8. Virtual Classes • virtual classes are created, in which groups of students will be registered online, to access course material and interact, creating as authentic a "learning situation" as possible • The availability of a tutor online to steer discussions and answer participant’s questions during the course, may inspire confidence, particularly for first-time users hesitant to use the Internet • Tutors may also monitor student progress

9. The Myths and Realities of e-Learning

10. The Pros and the Cons (1) • E-learning is fundamentally an effective form of learning • They enable learners to synthesize traditional learning with online experiences • e-Learning programs can provide a more individualized, self-paced, self-directed learning experience • However, only 29% e-learning would be done during work, the rest would be done after work, during lunch, etc. is it to be performed on the worker's time?? • Labor Savings • You might expect to save in training salaries when e-learning methodologies are introduced, however, both learners and managers both want a trainer assigned to the e-learning experience while e-learning might enable trainers to make more effective use of their time, it will not eliminate them

11. The Pros and the Cons (2) • Cost Savings - e-Learning offers economies of scale • Systematic - training in a classroom is often delivered "just-in-case" while e-learning is delivered "just-in-time“ it depends upon the skills of the developer and trainer • Drop Out Rates • E-Learning drop-out rates are higher than those for campus-based learning (the online student dropout rate at around 35%) • The learner quits the program because the learning package did not fit his/her needs (failure) • The learner quits the program because his/her extracted what needed from the learning package (no failure) • The Dropout rate can be significantly decreased by increasing bandwidth and adding more multimedia to the text. • Its the Method, Not the Delivery System! e-Learning is a medium, not a methodology.

12. Internet Style of Learning  • Level One: (Awareness) - Basic browsing and searching to find specific information. This level constitutes basic awareness of what is available and how to become a self-directed life-long learner. • Level Two: (Adoption) - Self-publishing on the wwwo by creating graphical web pages using both Internet graphics and information as well as original graphics created using digital cameras, scanners, and/or graphics software. • Level Three: (Adaptation) - Project-based collaboration using email, listservs, Internet chat, and other Internet collaborative tools. • Level Four: (Rising Expectations) - real world problem solving quickly becomes a logical extension for motivating learners to expand their Internet searching, self-publishing, and collaborative skills to deal with real community problems and issues.

13. E-Learning and Knowledge Management • e-Learning is closely related to knowledge management • knowledge management attempts to ensure that the survival of the organization is guaranteed by capturing the knowledge of its workers • e-learning attempts to ensure that the workers can quickly retrieve the knowledge that they require and to help them grow as individuals • Organizations and its workers are synergic in nature, for when one grows, the others grows But the issue is capturing the correct knowledge and skills that will grow the organization. • e-Learning is Not Knowledge Management • the organization should capture the skills and knowledge before a person considers leaving. This would be the convergence of e-learning and knowledge management

14. Should not Be Taught Via the Web? • Any process involving motion or hand-eye coordination is best left to c-learning. Welding, for instance, is best left to in-person training. • Emotional subjects should also be taught face to face. "I wouldn't teach how to fire someone online." • Things that are deeply conceptual in nature, recommending also to be delivered through traditional training rather web based methods.  • The Audience Counts • You must not only consider the subject, but also the audience • Employees prefer classroom, while Management prefer online learning

15. The Bottom Line • Will e-learning replace c-learning? No • "Despite all the technological advances, the computer will never replicate the contextual learning that accompanies classroom learning but, on campus you cannot access the global-networking opportunities that can be accessed in an e-learning context." • While e-learning does have the power to bring people together in groups that closely relate to Knowledge Communities or Communities of Practice, it still lacks the dynamics of socializing face-to-face. • The bottom line - use the power of Best-of-Breed

16. The CoE E-Learning platform • The CoEs has been promoting the use of ICT, as a tool to deliver distance-learning courses in a cost-effective way since 1995. • This year, a new e-learning platform to deliver instructor-led online courses has been established WebCT • The main purpose of the e-learning platform is: • To facilitate online skills development and knowledge sharing • To promote the e-learning culture itself

17. The WebCT Tools The e-learning center provides a set of course tools, such as: • Bulletin Board (discussion forum): a system for asynchronous discussions, • E-mail: a personal mailbox to exchange e-mails with the instructor and other students, • Chat: a possibility for synchronous discussions, • Glossary, • Calendar of activities, • Quizzes, • Reference materials,

18. How to Login • To see the available courseshttp://www.itu.int/ITU-D/hrd/elearning/classes/ login: welcome; and password: coe5583no

19. How to Login • The second way to access the course is to click directly on the URL: http://elearningcentre.itu.int/public/03coeams021e and login.

