Learning in Second life

elearning FAQs: for the beginners

what’s e-learning?
Distance learning, sometimes called e-learning, is a formalized teaching and learning system specifically designed to be carried out remotely by using electronic communication.

What are the benefits of e-learning?
Because distance learning is less expensive to support, and is not constrained by geographic considerations, it offers opportunities in situations where traditional education has difficulty operating. Anyone can benefit from e-learning anytime, anywhere. There’s no limit to the kind of content that one can develop in to an effective e-learning course.

what is to Instructor-Led Training (ILT) conversion?
Instructor-led training (ILT) is part of the reason why e-Learning is becoming the medium of choice. Having an instructor can be expensive, with costs including travel and salary. Additionally, ILT isn’t always as efficient as it needs to be, considering the high student-to-teacher ratio. Many companies want to take their instructor-led training content, or even their text-based content, and convert it to an e-learning format.

What’s the difference between conversion and custom?
Conversion entails taking training content that was delivered in a text-based or instructor-led-based method, and converting it to an e-learning format. This could be computer-based training (CBT), including training on CD-Rom, on DVD, or on your company’s network or LMS.
Custom training has been created “from scratch” to address your specific training needs. Instructional designers custom design courses that are Web- or computer-based. Or, if it suits your purpose, one can create a course that incorporates instructor-led, text and e-learning formats.

What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?
A learning management system is a software application or Web-based technology used to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process. Typically, an LMS provides an instructor with a way to create and deliver content, monitor student participation, and assess student performance.

What is a Learning Content Management System (LCMS)?
A learning content management system’s objective is to simplify the creation and administration of the online content used in e-learning. It is capable of managing the storage, indexing and retrieval of tens of thousands of learning objects that can be constantly re-used and re-purposed within numerous courses.

What is Web-based Training (WBT)?
Web-based training, also known as e-learning, is anywhere, anytime instruction delivered over the Internet or a corporate intranet to browser-equipped learners. There are two primary models of Web-based instruction: synchronous (instructor-facilitated) and asynchronous (self-directed, self-paced.) Instruction can be delivered by a combination of static methods (learning portals, hyperlinked pages, screen cam tutorials, streaming audio/video, and live Web broadcasts) and interactive methods (threaded discussions, chats, and desk-top video conferencing.)
The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) estimates that 75% of the U.S. workforce will need some kind of retraining within the next five years in order to keep pace with industry needs and increasing global competition. Supporters of Web-based instruction feel that it is the perfect solution to meet the needs of life-long learners because it is available on demand, does not require travel, and is cost-efficient.

What is Computer-based Training (CBT)?
Computer-based training (CBT), is any course instruction or training that is delivered on your computer. The courseware may be delivered via a software product, a CD-Rom or DVD installed on your computer, or can be housed and delivered on your company’s intranet, or over the Internet.

CBT and WBT — what’s the difference between them?
Many people use CBT and WBT interchangeably. However, in the e-learning field, the generally accepted difference between the two is that the training delivered over the Internet is WBT, and the training delivered via an intranet or CD-Rom, etc., is CBT.

What is Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)?
Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is an XML-based framework used to define and access information about learning objects so they can be easily shared among different learning management systems (LMSs). SCORM was developed in response to a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) initiative to promote standardization in e-learning.
What this means for your project is that the company will design and produce your training content so that it can easily be used within an LMS and an LCMS. Depending on your future training needs, that training content will be ready for use in other ways, within other courses.

Do I need to use SCORM in my training course?
This depends on your content, it’s delivery, and how you plan on using the training now, and in the future. SCORM compliance is becoming the de facto standard in the e-learning industry, so if you don’t think you’ll ever have a need for it, think again. Any company that has an LMS, or plans to purchase an LMS, should plan for SCORM compliance for all their e-learning.

What is AICC Compliance?
AICC actually stands for the Aviation Industry CBT Committee. The term “AICC Compliant” means that a training product complies with one or more of the nine AICC Guidelines & Recommendations (AGR’s). The AICC has developed formal certification testing procedures for the computer-managed instruction(CMI)-related AGR’s (AGR-006/AGR-010) and currently offers certification testing for both CMI systems and CBT courseware.
Some clients don’t require that AICC certification testing be done, but require that the CBT courseware be developed following the AICC standards. With that in mind, much CBT has been “designed to AICC guidelines,” meaning that is has not been tested in the AICC labs or only partially implements AICC guidelines. If the courseware has been tested by an AICC Independent Test Lab (ITL) it is called “AICC-Certified.”
The most common meaning of “AICC Compliance” (when associated with CBT courseware or CMI systems) is compliance with the AICC documents AGR-006 (File-based CMI Systems) or AGR-010 (Web-based CMI Systems.) These AGR’s define the communication between CMI systems and CBT courseware.

What is Computer-Managed Instruction (CMI)?
The term computer-managed instruction (CMI) is often used to describe a system used to manage courseware, very much like a learning management system (LMS). You’ll often see the term CMI used along with AICC compliance, as you would see the term LMS used along with SCORM compliance.