E- Learning

Learning does not need any more a classroom

environment. It seems to have been facilitated
in the café, on the move, and in any place where
there is internet facility, through e-learning.

1- Understanding e-learning

I
do not fear computers. I fear
the lack of them - said Isaac
Asimov. We are living in the
age of computers and inter-
net. Life would be more dif-
ficult now without coded computer
programmes than when we lived
without the latest computing gad-
gets. With everything around us go-
ing digital, even academicians look
forward to digitized lessons to im-
part knowledge.
Learning does not need any more a
classroom environment. It seems to
20
have been facilitated in the café, on
the move, and in any nook and cor-
ner where there is internet facility. It
is made possible through e-learning.
This kind of learning neither requires
a teacher nor a blackboard.
During the past decade online learn-
ing has seen tremendous growth in
the number of resources and activities,
events and courses. This growth is like-
ly to continue, as the major telecom-
munication, business and educational
institutions are rigorously acting to go
online for educational programmes.
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Teaching and learning have un-
dergone a revolution with the re-
naissance of communication and
technology. Many universities and
educational institutions offer online
courses for the students.
For the students it is entirely a differ-
ent experience to learn online, where
all the communication and corre-
spondence is done through the web
site. The course structure, details,
assignments, projects, submission
and issue of marks are facilitated
through the web. E-learning can be
CD-ROM-based, Network-based, In-

tranet-based or Internet-based. It can
include text, video, audio, animation
and virtual environments.
One of the major advantages of on-
line learning is its easy accessibility.
Not all the students get a chance to
get into the biggest Universities or
institutions and get trained under the
best of teachers. There lies the hin-
drance of affordability. It is in this
situation that the internet can be used
to the fullest. Online learning can
change this situation where anybody
can access the courses published
through internet.
Classes online is not same as a uni-
form syllabus pattern generally fol-
lowed by the universities. Lessons
vary according to the student’s needs
and the specialization of the institu-
tions that offer them. They offer an
audio visual experience through the
educational videos. Discussions with
other classmates are also made pos-
sible. The assignments and tests are
given online and the teacher gives
feedback on assignments. The stu-
dent is independent but the teach-
er facilitates learning by guiding
through assignments and directing
them to information. In most of the
e-learning portals the students are
given freedom to choose a session at
any time of the day.
Online learning is tough as the student
has to be self disciplined. One should
wait for his/her doubts to be cleared.
Some of the online learning websites
facilitate chat/discussion. Teachers,
students and other users can avail such
interaction facility to improve their
knowledge and enrich their ideas. An
interesting development in the area
of online teaching is the spectacular
growth in the number of tutorials with
teachers or computer programmes an-
swering queries from users.
In online learning geographical barri-
ers are eliminated. This is more suited
for those who are unable to continue
their higher education through the
regular universities. Of course there are
students who wish to learn while they
earn. E-learning portals are a boon to
such busy bees.
There are four levels of e-learning,
they are, knowledge database, on-
line support, asynchronous training,
synchronous training. Knowledge
database is the most basic form of
e-learning which offers explanation
and guidance for software related
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E- Learning
E-learning is more suited for
those who are unable to continue
their higher education through
the regular universities and for
those who wish to learn while
they earn. E-learning portals are
a boon to such busy bees.
questions. Online support comes
in the form of forums, chat rooms,
online bulletin boards, e-mail, or
live instant-messaging support. On-
line support is more interactive than
knowledge database.
Asynchronous training involves self-
paced learning, CD-ROM-based,
Network-based, Intranet-based or
Internet-based. It may include access
to instructors through online bulletin
boards, online discussion groups and
e-mail. Or, it may be totally self-con-
tained with links to reference materi-
als in place of a live instructor.
Synchronous training is done with a
live instructor and where everyone
logs in at a particular time and com-
municates directly with the instruc-
tor and with each other. Students
can raise their cyber hand and even
view the cyber whiteboard. It can be
made to appear from a single session
to several weeks, months or even
years. This type of training usually
takes place through websites, audio-
or video-conferencing, Internet tele-
phony, or even two-way live broad-
casts to students in a classroom.
