Evaluating E-Learning from an End User Perspective

Evaluating E-Learning from an End User Perspective

Robert Costello
Copyright: © 2018 |Pages: 27
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-2584-4.ch041
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Abstract

Evaluating e-learning is an important measure for quality control, which aims to improve the whole e-learning environment through taking into consideration users' perceptions and needs, as well as participants, stakeholders, and institutions. However, literature does indicate that institutions are only using e-learning as a repository for uploading academic materials, instead of taking into consideration of features and the learner. This chapter examines a variety of evaluation techniques adopted from e-learning, personalised learning, and User Modelling to suggest improvements within the industry to challenge the end users' perceptions of on-line education.
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Introduction

According to Stojanovic et al. (2001), Nichols (2003), and Alsultanny (2006), e-learning is an efficient, effective way of providing a just-in-time learning approach by offering a dynamically changing technological environment that aims to replace old-fashioned time-place content learning.

E-learning is part of the biggest change in the way our species conducts training since the invention of the chalkboard or perhaps the alphabet. The development of computers and electronic communications has removed barriers of space and time. We can obtain and deliver knowledge anytime anywhere (Welshe et al. 2003, p. 1).

E-learning is essentially comprised of three main features: Web-based infrastructures/technologies; pedagogical learning theories; and standards, which include SCORM and LOM. By using e-learning within education can provide a variety of benefits not just to the learners but also the university itself by reducing over heads, improved environmental factors as resources are stored and uploaded on-line, and provide learning materials 24 hours day, 7 days a week.

Many educational institutions across the United Kingdom have focused on bringing e-learning to the individual user, by the use of several different commercial on-line educational mediums, the most pertinent of which to this research are outlined below.

This chapter looks at what factors and issues are associated when evaluating e-learning environments from an end user perspective. Throughout this section, different areas of on-line learning will be examined and the issues associated with them.

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    E-learning environments and issues.

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    E-learning 2.0.

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    User Modelling.

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    Research in Personalised learning – An Overview.

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    Issues with Personalised learning Environments.

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    Evaluating e-learning from a end user perspective.

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