New Trends in eLearning

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• New Trends in eLearning
• On Learning Objects Terminology
• Quality Organisations / Institutions/ Projects
• LOs Evaluation
• Integrating RSS-LOM and weblogs in Timsoft VLE
  eLearnTS

Carmen Holotescu - Director Timsoft Ltd,
Romania http//www.timsoft.ro
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• What means eLearning
• eLearning means the use of multimedia
  technologies and Internet
• ?quality materials, simulations
• ? online resources
• ? collaboration, sharing,
• communities

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• Current situation
• eLearning Designing tomorrows education
  initiative CE, 24 May 2000
• eLearning Europa
• http//www.elearningeuropa.info
• Many schools and universities offer online
  modules for their courses, online courses, or
  even degrees online 75 companies use eLearning
  in their training programs
• eLearning Romanian Projects universities,
  schools, firms
• http//www.timsoft.ro/resurse.shtml
• Accreditation by the Open Distance Learning (
  ODL ) Commission of the Ministry of Education,
  Research and Youth
• eLearning Programme 2004-2006 Promotion of
  digital literacy, creation of European virtual
  campuses, e-Twinning of schools in Europe and
  promotion of teacher training and transversal
  actions for the promotion of e-learning in Europe
  

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• New trends in eLearning
• Learning Objects - LO - a bit of reusable digital
  content that can support learning
• RSS-LOM
• Repositories - LO repository is a system for
  organizing and managing learning objects ( static
  )
• Content Syndication - instead of packaging and
  distributing content, access to original content
  is made available to a wider audience on an
  as-needed basis -gt immediacy and flexibility
• weblogs, RSS - World Live Web
• Personalisation - content selection, based on
  individual needs
• Learning Environments - using simulations to
  support learning, open for communication,
  syndication
• Stephen Downes ( http//www.downes.ca )
• From Classrooms to Learning Environments A
  Midrange Projection of E-Leaning Technologies -
  http//www.collegequarterly.ca/2004-vol07-num03-su
  mmer/downes.html

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• Learning Object Terminology
• Rory McGreal - Learning Objects A Practical
  Definition
• http//itdl.org/Journal/Sep_04/article02.htm

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• 2003 - Stephen Downes RSS-LOM Standard RSS is a
  LO implementation - http//www.downes.ca/xml/rss_l
  om.htm
• LOs Syndication

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• Quality Organisations / Institutions/ Projects
  (1)
• http//www.eqo.info
• Multiple perspectives of quality in e-learning
• To find a concept for handling this multitude.

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• Quality Organisations / Institutions/ Projects
  (2)
• Education-Observatories  - http//www.education-ob
  servatories.net/eduobs - eLearning related
  projects carried on by the MENON Network
• eLearning policies (eWATCH and POLE)
• eLearning market, practices and research
  developments (L-Change)
• eLearning measurement through ad hoc indicators
  (DELOS)
• eLearning products and processes quality
  (SEEQUEL)
• eLearning projects and practices adopted in EU
  funded actions(eLearn)
• students' perspectives and expectations on
  eLearning (SPOT)
• regional dimensions of eLearning (ReLL)
• future development scenarios (L-Change and
  LEONIE)

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• Quality Organisations / Institutions/ Projects
  (3)
• http//e-quality.uta.fi/en/
• Objectives To produce a common reference
  methodological framework for Quality in ODL in
  Europe, taking into account cultural differences,
  experiences, needs and best practices, linked to
  ongoing normalisation work.
• http//www2.trainingvillage.gr/etv/quality
• Forum framework where the Commission, Member
  States and the social partners cooperate to
  improve the quality of vocational training

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• Quality Organisations / Institutions/ Projects
  (4)
• http//www.aln.org/publications/view/v3n11/coverv3
  n11.htm/ in USA
• Quality Matters - Project implemented by Sloan
  Consortium - to help learning organizations
  continually improve the quality, scale, and
  breadth of their online programs

