ASSIGNMENT 3 0

THE E-LEARNING SYSTEM

Student’s Name:

Professor:
Institution:
Date:
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ASSIGNMENT 3

TASK 9: MULTIMEDIA

Primary motivation for the use of multimedia in E-Learning and an elaboration of the

underlying theoretical base and principles supporting its use.

The primary motivation for the use of multimedia in E-Learning is the fact that human

beings get a better understanding of the concepts being taught through words accompanied

with graphics in form of pictures and videos unlike when they learn through words only (Mayer

& Alexander, 2016, p.49). For instance, if a student is given a narration on how a bicycle pump

works by use of verbal explanation only, they will barely get the correct understanding on that

mechanism (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p.1622). However, if a student is given a verbal explanation

alongside a pictorial presentation, they will quickly understand the working of the pump

without much struggle (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p.479).

The cognitive theory is basic in this form of learning. The process is initiated when the

learner receives information through the ears and the information is stored in the auditory

memory (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p.1620). The information received by sight is stored in the

visual memory. The learner will the organize the words read and heard into a meaningful verbal

structure while the images are also organized into a working pictorial structure (Mayer &

Alexander, 2016, p.67). The synthesis if both the verbal and pictorial organized information

takes place and the concept is finally understood and stored in the long term memory (Sung &

Mayer, 2012, p. 481). Therefore, the quality of learning obtained depend in the learner’s

selection, organization and integration of information. This will depend on whether the learner

employs the dual-channels principle, the limited capacity principle or the active processing

principle (Mayer & Alexander, 2016, p.54).

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Principle Boundary Conditions

Coherence Cognitively demanding lessons, students with a low working memory

capacity.

Signalling Use on students with no prior knowledge.

Redundancy Use o students with a low prior knowledge.

Temporal Application on complex, large volume information

Contiguity

Segmenting Application on learners with a low working memory capacity.

Pre-training Application on lessons that teach how to solve problems through

interactive simulations.

Modality Application on system-paced rather than learner-paced lessons,

dynamic rather than static graphics and transfer rather than retention

tests.

Personalization Application on inexperienced or low-prior knowledge learners.

Voice Application in the absence of other disruptive cues in the lesson.

Embodiment Learners with low prior knowledge and the absence of negative social

cues.

In conclusion, the lecturer should make an essential effort in learning the kind of

students they are dealing with so that they may apply the most appropriate and effective

learning principles. The lecturers will also need to consider the learning objectives and the

volume of work to be covered. This will ensure an outcome of the best learning experience and

understanding on the learners.

Management of the effective use of on-screen text.

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Effective use of the on-screen text on students who have varying native languages can

be done through the employment of the segmenting, pre-training and modality principles

(Mayer & Alexander, 2016, p.77).

The most supported multimedia multimedia instruction principle is the coherence

principle. This is because it forms a basis for understanding knowledge and also cuts across

every kind of student being handled, every kind of learning objective and whatever volume of

work that needs to be covered in the learning process (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p.1621).

Task 10: E-LEARNING

The use of E-Learning tools as employed and offered by the SoC.

Among the major revolutionary things that the internet came with is e-learning

(Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.7). This has enabled people to obtain knowledge and an

education by different methodologies and tools from whichever location they are. There are

different classifications of e-learning which incorporate network and work-based learning as

well as informal and blending learning (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira, 2012, p.338). The two

major e-learning methodologies are asynchronous and synchronous methodologies. The main

tools for e-learning are knowledge representation tools, curriculum tools and digital library

tools (Ishtaiwa, & Abulibdeh, 2012, p.39).

In the last century, the world has revolved from Industrial Age into the Information Age

and currently in the knowledge Age where it is claimed that knowledge is the key for promoting

positive change and success in any organization (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.7). An

efficient process of acquiring, storing, transferring, retrieving, applying and visualizing

knowledge has always made successful organizations (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira, 2012, p.

338). The ability of obtaining, assimilating and applying the appropriate knowledge will be the

key aspect of success in the coming century. The survival of the 21st century organizations,
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individuals and firms will be defined by learning and application capacity through our day to

day lives (Ishtaiwa, & Abulibdeh, 2012, p.39).

Research reveals that e-learning has the ability to transform the manner and time in

which people acquire knowledge. With the passing of time, e-learning will be revolutionalized

into a more modular, shorter and timely system of delivery (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.7).

This learning process is usually facilitated by the ICT s through methods such as video/audio

conferencing, systemized feedback system, internet worldwide websites, computer-based

operation network and computer assisted instruction. All these technologies define the lifelong

acquisition of knowledge for different individuals (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira, 2012, p. 336).

