Types of E-learning and its Application Criteria
The World Wide Web has provided learning opportunities for each learner in different ways and methods, and e-learning has helped the learner to choose the appropriate type of learning for him. Among these types, as agreed upon by many educators, are the following:
Types of e-learning:
Synchronous E-Learning:
The method and techniques of education based on the global network of information means the delivery and exchange of lessons and research topics between the learner and the teacher at the same time in real time to teach the subject, such as real-time chat or receiving lessons through the so-called virtual classes. One of the advantages of this type is that the student can get direct feedback. from the teacher.
Asynchronous E-learning
In which the learner gets courses or classes according to a planned study program in which he selects the times and places that suit his circumstances by employing some e-learning methods such as e-mail and videotapes. Study the material and refer to it electronically whenever needed.
Global standards for e-learning:
The standards currently accepted in the field of e-learning do not rise to the level of a standard approved by the International Standards Organization (ISO), and they still serve as specifications, guidelines, or standards, due to the field of e-learning and the learning management system (LMS) and educational content it includes. It is still in an accelerated growth phase that led to successive and rapid changes in the field, while the standards are based on stability, a degree that e-learning has not yet reached.
And this is despite the tireless efforts by organizations, committees, institutions, and standards development agencies in this regard, starting from the early stages since 1988 AD, but the existence of standards in their current form issued by professional organizations in the field of e-learning is preferable to be adhered to by developers and providers of e-learning services, and it must be upon liberation Absolutely, the modification that will occur to e-learning products that adhere to the standards will be slight, while those who do not adhere to the current standards will lead to a change that may reach 100% in their future work in the event that the standards are globally approved by the International Standards Organization (ISO), which It is expected to be reached in the near future. Among the most important standards applied in e-learning are the following [2]:
Scorm standards:
It is one of several standards in one package called SCORM, which is short for sharable content object reference model, meaning the model for sharing content and objects.
It was developed by an American agency in training funded by the US Department of Defense for the purposes of reducing training expenses and employing modern technology in it starting in 1997 AD, which requires quality standards in education and training resources (ADVANCED) (ADL DISTRBUTED LEARNING).
The SCORM criteria consist of the following points
Objectives:
SCORM standards seek to achieve a number of objectives, the most important of which are:
- Access: It is the ability to locate and access educational content from anywhere and at any time.
- Adaptability: The ability to adapt to meet the learning needs of the organization and individuals.
- Productivity: The ability to increase efficiency and productivity by decreasing the time and cost involved in delivering education
- Endurance: It is the ability to use the content even if the technology used to provide it changes, such as updating the operating systems or the learning management system (LMS).
- Interoperability: It is the ability for different operating platforms and tools to communicate and work together efficiently
- Reusability: Content can be easily modified and used multiple times using multiple platforms and tools
Contents:
A scrum system has three main components:
- Content collection form.
- operating environment for educational units.
- Browsing and tracking.
One of the important features of scrum standards is that it relies on breaking down digital content into its original components and making it shareable through assembly and configuration according to the requirements of the educational process. When scrum standards are achieved when building educational digital content, they achieve the following advantages for their users:
*. The ability to publish digital content and its parts in any content management environment (LMS) easily.
*. The possibility of publishing digital content and its parts, reusing it multiple times and in multiple forms.
*. The ability to follow up the learner’s performance and academic development, including evaluation, time required for learning, and others.
*. The ability to combine the different parts of the content to obtain an educational digital content with sequence and ramifications that are appropriate to the educational requirements.
The educational digital content, according to SCORM standards, consists of the following basic parts, which are not separate distributions, but overlapping and intertwined and distributed, written texts, illustrations, photographs, sound recordings, sound effects, video and animation, illustrative maps; The availability of digital content in its various forms is necessary for the completion of the e-learning wheel.
Content is not a device that is bought and used until it wears out and then is replaced. Rather, it is an accumulation of knowledge that grows with time. A large number of specialists and educators contribute to its growth and diversity. It is a national wealth that must be cared for, nurtured, and developed.
IMS Standards:
It is an abbreviation for the global coalition for the CONSORTIUM INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT SYSTM GLOBAL It is an American international association for university providers that rely on defining the specifications of learning resources based on the XML language. These specifications describe the characteristics of courses, lessons, assessment and educational groups. IMS standards focus on two main goals:
*. Define specific guidelines that ensure interoperability between applications and services in e-learning.
*. Support the application of directives in international products and services.
The IMS standards consist of the following main elements:
*. Data data: It is the main element that is used to describe the educational materials Package content: It is a description of the assembly structure of the educational resources in the course or parts of it.
*. Interoperability of questions and quizzes: These are guidelines that describe participation in quizzes, assessments, and data, and allow display of multiple types of questions, feedback, results, and most important question types include multiple responses, true or false, fill in the blank.
*. Learning design: a specification that acts as a language leading to the modeling of learning units and supporting learning strategies
*. Sequence: A description of how learning units are organized and presented to the learner