20. How to Login • Either of these options will bring you to the online course itself.

21. WebCT Menu Bar • The Menu Barincludes the following features: • myWebCT:Allows participants to see a list of courses in which they are registered, and instructors to see a list of all the courses they are conducting. • Resume Course:Allow participants to resume their place in the Content Module. • Course Map:Allows you and your participants to view the structure of the entire course on one page. The course elements are hyperlinks, enabling you to go to any place in the course from a single page. This tool simplifies navigation and is especially useful for courses with a large number of elements. • Resources:Links to WebCT's e-Learning Hub. • Help: Links you to the context-sensitive online Help.

22. Example: Regulation of New Services and IP Applications Welcome to this online course on the Regulation of New Services and IP Applications organized from 28 April - 5 July 2003Chat Whiteboard Course Structure Content Assignments andActivities Alumni My Grades My Progress Quiz

23. Example: Regulation of New Services and IP ApplicationsChat • WebCT Chat • Room 1 • Room 2 • Room 3 • Room 4General Chat for Regulation of New Services and IP ApplicationsGeneral Chat for All Courses • You must have java enabled in your browser to use chat

24. Example: Regulation of New Services and IP Applications Course Structure • Course Structure The aim of this course is to harmonise the concepts and the regulatory management terms of new services and IP applications in the entities of the region by means of comprehension of the regulatory politics and trends of telecommunications in order for the participants to learn to effectively use the regulatory and technical tools in the development and application of telecommunication policies. Specific objectives: To analyze telecommunication policies and regulatory trends of new services and new IP applications. To analyze and learn the development of technologies and IP applications worldwide and in the Americas Region. To analyze the current state of regulation and its implications in all aspects related to electronic commerce, voice over IP and security networks, amongst others. Table of Contents 1.   MODULE 1: INTERNET SITUATION AND NEW SERVICES IP 2.   MODULE 2: INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES AND ARCHITECTURE 3.   MODULE 3: THE IMPACT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNET AND TRENDS IN THE TELECOMMUNICATION SECTOR'S REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT 4.   MODULE 4: REGULATORY ASPECTOS OF THE INTERNET 5.   MODULE 5: INTERCONNECTION, REGULATORY ASPECTS 6.   MODULE 6: ELECTRONIC COMMERCE, REGULATION 7.   MODULE 7: IP APLICATIONS AND REGULATION 8.   MODULE 8: CONVERGENCE OF NETWORKS AND SERVICES. REGUALTORY TRENDS 9.   MODULE 9: DEVELOP OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE REGION ANALYSIS OF CASES IN THE AMERICA

25. Example: Regulation of New Services and IP Applications Contents • Objective of the module: • To enable the participant to reinforce and update basic concepts regarding the development of the Internet, its current status, and trends at the world and the regional levels, and to interact with the group in order to contribute to and enrich the week’s material.Table of Contents • 1.   Training Material for the First Week • 1.1.   Part I • 1.2.   Part II • 1.3.   Part III • 2.   Bibliography • 3.   Glossary

26. Example: Regulation of New Services and IP Applications Assignment and Activities Title Availability Grade Status Homework Nº 1 -- / 10 Graded From: April 28, 2003 12:00pm Due: May 10, 2003 12:00pm Homework Nº 2 -- / 10 Graded From: May 6, 2003 12:00pm Due: M ay 12, 2003 10:00pm Homework Nº 3 -- / 10 Unavailable From: May 13, 2003 10:00pm Due: May 19, 2003 10:00pm Homework Nº 4 10 / 10 Graded From: May 20, 2003 12:00pm Due: May 28, 2003 12:00pm Homework Nº 5 -- / 10 Unavailable From: May 27, 2003 12:00pm Due: June 2, 2003 12:00pm Homework Nº6 -- / 10 Not Submitted From: June 4, 2003 12:00pm Due: June 10, 2003 12:00pm Homework Nº 7 -- / 10 Unavailable From: June 9, 2003 12:00pm Due: June 16, 2003 12:00pm Homework Nº 8 -- / 10 Unavailable From: June 16, 2003 12:00pm Due: June 23, 2003 12:00pm Homework Nº 9 -- / 10 Unavailable From: June 23, 2003 10:00pm Due: June 30, 2003 10:00pm

27. Example: Regulation of New Services and IP ApplicationsMy Grades

28. Reflections On e-Learning Thank you Abdelfattah ABUQAYYAS