E-learning tools have been a source of excitement among most employers because the

tools use a similar technology as that used in the work place and therefore easier to learn within

the work environment (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p. 7). For education to be an effective tool

for the management of knowledge in an organization, e-learning tools are very essential

(Ishtaiwa, & Abulibdeh, 2012, p. 39).

Every tool in the e-learning process represents its own stage and role within the learning

process (Ishtaiwa, & Abulibdeh, 2012, p. 39). While curriculum tools provide a standard and

systematic way of learning in the classroom, it plays a major role in the initial process of

selection on what one desires to learn (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p. 7). On the other hand,

digital library tools provide an effective and efficient way of accessing the learning resources.

Finally, the knowledge representation tools formulate and avail the knowledge to the learner

in the most appropriate way and format (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira, 2012, p.342).

To begin with curriculum tools, it is believed that they come in handy during classroom

lessons within various universities and colleges. A selection and organization of these tools is

done to facilitate the learning process in class (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.7). Under this
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particular tool, more tools can be employed such as group discussions, class presentations and

online quizzes for the purpose of evaluation (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira, 2012, p.339). The

curriculum tool has three categories which precisely include the student tolls, administration

tools and instructional tools (Ishtaiwa, & Abulibdeh, 2012, p.39).

The administration tools are made up of a file management for the purpose of getting

authorization and authentication by the administrative authorities (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas,

2012, p.6). The instructional tools have the design of the curriculum and online quizzes that

provide an automatic way of awarding grades for each student (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira,

2012, p.343). While the afore mentioned tools are equally important for the e-learning process,

the student tool happens to be having more uses.

The first purpose of the student tool is to enable access of assignments, projects and

notes through browsing. The second use is to enable team work among students through

collaboration and sharing of materials (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.4). The third purpose is

to track and schedule the learning process through calendars, activity logs and reminders on

assignments and submission and the last purpose is for the evaluation and testing of students

by their instructor (Costa, Alvelos, & Teixeira, 2012, p.338).

Digital library tools usually enable students to retrieve the information they need from

a huge collection of digital information (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.5). The tools that

facilitate this process are the search tool and the browsing tool. The knowledge representation

tool enables the learner to have a visual aspect of knowledge and this will help capture, review

and develop their knowledge (Ishtaiwa, & Abulibdeh, 2012, p.39).

The role of students in the e-learning initiative.

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Students play and important role in the e-learning process by retrieving information on

their course of learning, asking questions, doing quizzes and giving feedback on their learning

experience (Dabbagh, & Kitsantas, 2012, p.7).

TASK 11: PERSONALISED/INDIVIDUALIZED E-LEARNING

INTRODUCTION
The current generation turns out to be having a striking difference with the time our

parents and grandparents lived. Things are no longer the same for each individual and therefore

personalization in the learning environment has become a crucial aspect in gaining an

education. Not only does personalization apply on e-learning buy also in retail businesses,

manufacturing industries as well as the delivery of services (McLoughlin, and Lee, 2010, p.27).

One of the outstanding shortcomings of e-learning is that it has not been personalised

to meet the needs of every individual learner (Truong, 2016, p.1193). This review seeks to look

into the e-learning activity in a broad way and what it entails. In the attempt to come up with a

personalised e-learning system, a proposal has been given by researchers to create a system

that is based on an intelligent agent. A test done on the work process, structure, design and the

realization agent at a network school proved that the system can help improve the learning

experience of students. Therefore, this can be a practical and long lasting solution in self-

learning and self-promotion.

DISCUSSION

E-learning has greatly changed the learning process whereby and emphasis is put on

active learning of the student. However, research reveals that the e-learning process fails to

apply intelligence in meeting the specific needs of the learners (Jasute, Kubilinskiene,

Juskeviciene, & Kurilovas, 2016, p.1085). In addition to that, the traditional e-learning system

has geographical areas that are so uneven in terms of resource distribution, differing structures
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for different networks and a weak interaction platform between the learner and the instructor

(Wu, Zhang, & Lu, 2014, p.1904). This may lead to suspicion and lack of confidence in the

learner as pertains the legitimacy of the education they seek to obtain. This is the more reason

why finding a solution to these problems is urgent (O'Donnell, Sharp, Wade, & O'Donnell,

2014, p.755).

Personalization of the learning process can essentially be done through personalization

of the student, personalization of the learning content and finally personalization between the

instructor, the student and the learning content (Peter, Bacon, and Dastbaz, 2010, p.99).

The intelligent agent technology has been developed within the past ten years and it

comes in handy to solve most of these problems. The main features of this technology are social

ability, reaction, autonomy and adaptability (Jasute, Kubilinskiene, Juskeviciene, & Kurilovas,

2016, p.1081). These features will help the system to respond to the changing environments

without the users’ intervention (Wu, Zhang, & Lu, 2014, p.1899).

