Diet Thesis

Tremendous advances in computer technology and the evolution of the Internet have led to new approaches in learning and training which are summarized under the term e-Learning. This thesis will explain what can be expected from e-Learning and although especially focused on the technological basis, will examine all kinds of requirements for e-Learning environments: pedagogical, functional and non functional requirements. A special chapter will be dedicated to all relevant standards in the field of eLearning due to its importance for increasing interoperability, cutting costs and gaining acceptance.

An example for a state of the art e-Learning system, which has been designed by and developed under the guidance of the author, will be given, successfully completed projects based on this environment will be presented to show possible operational areas, and ideas for further developments will be sketched. Kurzfassung Gewaltige Fortschritte in der Computertechnologie und die Weiterentwicklung des Internets haben zu neuen Ansatzen beim Lernen und Lehren gefuhrt, die unter dem Begriff e-Learning zusammengefasst werden.

Diese Dissertation legt dar, was von e-Learning erwartet werden kann, und untersucht, obwohl eigentlich auf die technologischen Aspekte orientiert, alle Arten von Anforderungen fur e-Learning Umgebungen: padagogische, funktionale und nicht-funktionale. Ein spezielles Kapitel wird allen fur das eLearning Gebiet relevanten Standards gewidmet, aufgrund ihrer Wichtigkeit bei der Steigerung der Interoperabilitat, der Senkung von Kosten und der Akzeptanzsteigerung. Ein Beispiel fur ein State-of-the-Art e-Learning System, das vom Autor entworfen und unter seiner Fuhrung entwickelt wurde, wird ausgefuhrt.

Auf dessen Basis erfolgreich abgeschlossene Projekte werden prasentiert, um die moglichen Einsatzgebiete aufzuzeigen, und Ideen fur weitere Entwicklungen werden skizziert. I hereby certify that the work presented in this thesis is my own and that work performed by others is appropriately cited. Ich versichere hiermit, diese Arbeit selbststandig verfasst, andere als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel nicht benutzt und mich auch sonst keiner unerlaubten Hilfsmittel bedient zu haben.

Chapter 1 starts with a general introduction into the field of e-Learning and e-Learning environments and conducts a brief critical analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of e-Learning. The next chapter, Chapter 2 examines the pedagogical, functional and non-functional requirements of an ideal e-Learning system which will be complemented by an overview of the current relevant standards in the field of e-Learning in chapter 3. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 form the body of the thesis and largely describe my original work. Chapter 4 describes the concept of the fictitious e-Learning system GENTLE. It was implemented in large parts, first as the academic system.

Afterwards it was commercialized under the name Hyperwave eLearning Suite. In chapter 5 various projects are described where the aforementioned system was used. It shall give a good overview of the flexibility and successful implementation of the system. In chapter 6 various ideas and visions for future enhancements are presented which are mostly based on previous papers and presentations of the author. Finally chapter 7 summarizes the work so far, and presents a visionary outlook into the future. Chapter 1 Introduction “The biggest growth in the Internet, and the area that will prove to be one of the biggest agents of change, will be e-Learning. …

Education of the Internet is going to make e-mail usage like a rounding error in terms of the Internet capacity it will consume” John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems [Chambers 1999] 1 Why do we need e-Learning? Web Based Training and its newer and more general synonymous term e-Learning are two of today’s buzz-words in the academic and business worlds. Decision-makers associate with them new ways of learning that are more cost efficient than traditional learning strategies and which allow students to better control the process of learning because they can decide when, where and how fast to learn. However two questions immediately arise: 1. What exactly does e-Learning mean? 2. Is it really the best way to acquire new knowledge?

The first question can only be answered partly and vaguely because it is still under heavy discussion what exactly e-Learning should look like, and different opinions even exist about what components it consists of. I therefore will define e-Learning roughly in the following way and focus later on some of its aspects in more detail: Definition: e-Learning consists of • At least one or more e-Learning students who try to achieve a special learning goal • e-Learning content which represents or at least describes the learning subject, the learning objectives and guidelines on how to achieve them. E-Learning content can be multimedial and interactive. • An e-Learning environment which works as an interface between the students and their learning objectives and provides different means to achieve the learning goal.

However because most people understand e-Learning as the overall process I will use it as a synonym to e-Education. The second question is easier to answer, because the answer is simply no, e-Learning is not yet the best way to acquire new knowledge but it has the potential to be the most efficient one for many situations, if it is used in the right way. I will explain this by asking and answering the question “What does the ideal learning environment look like? ”. 1 What does the ideal learning environment look like? To answer this question we do not have to deal with a lot of technology. We just need to look at the roots of learning and teaching as it was probably already practiced in e. g. ancient Greece.

In this ideal learning situation we have a very qualified teacher who trains and guides one or just a few students whom he knows quite well (their personal background, their strengths and weaknesses, their personalities, how fast they can understand etc. ). If there is more than one student then all students should have about the same level of knowledge and agreeable personal profiles, know each other quite well and love working together and helping each other. Direct face to face communication between teacher and students (and among students) allows to immediately react to requirements of students (questions, speed of teaching etc. ). Thus the teacher can individually respond to each of the students and motivate them.

Also all necessary illustration material is available that the students can use to understand the teaching subject more quickly and there are plenty of possibilities to practice and test the already learnt and use knowledge gained to solve problems with it. This ideal situation will most probably lead to a very efficient learning process, no matter whether the learning goal is just storing some facts, carrying out processes, or whether they are as complex as finding new solutions for difficult problems of a certain category (the learning subject). However, although it might be the ideal learning environment in reality it is not usable most of the times for at least one or more of the following reasons.

It is limited to a very small number of similar students (say 1-3) Usually the teacher and the students do not know each other well enough • It is time and place dependent • It is very expensive because of the one to one or one to few relation between teacher and students and the enormous investment in time. Especially the fact that this scenario and all similar traditional learning strategies can not deliver new knowledge to a large number of students fast enough is the strongest argument which displaces instructor led training in the way described above. Additionally new requirements such as life long learning and just-in-time learning arise out of short development and deployment cycles and continuously changing working profile.