Open Source software products for eLearning are becoming widely accepted. An increasing number of organizations are taking advantage of Open Source products, like Moodle and Sakai, for Learning Management Systems and authoring tools, like Udutu, for course production.
The advantages of open source applications are:
- usually free to download, which makes online learning more affordable.
- Access to the source code makes the programs customizable.
- Open Source software often has a large and supportive community.
The disadvantages of open source applications:
- The documentation for Open Source software can be disorganized.
References:
2009 Technology trends that impact online learning. Retrieved on 23rd June 2010 from http://theelearningcoach.com/business/2009-technology-trends-that-impact-online-learning/
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By opening more doors in e-learning technology, open source software has become a strong contender in online training and e-learning sectors. With technology constantly advancing, one can expect more open source offerings to emerge in the e-learning arena, which are of course changing the landscape of online instruction and training for the academic world and industry alike. Nowadays, with all these technological advancements, the chances are that one can find tools to meet his/her training needs in the open source sector.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Brian J. Dooley, open source e-learning softwares can provide important benefits because of their:
- Low initial cost (free to download).
- Flexibility and customizability: One can modify the software as needed to make it better.
- Extensive active user communities: Participating in open source projects is a source of distinction among developers.
- Multi-platform capabilities: Many open source applications run on multiple platforms including Windows and Linux.
- Adherence to standards: Interoperability is a high priority for many open source developers.
- Tendency to use and link to other open source software
E-learning and online courses offer flexibility to the students and enabled the present workforce to improve their academic skills. On the other hand, (prospective) students need to have a computer at home and needs to have software installed. Software is expensive and sometimes even more expensive than the hardware. Unless one would need a particular software, there is nearly an alternative to each software as open source and under the GNU licence (http://sourceforge.net).
ReplyDeleteNowadays, linux is becoming more user friendly and thus this operating system which is more robust and stable and can easily replace windows. With a clean installation of linux, the Open Office will be installed by default. Open Office is a suite which is an alternative to Microsoft Office and other suites which are expensive. Thus Open Source software makes it more easy for students to take online courses and keeping their initial cost minimal.
Open source is a great thing that happened to the IT community, and I think to the world at large. It is the sole force that has managed to challenge the big guys like Microsoft and Oracle and keep them at bay. One point that I do not agree completely is that it is free. Although you do not pay for the product but support can cost. Advantages abound, namely you can add or change the software to tune it or upgrade it. The initial capital outlay is not extensive. As Carlo said though documentation may be disorganised. But many a software tool has been a success, typically Java, My SQL and Linux.
ReplyDeleteI think that one of the most important aspects of Open Source Software is that many of it is built as Open Systems. this means that whover installs such software is not vendor or supplier locked as components from different software should be compatible. this will further reduce the cost for schools who normally have limited budgets to run on.
There are various open source e-learning applications that can be installed easily, have a wide user community & offer a complete system. Here are 3 of them:
ReplyDelete1) eFront is a complete e-learning software with a good looking interface.
It enables admins to create & manage lessons easily with various tools like:
- content editors (has a flexible visual content editor and support for pictures, sound, video, flash or java)
- file manager & digital library (for file sharing)
- test builders
- abiity to assign projects
- creating surveys & more.
The system is multilingual & modular. It requires PHP & MySQL to run.
2) Moodle is one of the most popular open source e-learning system. It is built with PHP & uses MySQL or PostgreSQL to store data.
It has powerful course management features that covers creating lessons, assignments, quizes, documents & more.
There are various modules that help students & teachers to interact with each other like chat, forum, survey or workshop.
It is used in 1000s of websites, has a detailed documentation & a wide community.
3) Dokeos, besides the standard course management features, offers Flash based videoconferencing which enables you to organise live training and meetings remotely.
Powerpoint presentations can be imported and converted in to SCORM courses.
The system has a "coaching" feature to interact with the learners through agenda, forums, chat, videoconference, open questions-answers and assignment feedbacks.
References: Retireved on 24th June 2010 from http://www.webresourcesdepot.com/7-widely-used-and-open-source-e-learning-applications/
Other open-source e-learning applications:
ReplyDeleteClaroline is an e-working platform that allows teachers to create effective online courses and to manage learning and collaborative activities on the web.
You can create online exercises & track the result of them, define a learning path where students can follow one-by-one, add group works, assignments & more..
It is possible to interact with users via chat or forums.
Ilias is a powerful web-based learning application where every user has a comprehensive personal desktop to use the system, keep notes, bookmarks, etc.
It offers a cooperative learning environment where user can create working groups, or groups of certain interests.
Ilias has a flexible test system where time based tests can be created with multiple choice, single choice, allocation questions, cloze questions (free text, select box), ordering, matching, hot spot and more question types.
Besides the technical and informational aspects of the previous comments regarding the availability of such applications, I wanted to share my thoughts about the readiness and willingness of the Maltese authorities (not just at MCAST) to make use of such software.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it seems that very few people in education think on avantgarde wavelengths. Although I am not quoting some particular study, it seems that the general lack of awareness and overall lack of use of such applications points towards the need to re-think the way we generally do things.
I feel very fortunate to have learnt about such applications through this e-Learning module. I hope that lecturers and teachers alike will find favourable policies and situations which will enable them to actually use such open source applications for the benefit of the students they teach.