A UK perspective on e-learning: an overview of the "workflow" and "reusable learning object" approach in the UK eUniversities project

The UK government started the UK eUniversities project in order to create a virtual campus for online education provisions, competing in a global market. The UKeU (WWW.ukeu.com) claims to "have created a new approach to e-learning" which "opens up a range of exciting opportunities for students, business and industry worldwide" to obtain both postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications. Although there has been many promises about the e-learning revolution using state-of-the-art multimedia technology, closer scrutiny of what is being delivered reveals that many of the e-learning models currently being used are little more than the old text based computer aided learning running on a global network. As part of the UKeU project a consortium of universities have been involved in developing a two year foundation degree from 2004. We look at the approach taken by the consortium in developing global e-learning provisions and the problems and the pitfalls that lay ahead.

Semantic web and e-learning

With emergence of "Semantic Web" there has been much discussion about the impact of technologies such as XML and RDF on the way we use the Web for developing e-learning applications and perhaps more importantly on how we can personalise these applications. Personalisation of e-learning is viewed by many authors (see amongst others Eklund & Brusilovsky, 1998; Kurzel, Slay, & Hagenus, 2003; Martinez, 2000; Sampson, Karagiannidis, & Kinshuk, 2002; Voigt & Swatman, 2003) as the key challenge for the learning technologists. According to Kurzel (2004) the tailoring of e-learning applications can have an impact on content and how it's accesses; the media forms used; method of instruction employed and the learning styles supported. This paper will report on a research project currently underway at the eCentre in University of Greenwich which is exploring different approaches and methodologies to create an e-learning platform with personalisation built-in. This personalisation is proposed to be set from different levels of within the system starting from being guided by the information that the user inputs into the system down to the lower level of being set using information inferred by the system's processing engine.

Teaching, learning and assessment in MSc. Databases units at University of Greenwich

In this paper we look at ways of delivering and assessing learning on database units offered on higher degree programmes (MSc) in the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Greenwich. Of critical importance is the teaching methods employed for verbal disposition, practical laboratory exercises and a careful evaluation of assessment methods and assessment tools in view of the fact that databases involve not only database design but also use of practical tools, such as database management systems (DBMSs) software, human designers, database administrators (DBA) and end users. Our goal is to clearly identify potential key success factors in delivering and assessing learning in both practical and theoretical aspects of database course units.

Personalised e-learning, semantic web and learning ontologies

Kurzel(2004) points out that researchers in e-learning and educational technologists, in a quest to provide improved Learning Environments (LE) for students are focusing on personalising the experience through a Learning Management System (LMS) that attempts to tailor the LE to the individual (see amongst others Eklund & Brusilovsky, 1998; Kurzel, Slay, & Hagenus, 2003; Martinez,2000; Sampson, Karagiannidis, & Kinshuk, 2002; Voigt & Swatman; 2003). According to Kurzel (2004) this tailoring can have an impact on content and how it’s accessed; the media forms used; method of instruction employed and the learning styles supported. This project is aiming to move personalisation forward to the next generation, by tackling the issue of Personalised e-Learning platforms as pre-requisites for building and generating individualised learning solutions. The proposed development is to create an e-learning platform with personalisation built-in. This personalisation is proposed to be set from different levels of within the system starting from being guided by the information that the user inputs into the system down to the lower level of being set using information inferred by the system’s processing engine. This paper will discuss some of our early work and ideas.

Some issues on assessment methods and learning in mathematics and statistics

This paper looks at the application of some of the assessment methods in practice with the view to enhance students’ learning in mathematics and statistics. It explores the effective application of assessment methods and highlights the issues or problems, and ways of avoiding them, related to some of the common methods of assessing mathematical and statistical learning. Some observations made by the author on good assessment practice and useful approaches employed at his institution in designing and applying assessment methods are discussed. Successful strategies in implementing assessment methods at different levels are described.