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7
7. Issue
Seventh Issue - July 2011
Editorial
Articles / Beiträge
  1. Distributed Repositories for Educational Content

    As education providers increasingly integrate digital learning media into their education processes, the need for the systematic management of learning materials and learning arrangements becomes clearer. Digital repositories, often called Learning Object Repositories (LOR), promise to provide an answer to this challenge. This article is composed of two parts. In this part, we derive technological and pedagogical requirements for LORs from a concretization of information quality criteria for e-learning technology. We review the evolution of learning object repositories and discuss their core features in the context of pedagogical requirements, information quality demands, and e-learning technology standards. We conclude with an outlook in Part 2, which presents concrete technical solutions, in particular networked repository architectures.

  2. Distributed Repositories for Educational Content

    In Part 1 of this article we discussed the need for information quality and the systematic management of learning materials and learning arrangements. Digital repositories, often called Learning Object Repositories (LOR), were introduced as a promising answer to this challenge. We also derived technological and pedagogical requirements for LORs from a concretization of information quality criteria for e-learning technology. This second part presents technical solutions that particularly address the demands of open education movements, which aspire to a global reuse and sharing culture. From this viewpoint, we develop core requirements for scalable network architectures for educational content management. We then present edu-sharing, an advanced example of a network of homogeneous repositories for learning resources, and discuss related technology. We conclude with an outlook in terms of emerging developments towards open and networked system architectures in e-learning.

  3. Integration of e-learning outcomes into work processes

    Three case studies of in-house developed e-learning education in public organizations with different pedagogical approaches are used as a starting point for discussion regarding the implementation challenges of e-learning at work. The aim of this article is to contribute to the understanding of integrating mechanisms of e-learning outcomes into work processes in large, public organizations. The case studies were analyzed from a socio-cultural perspective using the MOA-model as a frame of reference. Although the pedagogical approaches for all of the cases seemed to be relevant and most of the learners showed overall positive attitudes towards the courses, there were problems with integration of the e-learning outcomes into work processes. There were deficiencies in the adaption of the course contents to the local educational needs. There was also a lack of adjusting the local work organization and work routines in order to facilitate the integration of the e-learning outcomes into the work processes. A lack of local management engagement affected the learners’ motivation negatively. Group discussions in local work groups facilitated the integration of the e-learning outcomes. Much of the difficulties of integrating e-learning outcomes into work processes in big organizations are related to the problems with adjusting centrally developed e-learning courses to local needs and a lack of co-operation among among the developers (often IT-professionals) and the Human Resources Department of the organizations.

Project reports / Projektberichte
  1. E-Learning praktisch erlebbar machen

    Dieser Projektbericht beschreibt eine Lehrveranstaltung, die den Studierenden in der Theorie genau das vermittelte, was sie direkt in der Praxis erfahren konnten: E-Learning. Die enge Koppelung von Wissensvermittlung und praktischer Umsetzung setzte auf ein ungewöhnliches Modell der Lernzeitorganisation. Von den Lernenden wie vom Lehrenden verlangte das Blended-Learning-Seminar die Bereitschaft, das übliche Selbstverständnis in Lehr-Lern-Kontexten an Hochschulen zu überdenken. Dieser Bericht stellt die inhaltliche und strukturelle Ausgangssituation dar, beschreibt die Organisation der Veranstaltung sowie die eingesetzten Methoden und Mittel und reflektiert die Lernerfolge.

  2. A study on Integration of Information Technology in Higher Education in Saudi Arabia

    This study examined the level of information technology (IT) integration in Yanbu University College at Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu at Yanbu Industrial City, Saudi Arabia. Both male and female teachers across all departments were investigated about their utilization of IT in the classroom. The survey also included degree of IT use, frequency and demographic data. Methodology of study was from summarizing data, mean and also from correlation. The mean frequency of use for all educational activities was averaged at 1-2 times per week. Male and female teachers familiarised with variety of uses and often use IT to support their existing classroom practices and teaching strategies. In general, frequency of IT usage amongst female and male teachers is marginal higher than the male staff at 2.70 as compared to 2.60. In terms of gender, it was found that there was no relationship between gender and usage of IT with r value of 0.017.

  3. Blended Learning in der Wirtschaftsinformatik

    Der vorliegende Projektbericht stellt das Blended Learning-Konzept und insbesondere ein darin enthaltenes Sonderpunkteprogramm zweier Vorlesungen vor, die auf dem RuhrCampusOnline der drei Ruhrgebietsuniversitäten angeboten werden. Der Artikel entwickelt sich dabei vom Allgemeinen zum Speziellen: Nach einer Erläuterung der Rahmenbedingungen in Form des RuhrCampusOnline und des Lehrmoduls „Management & Information“ wird zunächst das Blended Learning-Konzept der Lehrveranstaltungen vorgestellt. Anschließend wird mit einem speziell auf das Online-Lernen ausgerichteten Sonderpunkteprogramm ein E-Learning-spezifisches Element in den Vordergrund gerückt. Das Sonderpunkteprogramm leitet sich aus den besonderen E-Learning-bezogenen Herausforderungen der Veranstaltungen ab und zielt auf aktive und kontinuierliche Online-Lernaktivitäten der Studierenden ab. Im letzten Schritt werden das Blended Learning-Konzept, die einzelnen darin enthaltenen E-Learning-Komponenten und das Sonderpunkteprogramm anhand von Evaluationsergebnissen kritisch reflektiert. Der Beitrag präsentiert damit einen umfassenden Blended Learning-Ansatz in der Wirtschaftsinformatik-Lehre.