In 2006, 3.5 million students partici-
pated in online courses at institutions
of higher education in the US. This
number is expected to increase in the
forth coming years. The Universities
of India are keen on popularizing
e-education among the students.
In this column, we present you the differ-
ent dimensions of e-learning, its advan-
tages, disadvantages, sources and differ-
ent features of e-learning.
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E-learning for the
corporate world
V
ery few emerging
marketsorindustriescan
accurately be classified
as “juggernaut” in
size, scope or effect.
Today, the emerging juggernaut is e-
learning. If analysts and current trends
prove correct, e-learning will establish
itself as the “juggernaut” of corporate
training and development.
E-learning, as a whole, represents a
wide range of organisational activities
and technologies, including distance
education, computer-based training,
web-based training, internet-based
training, courseware delivery and
online learning and testing. E-learning
represents the total integration of
multimedia, instructor-led, and
real-time training - in a human,
collaborative environment.
Knowing how to get started in
purchasing or creating an organization-
wide e-learning programme for
employees requires an understanding
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E-learning begins
to revolutionise
global workforce
training and
development.
of new learning models,
methodologies and technologies. As
with most educational institutions,
business organizations are muddled
with learning models, methodologies,
and processes created in times of
information scarcity.
E-learning and Return on Investment
(ROI)
What began simply as information
technology training has made
its way into management, sales,
marketing, product management,
customer service, and professional
development. This multimedia
approach to training is quickly
migrating to the Web. The e-learning
market, in a Merrill Lynch research
report, is estimated to grow annually
at 54 percent. When looking at the
overall, $2 trillion annual worldwide
educational and training budget,
the e-learning value figure will
undoubtedly be much, much larger.
E-learning is essentially the
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‘e-commerce’ of knowledge. Today
the global emergence of knowledge
e-commerce is on the horizon. In
the final analysis, e-Learning offers
ten significant ROI features to the
business world and its workforce.
Real-time learning
E-learning offers real-time learning
and application of critical knowledge.
Knowledge will no longer need
to be taken from the shelf of the
training department, brushed off, and
reviewed. E-learning is immediate
and provides up-to-date information.
Just as the Internet has revolutionised
information accessibility, so e-
learning begins to revolutionise global
workforce training and development.
Learner-centric training
E-learning changes the focus of
training from traditional instructor-
centric to learner-centric training.
This is how training and learning
should be done. E-learning is
tailored to the learners’ professional

responsibilities and capabilities,
creating relevant application to
their immediate and future needs. A
learner and his needs should be the
sole focus and goal of any training or
educational programme.
Attract, train and retain
The most important asset in an
organisation is its knowledge
workers. The shortage of skilled
workers is global. Research shows
that the number one reason for loss
of key employees is that they feel
their organisation has not invested
sufficient resources for their
professional development. E-learning
not only addresses the workers’ need
to develop new knowledge and
skills, but also provides learning-on-
demand.
Personalised individual training
An effective e-learning system
learns about its users and tailors its
offerings to their learning style, job
requirements, career goals, current
knowledge, and personal preferences.
The system is adaptive and personal.
This is all accomplished through
“small chunks” or “bites” of learning
granules and objects labeled so that
systems can automatically create
and deliver individualised learning
experiences. Accomplished with a
one-on-one, instructor-trainer ratio.
Ownership and Empowerment
E-learners are responsible for their
own learning. E-learning empowers
them to manage and implement their
own learning and development plans.
Ownership of learning is crucial for
individual growth and retention of
employees. Empowerment creates
learner ownership and direction
– leading to powerful learning and
growth potential. E-learning gives
the e-learner the ability to measure
their progress and assess their ‘gap’
in desired skills.
Simulation
E-learning introduces a truly
innovative way of simulating each
learning experience or event with
content and ideas provided by some
of the leading professionals in the
world. Simulation also introduces the
required, ‘interactive’ part of learning
– interaction and participation with a
local or global audience.
Collaboration
This is accomplished through either
joint problem-solving or discussion
among study groups through
forums, discussion groups and chat
rooms. Collaboration is one critical
component to effective learning –
opening the path to broader thought
and innovative processes through
the sharing of ideas and experience.
