Abstract
People’s environment is increasingly enriched and changed with computing devices which offer services that aid users in their daily activities. In addition, the way that people using the Internet have begun to change with these high-tech computing tools and devices. Following the recent trends on digital technologies, this chapter will discuss how to select and utilize existing Internet technologies for the benefits of education, and policies on using these technologies. The rapid improvements in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the wide introduction of the Internet have added a whole new dimension to education. There are seemingly limitless ways of using technologies and the Internet to enhance the quality of instruction, both in face-to-face courses as well as in distance courses. This chapter will also explain how technological advances and ICT policies are being applied to assist for both instructors and students.
TopCourse And Learning Management Systems
The primary learning technology employed recently is a type of system that organizes and delivers online courses (Downes, 2005) and known under different names: Course Management Systems (CMS), Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), Learning Platforms, Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS). This kind of software has become almost ubiquitous in the learning environment and they are widely used for both corporate and educational purposes (Hart, 2008). Commercial learning management systems such as Blackboard, Angel and Desire2Learn have been installed at thousands of universities and colleges and are used by tens of thousands of instructors and students (Downes, 2005). On the other hand, two major open source learning management systems are growing in popularity: Moodle and Sakai (Ganjalizadeh & Molina, 2006). In the following of this section two major LMS will be briefly discussed.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Blogging: Posting and sharing personal thoughts, opinions and descriptions related to a subject on a type of website. Most of the bloggers allow readers to submit their comments.
LMS: Learning Management System is a type of system that facilitates delivery of learning materials and organization of learning process.
Social Networking: Service that allows users to build online communities of people who share a common interest in order to share opinions and/or experiences.
E-Learning: Electronic learning is the use of telecommunication and Internet technologies (e.g. Tv, radio, computer, etc.) to deliver information for educational purposes.
Mobile Learning: The utilization of mobile devices for learning purposes.
Podcasting: Podcasting is a method of publishing audio contents to the Internet and allow learners to subscribe via an RSS.
Personalised E-learning: Providing customized learning based on individual’s learning goals and learning styles.