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Operational Procedures for E-Learning Courses
Abstract
We stand at an important junction in higher education, a time in which educators are facing an unusually large number of challenges. The rapid expansion and growth of the Web provides stimulating new ideas in the delivery of instructional and educational courses. Learning Management Systems (LMS) are becoming quite popular as more organizations deploy them for enterprise-class use (Gartner, 2002). Vendors including SAP, PeopleSoft, and IBM will introduce their new LMSs in 2003. Many educational institutions are moving forward with plans to take advantage of these opportunities. Gartner (Harris, et al., 2002) surveys indicate that the adoption of some sort of e-learning by highereducation institutions is almost universal. Although not all classes employ e-learning, majority of them use the Web as a communication tool and as a resource. However, while the existing opportunities are appealing, there are many problems that need careful consideration. This paper outlines operational procedures that those responsible for developing and offering Web based Information Technology (IT) related courses at academic institutions will need to take into consideration. From an academic point of view, delivering courses through the Web raises new questions regarding intellectual property, pedagogical methods, ethical issues, and course management. Some of the above issues have been addressed to some degree in distance learning programs, while others have been dealt with much early in correspondence programs. Although some of the experiences obtained from these types of programs can easily be mapped into web-based education, the Web and its related technologies bring in a whole new set of issues that must be considered. The issues presented below were arrived at by examining the experiences of pioneers and contemporary developers in the area of Web-based curriculum.
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