Electronic training courses? Never heard ... Form and functionality
The electronic form of education is becoming increasingly popular and mature. Google combined its educational programs on one site , high-quality Russian ( Lektorium.tv , TeachVideo , UniverTV ) and American developers / educational content aggregators ( Udacity , Coursera , Codecademy ), more and more universities ( MITx , MIT OCW , see Coursera ) represent free access to their materials, and our government is trying to keep up - the Ministry of Education and Science in 2011 held competitions for the development of educational resources (albeit for schools and vocational education) worth more than a half billion rubles . The amount is approximate according to data from the site of public procurement.
In this publication, I want to describe the forms of learning resources known to me and describe their functionality from a developer’s point of view.
By and large e-learning materials are modern textbooks, problem books and virtual models for practical exercises. Within the framework of one training course of discipline, a large number of separate training materials of various types and forms are usually used.
The e-course can be divided into several conceptual parts:
Let us return from theory to practice and look at the forms of electronic educational materials that are widespread today:
The simplest and most common form of organization of electronic support for the training course is laying out of existing materials by teachers in the network (ftp server, shared email, LMS).
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A specific format involves the use of a certain software player to play course materials. An example would be Electronic Educational Resources , each year developed on the orders of the Ministry of Education and Science. The player can be downloaded from the title page of the same resource. You can see the set of developers and their presentations in the course of projects , now they seem to have abandoned the player and new resources are being developed for a browser.
Learning compact disks familiar to many from childhood on school courses for use on the user's local computer. Domestic examples: 1C , Education-media (Enlightenment), New disc , Physicon .
Interactive and virtual models are a generic name for practical \ laboratory environments. Examples: JS sandbox and sandbox for circuit design from MITx Circuits & Electronics 6.002x.
Courses running from the browser are the widest category from lection01.htm on a local disk to learn.javascript.ru . Often used for internal corporate training. The resulting data and learning path management are not used.
The most technologically advanced and functional way to organize a large-scale distance learning process today is to use web based LMS. Many LMS can be considered a subset of CMS, specialized in the organization and management of distance learning activities. Using the LMS allows you to make a part of the standard for all courses of the functionality of the training packages themselves, for example - learning trajectory management, communication with the teacher and classmates, organizing and storing test results and passing status, providing navigation through the training course materials. This simplifies and cheapens the process of developing the courses themselves.
Since users work with the system through a browser, all elements of the training course are created or, at a minimum, stored in formats that can be played back by the list of browsers supported by the selected LMS. The use of external programs is not excluded (for example, you can attach tasks in the autocad format and get it back from the student), but is limited naturally.
The training course can be stored in the LMS both in its internal format and in a standardized one, for example SCORM SCO or IMS CC . In the first case, the training course is created by means of the LMS itself using a user-friendly interface (teachers usually do this), in the second case - by specialized external programs (for example, eXe editor , here the teacher will not cope on his own). Most LMSs have mechanisms for importing and exporting courses created in an internal format, but it works within the systems of the same family. Currently, the internal content storage format is used in the overwhelming number of LMS installations.
When using standardized formats, the complexity and cost of creating and editing courses increases, there are problems of their uniform reproduction by different LMSs (browser-like story), but it is possible to relatively easily exchange a course from one system to another and very often use it on the local computer. Few of the customers of training courses are now thinking about the destructiveness of dependence on LMS, and for developers of such systems, support for standardized formats is a necessary necessity. However, the SCORM specifications themselves, developed by ADL on the order of the US Department of Defense, are well developed and it is a pleasure to use them (with rare exceptions). In general, in my opinion, there is a future for standardized training packages, but for this the future has yet to work and work. This year, Google Summer of Code included one project on the topic "Improve SCORM 2004 Support In Moodle" and, in my opinion, for the second year the same student has been involved in it.
Let us return to the functionality and presentation of materials, which can today provide students with a modern electronic learning web course at LMS.
I'll start with the most familiar type of material - text with illustrations:
According to the form of providing video materials, the last course from MITx perfectly proved itself:
Testing systems and interactive illustrations inside the e-learning course can be implemented as alienable software modules on html, css, javascript and xml files. The SCORM RTE specification implies the verification of responses on the client side, which makes it impossible for such a system to be well protected against hacking. Today, most of the testing systems operate on html elements that are "subordinate" <form>, but the contribution of virtual models is growing here too.
Functional course shell (client side javascript):
The SCORM CAM specification provides for the storage of metadata within each training package. Usually the LOM model and its extensions are used, for example RUS_LOM .
I will add that I met part of the described functional in training courses, a part - it was realized in projects with my participation, and something was only discussed in a narrow circle of colleagues. I will be glad to expand this circle on the pages of Habr.
In this publication, I want to describe the forms of learning resources known to me and describe their functionality from a developer’s point of view.
By and large e-learning materials are modern textbooks, problem books and virtual models for practical exercises. Within the framework of one training course of discipline, a large number of separate training materials of various types and forms are usually used.
What should we expect from the training course and how is it different from the wikipedia page?
The e-course can be divided into several conceptual parts:
- pedagogical goals that the student achieves after mastering the course (virtual component),
- accurate and current content,
- illustrating material of any forms and formats,
- virtual models
- control functionality (tests, tests, etc.),
- design of interface elements and the materials themselves,
- serving software shell
- learning trajectory management system
- metadata package for easy search of the course in the library,
- course packing to ensure efficient transfer and reuse,
- method of using the course in the educational process,
- embedded reference materials on course use and student forums.