Bottom line, collaboration unleashes
the learner’s creative and innovative
thought process – leading to new
ideas, products, and services.
Anytime and anywhere
One difficult and costly process of
traditional training is coordinating
travel, resources, materials,
Speed, connectivity,
and intangible value
(knowledge) have made
e-learning the primary
choice for creating and
maintaining a competitive
advantage in an ever-
changing, competitive,
knowledge world. of each employee represents
classroom settings, or seminar
training for a global workforce. No
longer is it necessary to dedicate
critical resources to plan, coordinate
and manage travel, reservations,
rentals, and equipment for each
learner and event. The reality of
training in a virtual information
classroom, across continents, is now
possible – anytime, anywhere.
Cost effective
Costs can be applied to each learner,
and results can be measured against
the incurred costs. More importantly,
e-learning is less intrusive to the
daily work duties and schedule of the
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organisation and learner, saving time
and money through less interruption
of the learner’s regularly scheduled
duties. This cost effective training
is tangible ROI – immediately
recognised by the organisation.
Quantifiable ROI
E-learning can be effectively
measured in terms of knowledge
gain and retention. This is proving to
be the true “sell-point” of e-learning.
Organisations, through the use of a
learning management system, are
now able to establish systems that
can track progress, report results,
and specify additional subject matter
for continued success – all within
seconds of the user’s query. This is
the point where both organizational
management and employees will see
measurable ROI.
E-learning offers organisations the
ability to address and manage the
monumental task of hiring, training,
and retention of the new knowledge
worker. It also shows which
organisations are serious about
attracting, training, and retaining
their global workforce.
Soon, training for nearly every
job in the world will be available
over the Internet. The real change
in organisational practice will be
the recognition, acceptance and
acknowledgement that the knowledge
organisational (intellectual) capital.
Each employee has competitive
knowledge – representing one strand of
the organisation’s competitive DNA.
In fact, I believe it is the competitive
advantage organisations neglect
most often. Speed, connectivity, and
intangible value (knowledge) have
made e-learning the primary choice for
creating and maintaining a competitive
advantage in an ever-changing,
competitive, knowledge world.
Adapted from www.winstonbrill.com.
In this column, we present you the different dimen-
sions of e-learning, its advantages, disadvantages,
sources and different features of e-learning.
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T
he new millennium heralds
exciting opportunities to
diversify the ways in which
we offer education. We
can now provide greater
flexibility through online access to
learning when, where and how we do
it. Breaking the shackles of tradition
empowering all learners, including
students with disabilities, as their diverse
needs are increasingly accommodated
in educational programmes that are
supported by information technology.
Such programmes can support what
people with disabilities have known
all along we all learn in different ways
and the more that differences can be
accommodated through universal design,
the less remarkable and marginalising
those differences become.
E-learning is one important avenue for
promoting greater access for all learners.
To bring students with disabilities
From Outer Edge
to Leading Edge
E-Learning and Students with
Disabilities
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from the outer edge of educational
considerations, teaching and information
technology staff need to: apply principles
of universal design, better understand
the benefits of accessible technology for
all learners, and ensure that electronic
information environments are accessible
to people with a range of disabilities.
Teaching staff and students need new
skills to embrace e-learning. These
include presenting information in new
ways, navigating and utilising the benefits
of the web, and engaging in computer
mediated conferencing. Leading edge
advances, in both computer operating
systems and assistive technology, provide
students with disabilities new opportunities
for fulfilment in educational programmes.
Educational administrators need to ensure
that resources are available to progress the
advantages of e-learning for all students,
and that accessible electronic learning
environments remain a central priority.
ed matrix july 2008
By the beginning of the twentieth century,
free public education was characterised
by large classes, inadequately trained
teachers, limited knowledge of children’s
development, compulsory attendance
limited to primary school, and specialised
and separate education for children
with disabilities.
By the 1980s, greater emphasis was
placed on secondary education for all
students, and segregated education
for people with disabilities was being
challenged. In the ‘90s, post-secondary
education was overhauled to increase
access for greater numbers of students
in TAFE colleges and colleges of
advanced education.
