Learning Beyond Walls – eLearning Ideas and Possibilities for Youth
By:
Karim Wallani
Presentation for:
U-TECH: Technology Ideas and Possibilities for Empowering 21st Century Youth
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" – Albert Einstein
RoadmapWhat is
eLearning
Quick look at FOSS
Emerging Trends in Education
(related to eLearning)
eLearning from the
IT Perspective
What do you know about eLearning?
When talking about eLearning, we often focus on technology…
eLearning…But look at the word ‘eLearning’, and notice the lowercase ‘e’ and the uppercase ‘L’. This is done on purpose: Learning takes priority over ‘e’.
(Textbook) Definition of eLearning
• The use of information and communications technology (ICT) for learning, teaching and learner support services
• Encompasses the use of a variety of tools and pedagogical strategies in a range of educational settings
(Laurillard, 2006)
(Simplified) Definition of eLearning
• All learning, all the time!
Quick Look at Free and Open Source Software
Free and Open Source Software• Proprietary Software = Software owned by an individual or
company. The licensee is given the right to run the software.• FOSS = Software that gives users freedom.
Freedom to… Proprietary Software FOSS
Run
Copy
Distribute
Study
Change
Improve
Free and Open Source Software
• FOSS does NOT necessarily mean free in terms of cost, BUT it is usually free in terms of cost
• Fees are usually charged for distribution on CDs/DVDs, USB drives, etc. or for services of installing or maintaining free software
Popular FOSS SoftwareType Proprietary Software FOSS Alternative
Operating System Microsoft Windows, Mac OS Linux (CentOS, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, etc.)
Virtualization Software VMWare Workstation Oracle VirtualBox
Office Suite Microsoft Office OpenOffice
Web Browser Internet Explorer Mozilla FirefoxGraphics Application Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint
Shop ProGIMP
Email Client Microsoft Outlook Mozilla Thunderbird
Desktop Publishing QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher
Scribus
File Archiving WinZip, WinRAR 7-Zip
Video Editing Adobe Premier VirtualDub
Screen-Capturing Camtasia CamStudio
Web Programming Adobe Dreamweaver Aptana Studio
And much more… as we shall see! Visit sourceforge.net for more FOSS.
Demo
• Ubuntu Linux• Mozilla Firefox• OpenOffice.org Writer• OpenOffice.org Impress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEHbwCMiOfo
Emerging Trends in Education
Emerging Trends in Education
Collaborative Learning
Distance Education
Virtual Classrooms
Emerging Trends in Education
Mobile Learning Game-Based Learning
Emerging Trends – Collaborative Learning
• A situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together
• Unlike individual learning, people engaged in collaborative learning capitalize on one another’s resources and skills
• These include both face-to-face conversations and computer-aided discussions (social networking sites, online forums and chat rooms, web conferencing tools, etc.)
www.facebook.com
www.skype.com
www.mediawiki.org
www.wikispaces.com
Emerging Trends – Distance Education (a.k.a. Distance Learning)
• Focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom
• Source of information and learners are separated by time or space (or both)
www.moodle.org
www.khanacademy.org
www.ocw.mit.edu
Over 2,100 courses available online.
Some of them containing complete video lectures.
Emerging Trends – Virtual Classrooms
• An online classroom in which the teacher and student are separated by time or space, or both
• The teacher provides course content through course management applications (e.g. Moodle), multimedia resources, the Internet, and/or Web conferencing
Emerging Trends – Virtual Classrooms
• Students receive the content and communicate with the teacher via the same technologies
• Can be synchronous (real-time) or asynchronous (non-real-time)
www.bigbluebutton.org
www.secondlife.com
Emerging Trends – Mobile Learning
• Any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed, predetermined location, or learning that happens when the learner takes advantage of mobile technologies (e.g. handheld computers, MP3 players, notebooks and mobile phones)
http://exelearning.org/wiki
http://audacity.sourceforge.net
Emerging Trends – Game-Based Learning
• A game, which is designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment, that deals with applications that have defined learning outcomes
www.thesims.com
The Sims 2: Open for Business
DNA - The Double Helix (www.nobelprize.org/educational)
eLearning from the IT Perspective
eLearning from the IT Perspective
• Responsibilities:– Design/Develop educational software including
Web and mobile applications– Create/Maintain appropriate infrastructure
(hardware and networks) for eLearning– Train users on the use of eLearning software and
hardware and provide support– Interact with academics and administrators to find
out requirements and suggest solutions
Thanks!