View of DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING MODULE

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ACCENT JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS ECOLOGY & ENGINEERING

Peer Reviewed and Refereed Journal, ISSN No. 2456-1037, IMPACT FACTOR: 2.104 (INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL) Vol. 03, Issue 03, March 2018 Available Online: www.ajeee.co.in/index.php/AJEEE

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DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING MODULE Abdul Kadir

Asst. Professor (Library Sc.), Govt. Degree College, Faridpur (Bareilly)

Abstract- The Internet has significantly changed how we communicate with one another as well as how we access, share and facilitate information. The issue is no longer one of how to use technology to teach, but one where teachers acknowledge the way the world is already developing, and understand the significance of online literacy and the role that collaboration and online engagement plays in student learning and their future workplace environment.

Software and technology changes very rapidly, and it can be difficult to keep up with these developments. It is important therefore to create effective on line modules for online teaching rather than the technology itself. These modules require huge amounts of creativity both at 'information' level as well as the 'technology' level. This paper explained the development of e- learning modules.

1 INTRODUCTION

With the help of ICT, all the aspect of life are going on line and in same perspective E-learning is one of the most cost effective way of teaching and learning. The appropriate implementation of e-learning will contribute to a measurable academic development of

Ellaway and Masters (2008) distinguish between e-learning, e-teaching and e-assessment, highlighting that e- learning is not just about the content and the delivery of teaching, but is a pedagogical approach that aims ‗to be flexible, engaging and learner-centered: one that encourages interaction (staff: staff, staff: student, student: student) collaboration and communication‘.

2 NEED

E-learning provides huge opportunities and potential benefits for both learners and teachers, enabling access to a vast amount of resources and facilitating communication when face-to-face learning is difficult. Many institutions are using e-learning because it can be as effective conventional teaching and training at a lower cost, but developing e-learning is more expensive then preparing classroom materials, especially if multimedia or highly interactive methods are used. Despite the expenses we need it for following points;

 Learners who are dispersed geographically with limited time to travel

 Learners who busy with some other work and can‘t attend fixed/

scheduled class courses

 Learners who have restricted mobility;

 Learners who have cultural/religious restrictions;

 Very shy learners who are facing real time communications.

3. STEPS INVOLVED IN CREATING E- LEARNING MATERIAL

There may be different types of process for creating e-learning materials, but here I am describing the process in following steps, 3.1. Need Analysis

There is a popular belief that everyone is in need of e-learning materials and that is why I am creating. This is not a good idea for creating e-learning material. Don‘t create it for fun or just to do. Before starting first one has to decide, why does her/his audience/learner need this course? And what it is he/she wants to achieve with this e learning? A need analysis make sure he/she is not doing this just for creating sake.

3.2. Identify the Learner

The second step is to understand your learner. Have a clear idea of who your learner is. What knowledge and skills do they have already? How your module should be designed to be most appropriate for their learning needs. Always keep in your mind a mental image of your learner sitting at the computer studying your module. Primarily there are three types of learners, visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. Learners learn in different ways and no single learning style is better for a

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2 diverse group of students with different backgrounds and learning styles. Visual learners learn by seeing and visualizing.

Auditory learners prefer to have things explained to them verbally rather than to read written information. Kinesthetic learners like the hands-on-approaches to things, learn by doing and solving real life problems.

3.3. Analyze the Content

Once you have finalized why the course is needed and who your learner is, it‘s time to analyze your content. You have to judge whether it has value for your learners or not otherwise it doesn‘t matter how good your course is designed. This is why this step is so important and probably the most critical one. If the course designer does not include accurate and relevant content, then there is a little value in finding the best instructional methods and media to transfer the information to learners. When we do, learner‘s analysis in second step, we must consider the learner‘s previous knowledge and skills.

3.4. Define the Objectives

Learning objective is an expected outcome of each lesson/unit and, over all, what you want your learners to be capable of by the end of the it. In this step the designer of e- content must ask questions and consider both the desirable and undesirable results of the course. Then he should write the objectives based on desired results, keeping in mind that content doesn't wander too far away from these objectives.