Personalized Learning Strategies.

The basic characteristics of an e-Learning system always ought to be interactive as well

as meet the personal needs of the learner according to their preference (Wu, Zhang, & Lu,

2014, p.1901). To achieve these features, the following aspects on personalised e-Learning

system must be attained in every strategy:

 A personalised user interface which provides an individual user interface

depending on whether you are a student or teacher (Truong, 2016, p.1191).

 Personalised learning resources: these will enable instructors to recommend

the most suitable resources for their students according to their varied needs.

Students can as well subscribe to different learning resources depending on their

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interests. This will make each student’s learning experience quite different from

that of other students (O'Donnell, Sharp, Wade, & O'Donnell, 2014, p.754).

 Personalised learning activities: depending on the learning status of each

student and their individual preferences, a student will have different activities

to engage in (Truong, 2016, p.1190).

 Personalised guidance: there will be a confidential storage system on the

activities and learning process of every individual. This will make it possible to

realize the various strengths and weaknesses of every student and give the

needed recommendations and guidance (Jasute, Kubilinskiene, Juskeviciene, &

Kurilovas, 2016, p.1079).

 Personalised communication: this will give the learner the choice on the people

they would wish to collaborate and hold discussions with as they learn (Wu,

Zhang, & Lu, 2014, p.1900).

Researchers claim that the main aim of the intelligent agent technology is to give a

specific domain for each student depending on their course content (Jasute, Kubilinskiene,

Juskeviciene, & Kurilovas, 2016, p.1079). To achieve this, the learner will be required to enter

the domain of their course content so as to obtain the content. This will help reduce the effort

exerted in learning when it comes to retrieving information (Truong, 2016, p.1189). There are

two stages engaged I this process. The perspective of the learner, the system and the teacher

will help reach this goal. Researchers further indicate that the system will be very flexible to

both the teacher and the learner (O'Donnell, Sharp, Wade, & O'Donnell, 2014, p.747). In the

case that a new course is introduced, it will get incorporated into the system and customized to

meet the different learners’ needs. The intelligent agent will automatically perceive the change

and respond appropriately (Wu, Zhang, & Lu, 2014, p.1899).

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Following the proposal, researchers have recommended that there be three categories

of the intelligent agent namely: the learner agent, teacher agent and system agent (Gaeta,

Orciuoli, and Ritrovato, 2009, p.301). This learner agent will collect information from different

users depending on their individual demands (Jasute, Kubilinskiene, Juskeviciene, &

Kurilovas, 2016, p.1079). The agent will then compile the scattered information as it suits the

interests of the user and voluntarily recommend it to the user the moment they log in to the

system. This agent is capable of noting the interests of the user without having to inquire from

them (Truong, 2016, p.1192). This will help reduce the time spent in browsing and searching

for relevant materials as well as provide high quality materials for learning. The agent will also

record the browsing profile of the learner and give suggestions to the instructors on what the

learner may need (O'Donnell, Sharp, Wade, & O'Donnell, 2014, p.745).

The teacher agent will offer help for the user whenever it arises (Wu, Zhang, & Lu,

2014, p.1903). This will be especially essential to new e-Learning students who get to develop

the fever of searching for relevant materials within the website (Jasute, Kubilinskiene,

Juskeviciene, & Kurilovas, 2016, p.1079).

The system agent will fulfil the demands of the teacher and learner agents. In this case,

it will act as the intermediary between the learner and the teacher agents in giving responses

(Wu, Zhang, & Lu, 2014, p.1904).

Based on the above research, a system has been formulated in the network school, the

system uses a three-layer structure for the web server, client server and application server

(Truong, 2016, p.1187). The isomerism of platform is achieved through the java technology

while the design of the page and its interactive features are achieved through the JSP

technology (O'Donnell, Sharp, Wade, & O'Donnell, 2014, p.744). Aglet technology completes
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the system by providing security, mobility and the interaction of the agent (Jasute,

Kubilinskiene, Juskeviciene, & Kurilovas, 2016, p.1079).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the intelligent agent technology is an appealing and sufficient proposal

that needs to be adopted worldwide as it gives a new and easier learning experience within the

e-Learning arena. Given that we are in a fast moving society in terms of technology and

acquisition of knowledge, the learning system ought to move with the changing environment

as well. This system of e-learning will be very efficient as it will meet the needs of each

individual depending on their learning capability, interest in particular material as well as the

learning content that they need to cover. This will come along with numerous benefits such as

provision of quality and relevant material for the course and saving on the time spent to search

for the correct content in the websites. Therefore, it should be considered as a venture worth

taking within the e-learning arena.

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