By the post-secondary education sector
was restructured to create a greater focus
on vocational education and training.
Notably in that final decade, increasing
emphasis was also placed on access to
post-secondary education for people with
disabilities and on the concept of lifelong
learning for everyone.
Information dissemination in the
classroom has largely occurred via the
textbook of prescribed reading and
exercises. The implements of writing
have progressed through the quill and
ink, the slate and graphite pencil, the
steel nib and ink, the fountain pen, the
propelling pencil, the biro, the clutch
pencil, the ball point pen, roller ball pens
to electronic pens. Information recording
has progressed from manual typewriters
to electric typewriters, and electronic
typewriters with simple memory, to the
desk top personal computer and lap top
PC. Input has changed from keyboard
strokes to voice recognition software.
Apart from textbooks, information
reproduction depended on carbon paper
copies, spirit duplicators, ink-based
stencil duplicators, thermal reproduction
technology, photocopiers and finally
electronic scanners. Mass printing in
educational institutions has included
photocopying, small offset printers and
Perfector offset printers and now CTP
(computer to plate) print technology that
accommodates electronic input of print
and graphical images in colour.
It is against this background that the
proliferation of computer technology
has greatly impacted on the ways in
which education is conducted at the
commencement of this new century.
Computers have become personal tools
for teaching and learning across all

There is increasing
pressure to change
educational programmes
that have been largely
teacher-centred,
textbook-driven,
assessment-dominated,
classroom-confined,
timetable-constricted,
and peer-competitive.
sectors of education. Many institutions
install computers and networks as
essential infrastructure or expect students
to purchase or lease computers to facilitate
their learning. Shared use of desktop
computers in computer laboratories
is rapidly giving way to the flexibility
of laptop computers, and families are
embracing computer ownership to aid their
children’s education. Increased computer
memory capacity and storage using CD
ROM have also increased dependence on
technology rather than paper.
Access to information has been
transformed by the increased
sophistication of the Internet. There
is increasing pressure to change
educational programmes that have been
largely teacher-centred, textbook-driven,
assessment-dominated, classroom-
confined, timetable-constricted, and
peer-competitive. Traditional educational
approaches that have been dominated so
pervasively by constraints of time and
place and conservative practices face a
liberating revolution. While wide access
to multimedia technology in the home
has been touted for some years, the full
impact of this innovation is soon to be
experienced as telephone lines cope with
more sophisticated data transmission.
People with varying disabilities have
the potential to benefit greatly from
these new technologies. Information
creation, storage and retrieval are now
largely handled electronically. Digital
technology can convert speech to print
and print to voice, increase the size of
print, vary the contrast of print against
background, and send broadband
video signals to specific audiences via
a telephone line. As a result, greater
access to information is occurring for
people who are deaf or hearing impaired,
blind or vision impaired, or who have
reading difficulties or speech difficulties.
Broadband videotelephony now enables
Deaf people to communicate via the
telephone line using sign language (their
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first language), rather than translate via
typed English on a TTY (teletypewriter).
Much is expected of this technology to
deliver greater access and equity to people
with disabilities. The global information
village that is the Internet is promoting
access internationally. World Wide Web
Consortium Director and inventor of the
Web, Tim Berners-Lee, reminds us that
“The power of the Web is in its universality.
Access by everyone regardless of disability
is an essential aspect.”
What are the implications for students
with disability? How can e-learning
embrace such developments to promote
inclusive educational experiences for
students with a disability?
E-learning creates new challenges
for teaching staff, curriculum support
services, disability support services and
institutional administrators.
First, teaching staff need to accommodate
diversity within their curriculum - the
way they design their subjects, plan the
learning experiences, identify the learning
materials and assess the outcomes. This
requires new IT skills to design curriculum
materials that can be placed on the Internet
or stored on CD ROM.
Third, disability expertise needs to be
harnessed and embedded across the
institution among teaching staff, library
staff, information technology staff,
Web designers, instructional designers
and senior managers. Students with
disabilities, disability advisers and equal
opportunity managers can assist, but
ultimate ownership needs to reside with
staff in each of the key areas.