3.5. Plan the Design

In this step you have to think about the strategy by which your course is going to be developed to engage learners. Here the sequence of units is to be mapped. Plan the design in a way that the learner must be engaged conveniently; remember that the aim of the course is for the learner to achieve the learning outcomes-not to demonstrate your skills as a teacher. Avoid too many different methods within a single module, allow the learner to become familiar with just 2/3 different methods in one module.

3.6. Developing the Storyboard

The term ―storyboard‖ is taken from movie production where it indicates a visual representation of the various scenes of a film. In e-learning, the storyboard describes screen by screen what will happen in the final e-lesson; actually the storyboard is not a final product. It is an intermediate product which is then used by web developers to create the final interactive e- lesson. So, here you have to draw a rough, visual outline to map out how text, pictures, and other elements will look on a page. This will help you see how your page and content will look before you waste time putting together the final design only to find out the elements don‘t fit together right.

3.7. Select the Technology

Production and delivery quality of e- learning material is based on type of technology you use. Different tools can be used to produce e-learning content, depending on which file formats will be used and the nature of the desired final product. Thinking on technology selection one should keep the following points in to consideration

• How many people will be accessing the course at one time? The average?

The max?

• Will the course be accessed on institutional devices or will each learner be using their own?

• Are there required applications to be installed?

• Does your institution have enough bandwidth to run the course?

• What is your plan for backing up information and security?

• How will you maintain your server?

• What kind of support system will you offer end users?

3.8. Developing the Prototyping

Now, it‘s time to build a working, prototype of a module from your course to make sure it actually works.

A prototype defines the representative look-and-feel and functionality of the entire course. It also is used to test out technical functionality. This allows eLearning designers to create and discard multiple versions quickly to get the best fit before wasting too many

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3 resources on designing the whole course then finding out something doesn‘t work.

3.9. Actual Course

Once you have your prototype approved, it‘s time to start designing the actual course. During this process you need to keep an eye on the original objectives and problems to ensure the course, as a whole, is geared towards solving these.

You also need to determine a design method that meets the needs of learners. Professional eLearning designers use different models. Some of the most popular are: ADDIE/SAM, Gagne's 9 Principles, and Action Mapping among others.

3.10. Make Available Online

Take feedback and comments from your team (and clients), make corrections as needed, and then publish!

3.11. Promote

Why do your learners need your course?

How will they find it? You know that your course can help them, but now they need to know about it! It‘s time to promote and market. To do this, focus on the benefits to your learners to get them invested in the learning journey.

Promotion should be part of your development plan, and your very first slide should engage your audience from the start. Creating an internal promotion plan will save you the heartache of creating an awesome course only to find out nobody is taking it.

3.12. Result Analysis

Determine how effective your course has been by asking your learners. This will help you figure out what you did right and what you can improve on in the future. To determine if this has been achieved, many use Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Evaluation.

4. CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS OF E-LEARNING COURSES

It is true that, on line learning is convenient but it will not be easy for all your learners to feel comfortable when

participating in online discussions, some people absolutely need personal contact with their educators or trainers in order to learn successfully. If your eLearning content is not built to make the most of the medium it will easily become disengaging. Furthermore, unless you know exactly what you‘re doing with new technologies, it is very likely that you overwhelm or distract your audience.

Creating effective online learning courses requires knowledge, time, experience, talent, commitment, great communication skills, and a true passion for learning. Have you got all that? If the answer is yes, then be sure that the advantages of your online training outweigh its limitations.

5. CONCLUSION

This is obviously the greatest benefit of online learning; as long as you own a computer and has an internet connection;

it doesn‘t matter in which part of the world you are. Learners can access information from anywhere, anytime. Furthermore, distance is no longer a barrier to learning, whether academic or professional.

Especially for corporate training, the ability to reach an unlimited number of employees quickly and regardless of their location has greatly benefited organizations all around the globe. But, remember that there are no right answers to e-learning. You should look at as many other examples as you can, experiment and develop your own approaches. The key to success is to have a clear idea of the needs of your target audience, carefully designed and clearly stated los and then an engaging module that allows the learner to achieve the los with confidence.

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