Common types of e-learning materials
Let us return from theory to practice and look at the forms of electronic educational materials that are widespread today:
- "office" formats,
- e-books and textbooks - from txt to iBooks,
- specific formats of various software "players",
- video materials: screen and slide shows, lecturer recordings, productions, 2D and 3D animations,
- audio materials
- training discs
- interactive virtual models and educational games,
- testing systems
- browser-based courses
- courses working in LMS (Learning Management System: Moodle , Sakai , Blackboard , etc.).
The simplest and most common form of organization of electronic support for the training course is laying out of existing materials by teachers in the network (ftp server, shared email, LMS).
')
A specific format involves the use of a certain software player to play course materials. An example would be Electronic Educational Resources , each year developed on the orders of the Ministry of Education and Science. The player can be downloaded from the title page of the same resource. You can see the set of developers and their presentations in the course of projects , now they seem to have abandoned the player and new resources are being developed for a browser.
Learning compact disks familiar to many from childhood on school courses for use on the user's local computer. Domestic examples: 1C , Education-media (Enlightenment), New disc , Physicon .
Interactive and virtual models are a generic name for practical \ laboratory environments. Examples: JS sandbox and sandbox for circuit design from MITx Circuits & Electronics 6.002x.
Courses running from the browser are the widest category from lection01.htm on a local disk to learn.javascript.ru . Often used for internal corporate training. The resulting data and learning path management are not used.
LMS praises and development paths
The most technologically advanced and functional way to organize a large-scale distance learning process today is to use web based LMS. Many LMS can be considered a subset of CMS, specialized in the organization and management of distance learning activities. Using the LMS allows you to make a part of the standard for all courses of the functionality of the training packages themselves, for example - learning trajectory management, communication with the teacher and classmates, organizing and storing test results and passing status, providing navigation through the training course materials. This simplifies and cheapens the process of developing the courses themselves.
Since users work with the system through a browser, all elements of the training course are created or, at a minimum, stored in formats that can be played back by the list of browsers supported by the selected LMS. The use of external programs is not excluded (for example, you can attach tasks in the autocad format and get it back from the student), but is limited naturally.
The training course can be stored in the LMS both in its internal format and in a standardized one, for example SCORM SCO or IMS CC . In the first case, the training course is created by means of the LMS itself using a user-friendly interface (teachers usually do this), in the second case - by specialized external programs (for example, eXe editor , here the teacher will not cope on his own). Most LMSs have mechanisms for importing and exporting courses created in an internal format, but it works within the systems of the same family. Currently, the internal content storage format is used in the overwhelming number of LMS installations.
When using standardized formats, the complexity and cost of creating and editing courses increases, there are problems of their uniform reproduction by different LMSs (browser-like story), but it is possible to relatively easily exchange a course from one system to another and very often use it on the local computer. Few of the customers of training courses are now thinking about the destructiveness of dependence on LMS, and for developers of such systems, support for standardized formats is a necessary necessity. However, the SCORM specifications themselves, developed by ADL on the order of the US Department of Defense, are well developed and it is a pleasure to use them (with rare exceptions). In general, in my opinion, there is a future for standardized training packages, but for this the future has yet to work and work. This year, Google Summer of Code included one project on the topic "Improve SCORM 2004 Support In Moodle" and, in my opinion, for the second year the same student has been involved in it.
Functional and form
Let us return to the functionality and presentation of materials, which can today provide students with a modern electronic learning web course at LMS.
I'll start with the most familiar type of material - text with illustrations:
- tooltips (glossary definitions),
- variable complexity of the text, when the student or LMS can choose the depth and complexity of the explanation of the material,
- variable subjects of the examples given in the materials (most likely for high school),
- spoilers
- internal reference connectivity of materials (including the section "list of terms" with links to lecture material)
- external Internet links to live communities or publications on the stated topic (you can immediately show that the subject is alive and how it is used)
- interactive illustrations, such as a graph of a function and dependencies can be reflected in different initial conditions and values of variables
- Exposure of a single style for titles, lists, text, illustrations, tables,
- dubbing of a user selected paragraph,
- print version.
According to the form of providing video materials, the last course from MITx perfectly proved itself:
- videos can be broken up into small sections,
- availability of various resolutions for use on various devices and communication channels,
- the presence of subtitles that allow you to go to any part of the video on click,
- when it comes to a slide or screencast, the material may be available for download in printed form.
Testing systems and interactive illustrations inside the e-learning course can be implemented as alienable software modules on html, css, javascript and xml files. The SCORM RTE specification implies the verification of responses on the client side, which makes it impossible for such a system to be well protected against hacking. Today, most of the testing systems operate on html elements that are "subordinate" <form>, but the contribution of virtual models is growing here too.
Functional course shell (client side javascript):
- preparation of versions of text materials for printing (if generated on the client),
- providing highlighting of definitions (if not hard coded to text),
- providing course navigation (if LMS is not doing this),
- Apply technical settings for content (resolution and screen size)
- sending the resulting data to the LMS (if using the SCORM RTE protocol) and, in general, all interaction with the LMS,
- standard course modules (interactive illustrations, pop-ups, glossary building, testing modules, etc.),
- the operation of hot keys, help output,
- saving student notes in the margin,
- building a course tree (if not hard coded),
- display presentations in a browser window,
- change the display language of the interface and presentation of materials
- quick access interface to any materials (table with filters by topic and type of material),
- ensuring work (albeit less functional) from the user's local disk.
The SCORM CAM specification provides for the storage of metadata within each training package. Usually the LOM model and its extensions are used, for example RUS_LOM .
I will add that I met part of the described functional in training courses, a part - it was realized in projects with my participation, and something was only discussed in a narrow circle of colleagues. I will be glad to expand this circle on the pages of Habr.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/146428/
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