  4. Darstellung von Entscheidungskriterien zur Produktion und Distribution von Online-Vorlesungen

    Das Interesse an Online-Vorlesungen, -Vorträgen oder -Präsentationen für E-Learning hat deutlich zugenommen. Hierfür gibt es eine Reihe von Gründen, die mit neuen Formen der Produktion und Distribution von Online-Vorlesungen zusammenhängen. Mit der Verfügbarkeit von Rapid-Authoring-Werkzeugen wird der Workflow für die Erstellung und den Einsatz von Online-Vorlesungen erleichtert und flexibilisiert. Hierbei ist zu beobachten, dass durch die Vielzahl der Möglichkeiten im Workflow zunehmend individuelle Rahmenbedingungen und Anforderungen berücksichtigt werden können. Der folgende Beitrag beschreibt diese Veränderungen. Er fasst die Optionen im Prozess der Produktion und Distribution von Online-Vorträgen im Internet zusammen. Ein solcher Überblick über das Themengebiet ist erforderlich für das Herausarbeiten eines individuellen Workflows. Hierzu werden Entscheidungskriterien für die Auswahl von Werkzeugen und Plattformen dargestellt und die mediendidaktischen Implikationen diskutiert.

  5. E-Assessment

    Diese Frage wurde im Rahmen einer CampusSource Veranstaltung an der TU-Dortmund von Experten diskutiert. Insbesondere die Beispiele aus der Praxis und die Praxisberichte aus den Hochschulen trafen auf das Interesse der Teilnehmer. Potenzielle Vor- und Nachteile,

  6. Identity Management (IDM) und SmartCards

    Ein Großteil der von Hochschulen erbrachten Dienstleistungen in Lehre, Verwaltung und zentralen Einrichtungen sind ohne IT-Unterstützung nicht mehr denkbar. Ob Zugang zu Rechnern und Netzen, Nutzung von Online-Angeboten oder E-Learning, Vormerkung und Ausleihe von Büchern der Bibliothek - in immer stärkerem Maße stellt sich die Herausforderung, den Nutzern an der Hochschule über Einzel- oder kleine Insellösungen hinaus einen einheitlichen Zugang zu den Diensten zur Verfügung zu stellen. In diesem Kontext gewinnen IT-Lösungen aus den Bereichen Identity Management zur Provisionierung von einheitlichen Nutzerzugängen in die IT-Systeme sowie die Realisierung einer sicheren, zentralen ID-Infrastruktur in Form von SmartCards eine immer größere Bedeutung. Im Rahmen der Tagung wurden ein Überblick über die im Hochschulbereich vorliegenden Anforderungen gegeben sowie kommerzielle und Open Source-Lösungen vorgestellt.

Editorial

Dear readers,

we are happy to announce a new issue and the migration to a new server, which should substantially improve access speed to our online journal.

We have used the opportunity of migrating to a new server to update the site’s appearance, and introduce some editorial changes, including new services. In the headline you will recognize a new button “Authors”, which links to a list of all authors who ever contributed to this journal and their articles and reports. Further we renovated our RSS feed, which now allows you to decide whether you want to be informed about all contributions or you want to select individual categories only, like articles, project reports, and others. You may have noticed that the journal’s search functionality was sub-optimal in the past. The search function has been improved such that it delivers more exact matches and the advanced search now offers a range of possibilities to select specific search attributes. We have also added a tag cloud on the left, which gives you an instant view of the main topics addressed in the journal. Finally we have added a summary section in the lower part of each page. Besides a login, which is currently restricted to members of the editorial team, you can find a list of services, for example, for setting your feed or accessibility preferences, and you see a list of most recent contributions. More community services will follows as we find funds and competent software developers.

The contributions of this issue share the quality that they are all based on practical work and give particular attention to the interests of practitioners, both working in the field of instructional design and e-learning technology. Two of the three scientific articles describe the state-of-the-art in educational digital repositories and learning (object) systems in two parts, touching particularly on the authors’ own distributed solution. The first part aims primarily at readers who have a decent background in instructional design and are interested in the idea of sharing educational content and methodological knowledge but have a lesser interest in technological details. It focuses on information quality issues in the context of e-learning and provides some rationale for the technical approaches discussed in the second part. The second part addresses e-learning tool developers and offers a comprehensive survey of very different technologies.

The third article by Kerstin Grundén reports on three case studies investigating challenges and opportunities in reconciling work tasks and e-learning. The studies were performed in different Swedish public organizations. The paper reveals several factors that resulted in a low integration of learning outcomes and individual work processes and concludes with suggestions to overcome such deficits.

In this issue we have also included six project reports, two book descriptions, and four dissertation abstracts. Two of the project reports present blended learning approaches in economic departments, one describes empirical research on gender issues in the integration of IT at a Saudi Arabian university, and the forth contributes decision criteria that may guide the implementation of online lecture capturing and their distribution using different technologies. Two further reports summarize the content of two workshops on e-assessment and the introduction of identity management and smart cards in German universities. The dissertation thesis “The Effects of instructor-Avatar Immediacy in Second Life, an Immersive and Interactive 3D Virtual Environment” by Sabine Lawless-Reljic is remarkable because the thesis defense took place in Second World as well. Have a look at the linked in movie clips.

Bernd Krämer
Editor-in-Chief, eleed