E-learning Standards Research Articles

Interoperability and Learning Objects: An Overview of E-Learning Standardization

The observation nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from (Tanenbaum, 1981, p. 221) has been circulating in e-learning standards circles for some time. This statement certainly reflects the varied and complex nature of standards organizations and standards development processes. This paper provides an overview of standards and specifications bodies and processes relevant to e-learning and particularly to learning objects and related infrastructures. It focuses specifically on three key organizations and on the e-learning specifications and the standards they develop: the IMS Global Consortium, the IEEE LTSC (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. Learning Technology Standards Committee), and the ISO/IEC (International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission).

Building an Online Course Based on the E-Learning Standards: Guidelines, Issues, and Challenges

This paper provides a comprehensive set of guidelines for building an online course based on the e-learning standards. It discusses the steps that should be followed to build a digital repository that facilitates the storage, retrieval, and reuse of the learning resources that comprise an online course in a standard way. The paper also examines various shortcomings associated with adopting the e-learning standards that threaten the viability of widespread reuse of learning resources. Finally, the paper highlights research challenges that must be surmounted in order to gain the benefits of reusable digital learning resources.

Guest Editorial - “Successes and Challenges of E-learning Standards and Specifications”

Guest Editorial - “Successes and Challenges of E-learning Standards and Specifications”

Privacy provision in e-learning standardized systems: status and improvements

Privacy is understood as a freedom from intrusion into the private life or affairs of an individual when that intrusion results from undue or illegal gathering and use of data about that individual. Appropriate use of technologies may provide privacy and data protection; however, these technologies require relevant attributes in the databases containing information that need protection. These are not obvious in the existing e-learning standard schemes. This paper discusses first the current e-learning standards regarding the schemes used for defining, storing and managing user profiles in e-learning standardized systems. Later, it gives an overview of the requirements for privacy provision and discusses the elements required in such systems. Comments and assessments of the existing solutions are given. An enhanced solution being developed within the ELENA project from the European IST 5th Framework Programme is described. The new solution is built up on the existing standards, but it introduces new features enabling better protection of sensitive data and more efficient management, enabling the users to decide about the relevant protection.

Privacy and Security in E-Learning

For a variety of advantages, universities and other organizations are resorting to e-learning to provide instruction on-line. While many advances have been made in the mechanics of providing on-line instruction, the needs for privacy and security have to-date been largely ignored. This paper examines privacy and security issues associated with e-learning. It presents the basic principles behind privacy practices and legislation. It investigates the more popular e-learning standards to determine their provisions and limitations for privacy and security. Privacy requirements for e-learning systems are explored with respect to the “Privacy Principles.” The capabilities of a number of existing privacy enhancing technologies, including methods for network privacy, policy-based privacy/security management, and trust systems, are reviewed and assessed.

Reshaping e-learning content to meet the standards

There is a set of e-learning standards varying on the level of complexity, detail of description and means for technical implementations. These standards open up new levels of content description, data presentation as well as have impact on reuse and interoperability of e-learning content. E-learning standards such as IMS, SCORM, IEEE LTSC METADATA, DUBLIN CORE and others have settled down in recent years. E-learning platforms started complying to the standards especially to the most comprehensive ones such as IMS and SCORM. Here comes the issue of migrating old content into standardized learning objects (as defined in SCORM standard.) along with the development of easy-to-use learning objects repositories. In this paper firstly an overview of standards is given with respect to the reshaping of content to meet standards, then a practical conversion issues are examined and discussed.

The Political Implications of E-Learning

The electronic delivery of higher education instruction appears to have both positive and negative consequences even if the situation is evolving rapidly and no definitive conclusions can be drawn. While the Internet is said to be a great equalizer; at the same time, it exacerbates inequality. It fuels unrealizable expectations. It may or may not reduce true personal engagement. E-learning strategies, formats, curricula, and the credentials that can be earned will lead the learner to employment; however, must training replace education? A standardization of the standards of e-learning will help to energize e-globalized learning.