Many people with disabilities have
languished at the edge of mainstream
post-secondary education for a long
time. They have coped with delays in
obtaining timely services and learning
materials in accessible formats. They
have endured passing rather than higher
grades because of low expectations.
While e-learning is not a panacea, it has
an enormous capacity to honour diversity
in learning styles and capabilities if we
become more enlightened about its
potential uses for all learners. E-learning
has the potential to progress people
with disabilities from the outer edges of
educational opportunity to the leading
edge of educational innovation.
Adapted from Barrie O’Connor’s article
on E-learning for disabled students
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A
ll over the world people
are teeming with ideas
to make information
access easier, more
reliable, secure and
enjoyable. Information technology is
the field were software, hardware and
telecommunications converge. This
convergence has fuelled a growth spurt
in each component of information
technology causing a chain-reaction
which spirals the growth of other
components of information technology.
This chain reaction has caused an
explosion in the Internet and because
of this explosion and congregation of
technologies and ideas; the Web has
now become notorious for services
which were once the domain of software
which ran on PCs under the heading of
Online
Services
packages and utilities. They are explored
in this chapter.
Online File Storage
If you are the person who has a business
operation spanning countries or even
cities, or if you’re someone who the
traveling bug has bitten badly, and needs
to access large amounts of data wherever
you go, You’re going to need online file
storage services. Besides this, if you find
that your e-mail service has an attachment
limit that’s just too small for your liking,
again, online storage is for you.
If you do not want the hassles of
upgrading to new hardware every time
you run out of disk space, or when storage
technology changes, you should consider
online storage as an option for storing,
accessing and sharing your data.
20
On the more technical side, the
memberships to some of these Web
sites also offer more facilities in terms
of downloads per hour, maximum
storage allowed, support for down load
accelerators, password protection for
each download, choice of HTTP or FTP
download, and sending files to multiple
recipients. Moreover, you can also choose
to share your files with the world—free
public access.
We tried six of these services:
MegaUpload, RapidShare, YourFileHost,
Xdrive and Cyn.
MegaUpload
(www.megaupload.com)
We found that MagaUpload is leading
the online storage race. Using this site
is simple enough. You don’t have to join
or register or anything like that to upload
files to it. From the main page just click
the browse button and select file you want
to upload. After the upload completes
you can see a link on the next page just
about where the browse button was on
the previous page. Copy this link to a
file on your PC. To download your file,
simply paste it in the browser’s address
bar and the download begins. It’s really
that easy!
The site tells you about a hotlink
package, which if subscribed to, makes
downloading easier. This facility causes
the file to be downloaded like an FTP
download, without needing to open the
MegaUpload site.
If you want your own space on the site,
you will have to sign up for membership.
Just sign up by entering your personal
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details including your e-mail address, and
the site will send you a confirmation link,
and clicking it will activate your account.
Now, to upload files use the same browse
button from the main page as described
earlier. Premium users are offered more
in terms of storage, and uploading is still
just as simple.
You are allowed 500 MB uploads for
non-members, 1GB for regular members,
while premium members have no
restrictions—unlimited file size, subject
to storage limits of course. Storage space
is capped at a whopping 250 GB for
premium members, 50 GB for members,
while non-members can only download
files of upload individual files.
MegaUpload offers its services at a
range of prices—$9.99 for a 1 month
membership, $59.99 for a year, and
even $199.99 for a lifetime platinum
membership. It even offers reward points
for premium users. On signup itself it
offers 9000 reward points free.
It has a cool GUI with buttons to view
statistics such as the previous 100
downloads, the top 10 uploads as well as
the top 10 downloads, world statistics for
each file being downloaded in the case of
files which are available for public access.
Some of these buttons are, however,
enabled for premium users only.
As a bonus the MegaUpload site offers
a toolbar as well as a turbo utility free,
which enable batch uploads and provide
their own support for resuming broken
downloads. We tried using the toolbar
on an occasion when the site said
that network traffic constraints were
preventing file download with a free
account and we were impressed. This
means that with the toolbar you get
priority for your download as much as a
premium user does.