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• Quality Organisations / Institutions/ Projects
  (5)
• Lifia - Learning Innovations Forum Canada -
  http//www.lifia.ca
• EIfEL - European Institute for E-Learning -
  http//www.eife-l.org
• The Open eQuality Learning Standards - Open eQLs
  European Pan-American Agreement
• http//www.lifia.ca/en/learn_equal_proj_oeqls.htm

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• LOs Evaluation
• Projects which establish LOs Quality criteria.
  The last 4 projects provided methodologies to
  assess the quality
• Wisc-Online - http//www.wisc-online.com
• Reusable Learning Objects - Queensland Department
  of Employment and Training, Australia -
  http//www.tnqit.tafe.net/RLO
• Project DESIRE - Development of a European
  Service for Information on Research and Education
  - http//www.desire.org
• MERLOT - Multimedia Educational Resource for
  Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT)
  http//www.merlot.org
• LORI Learning Object Review Instrument - in
  eLera E-Learning Research and Assesment network
  - http//www.elera.net
• Stephen Downes Projecting Quality Proposal
  presented at MADLaT Conference (
  http//www.madlat.ca/quality_learning/ ) - 
  http//www.downes.ca/files/nutn.ppt
• Westhern University of Timisoara A Predictive
  Model for Learning Objects Quality Evaluation
  http//thor.info.uaic.ro/rosycs/presentations/jic
  hici-negru-pop.pdf.

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• Timsoft experience in eLearning
• Timsoft Ltd http//www.timsoft.ro - is an
  active actor in eLearning
• Products
• eLearnTS - Virtual Learning Environment - with
  versions in Romanian and English, which is used
  for online courses, online communities,
  e-collaboration, online workshops
• IntraTS Intranet application for information
  management, communication and collaboration
• eTestTSfor online testing dynamic building of
  online modules and questionnairs.
• offers online courses IT, Management,
  Councelling, Training the eTrainers
• for 3 universities, firms, individual learners
• hosts Romanian eLearning Community
• eJournal Weblog eLearning Resources
• organizes international online workshops
  partner e-Learning Centre UK http//www.e-learni
  ngcentre.co.uk
• Partner in Educational Projects

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• eLearnTS
• Authoring system - An authoring component used by
  the space administrators in creation and edition
  of the materials.
• Registration system - The database with the
  participants specific information.
• A content delivery function - The content may be
  in the form of text, images, sounds, animations.
• A navigation model - Syllabus, members list,
  links, search. Students Portfolios
• Synchronous tools - Chat-room allows the members
  to communicate in real time between them and with
  the instructors Live Chat .
• Asynchronous tools - public,private,gated
  conferences
• Security system - A component for controlling the
  access to the virtual environment.
• VLE was recently extended with RSS feed, RSS-LOM
  Editor, authoring tool based on XML for
  tutorials, evaluation

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• Integrating RSS-LOM in eLearnTS
• build/import modules as RSS-LOM
• blogs, links collections described as RSS-LOM
• LOs as RSS-LOM are freely distributed, can be
  also imported in LOM compliant LMSs
• standards aggregators/RSS readers are used
  Bloglines, Serence
• OPML file similar with a repository
• personalization, evaluation

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• RSS-LOM Editor
• Used the LOM metadata presented in International
  LOM Survey Report - http//phenom.educ.ualberta.c
  a/n/papers/LOM_Survey_Report.doc
• RSS-LOM modified for syndication using standard
  aggregators

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• Syndication
• RSS-LOM LOs are published using
• standard aggregators search, evaluation,
  personalization

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• RSS-LOM, RSS, weblogs used in Timsoft online
  courses
• RSS-LOM courses modules, resources
• RSS collections proposed by facilitators,
  participants
• Private RSS for each course announcements, new
  messages
• Weblogs ePortofolio
• RSS Reader - Serence.com

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• Thank you!