RapidShare
(www.rapidshare.com)
RapidShare is another popular site which
offers unlimited number of file uploads.
To use this site click on the browse button
to select the file you want to upload and
then click on the upload button. The site
then takes you to a page which gives you
two links on to download the file and
another to delete it from the site if you
need to. You can download the file using
the download link and delete the file by
entering the delete link in the browser’s

address bar. When you enter the delete
link, the file is deleted and to confirm
this, message box pops up. Below, on
the same page you are given the option
to get a collectors account. This is the
free-members area which requires you to
provide you e-mail address and personal
details to get and account.
Alternatively you could get a free
membership from the free zone menu
item on the first page. If you get a
membership, you get access to a space
on the site in which you can see a list
of your files, and you can add more
files or delete those you don’t need any
more. The site uses SSL encryption for
uploads, so you’re assured of secure file
transfers. Premium memberships require
the same procedure to upload files.
When you download the file, it asks you
if you are a free member or a premium
member. Click the appropriate button,
and then choose a mirror to get faster
download speeds.
RapidShare has a size limit of 100 MB
per file. Larger files have to be split
using a utility like FileSplitter, and
then individual components uploaded.
Premium users, however, are allocated a
2 GB file-size limit.
YourFileHost
(www.yourfilehost.com)
YourFileHost is another amazing site
which offers unlimited uploads, but
allows a file-size of a mere 25MB.
Unfortunately, this site does not have a
“premium” option, and is sustained by
advertising and donations from its users.
To use this site, click on the upload link
on the main page add them on the add
files to upload button. Select the files to
upload and then select ‘general’ or ‘adult’
on the GUI—making it compulsory for
you to specify whether your file is for
general viewers or adult viewers only.
Once this is done, you can click on the
upload button and your files are uploaded
to the site. The next page gives you the
download and delete links.
Since there’s no membership option, you
need to store links carefully. Of course,
this site is totally free, so we can’t really
fault them for “not charging” us.
YourFileHost is mostly a video site,
and most of those videos are adult
oriented. You would probably look a
little unprofessional telling colleagues or
clients to download a file from here. If it’s
just your friends that you’re sharing files
with, especially videos, this site is fun—
the general section, where you’ll find a
whole range of really funny videos.
Xdrive
(www.xdrive.com)
Xdrive is another site that offers 5 GB
of free online storage with an unlimited
number of file uploads. The catch here
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is that you need and AOL account to
access the site, Needless to say, this site
has been developed by AOL. It also has
a paid option which offers up to 50 GB
of storage at $9.95 a month and $99.50
a year.
Once you get an AOL account, which is
pretty simple, you get access to an online
storage with what we think is the best GUI
among the sites we have spoken about
here. When you sign in, you are shown
your Xdrive folders visually. Click on the
link, and you will find a snazzy toolbar to
help you upload all your files. Click on
the upload button on the toolbar, select
your files and click OK TO TUPLOAD.
This site also doubles up as a miniature
Web album (more on Web albums later in
this chapter). Simply move the pictures
you upload to the My Photos folder,
click on the photos tab on the GUI, and
voila the toolbar changes. You can view
the pictures as a slideshow or even share
them if you wish.
It offers utility software which helps a
user to combine music and picture files to
create rich multimedia experiences. Also,
it offers another utility with a GUI that
features drag and drop functionality.
Where To Store
We would suggest that if you have
many files of a large size, sign up with
MegaUpload. Its 50 GB space would
cover the requirements for most people.
If you are a traveling businessman, or
if your want to share files with people
across the globe, try RapidShare—its
mirroring facilities make for faster
downloads across the world. For just fun
with friends, and sharing videos or files
while you surf, the YourFileHost service
should suffice.
We recommend Xdrive for its ease of
use and look and feel. The downside
is that it offers only 5 GB of storage
free. However, it’s mich less ominous
a site than the first three when it
comes to official work—MegaUpload,
RapidShare, and YourFileHost have
become notorious for virus and porn…
Cyn works for businesses that are brand
conscious, and those who come across as
more serious about online-storage. It’s
way too expensive though.
Preetham Sha
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