=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=None
|storemode=property
|title=What Should be E-Learning Course for Smart Education
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1000/ICTERI-2013-p-411-423-MRDL.pdf
|volume=Vol-1000
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/icteri/MorzeG13
}}
==What Should be E-Learning Course for Smart Education==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1000/ICTERI-2013-p-411-423-MRDL.pdf
What Should be E-Learning Course for Smart Education
Natalia V. Morze1 and Olena G. Glazunova2
1
Borys Grinchenko Kyiv State University
n.morze@kmpu.edu.ua
2
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine
e_glazunova@yahoo.com
Abstract. The article deals with problems of creation and use of e-learning
course for smart education. Structural features, the ratio of form and content of
the smart course elements and its properties: individual learning paths, content
personification, the use of training elements with links to public information re-
sources, interactive training elements, multimedia, communication and coopera-
tion elements are substantiated.
Keywords. Smart education, e-learning course, informal learning, individual
learning path, services of social networks, Content Learning Management Sys-
tems
Key terms. KnowledgeEvolution, KnowledgeManagementMethodology, Di-
dactics, KnowledgeManagementProcess, ICTInfrastructure.
1 Introduction
Modern information society is gradually transformed into Smart Society, as noted by
sociologists, philosophers, specialists in IT sector, educational specialists, etc. This
concept implies the new quality of society, in which a set of technological means,
services and Internet used by trained people, leads to qualitative changes in the inter-
action of subjects that allow receive new effects – social, economic and other benefits
for a better life [1].
During Smart Society formation the paradigm of education and educational tech-
nology is naturally changing. The tasks of training of the new format specialist, suc-
cessful and competent to work in the Smart Society rely on the new universities –
Smart Universities where the integration of technological innovations and the Internet
can provide a new quality of the educational and scientific processes, the results of
training, scientific, innovation, educational, social and other activities.
The conceptual basis of the Smart University is a large number of different scien-
tific sources, and information and educational materials, multimedia resources (audio,
412 N. V. Morze and O. G. Glazunova
graphics, video) that can be easily and quickly designed, assembled to a certain set,
adjusted individually for each student, his/her need and peculiarity of educational
activity and the level of educational achievements.
2 Problem
It is obvious that in conditions of development of Smart Society the educational para-
digm will also change. Smart Universities will perform new functions. Accordingly,
the requirements for e-learning courses that ensure students’ needs in educational
resources will change. Our mission is to substantiate theoretically the properties of
such e-learning course, its structure and components, and to test the effectiveness of
its use experimentally as well.
3 The Presentation of the Main Research and Explanation of
Scientific Results
3.1 Characteristics of the Smart University
5 key characteristics of the Smart University can be distinguished: social orientation,
mobility, accessibility, technological effectiveness and openness [2].
Social orientation consist in the personalization of education, building of the indi-
vidual education cards (Smart-card), organization of the efficient communication and
collaboration in education, cooperation, application of design and game techniques,
communication via social networks services, etc.
The second, equally important, feature of the Smart University is mobility. Mobil-
ity should be understood not only in the narrow interpretation - as an access to the
educational content through mobile devices and their use for scientific researches,
payment transactions, implementation of feedback with the teacher or the representa-
tives from the dean office or departments, etc [3]. Mobility is important as an access
of each student and teacher to the educational services from any place and at any
time.
Accessibility as feature of the Smart University is characterized by a single point of
entry to e-learning and scientific databases, media library, information kiosks, online
resources and access control systems to them, etc.
Technological effectiveness provides a viability of the Smart University IT infra-
structure by the means of cloud-technologies, innovative technologies of virtualiza-
tion, open interfaces, based on the principles of simplicity, modularity, scalability, etc.
Openness in the system of the Smart University foresees availability of the open
repositories of educational materials for forming e-learning courses and providing
training for students, open access to scientific articles and conducted researches and
their results [4].
What Should Be E-Learning Course for Smart Education … 413
3.2 Infrastructures of the Smart University
Modern university should have the appropriate infrastructure to support the require-
ments of the Smart Education. In particular, the activity of e-learning center, multi-
media center, scientific laboratories with the relevant open virtual environments and
open resources, library, including electronic one with the open access to the resources,
multimedia classrooms and computer labs should be based on the use of advanced
campus network with Internet access, including one on the basis of wireless technolo-
gies, cloud infrastructure, technologies of mobile access to e-learning resources, sys-
tem of distributed access to the resources. The effective functioning of such a sophis-
ticated infrastructure is impossible without a united center of data processing, from
where materials are distributed to the structural units: institutions, faculties and de-
partments, regional branches, dormitories, academic buildings, student centers, etc.
(Fig.1).
Effective activity of the Smart University will enable to realize not only the tasks
of formal, but nonformal and informal training as well. According to studies [5,6]
nonformal and informal learning takes 70% in the total structure of the educational
process and only 30% of learning is formal, in other words structured by years and
semesters of training, learning plans and programs that is usually provided by the
institution.
3.3 Features of the Smart Education
Smart Education sets a number of tasks for teacher on which performance depends the
effectiveness of teaching and students motivation to nonformal and informal learning,
which is based on the students skill to study independently. To interest the modern
student, who has access to a large number of high quality modern electronic materials
that can be easily found in the Internet, by conventional text linear (non-multimedia)
materials, only presented in electronic format, nowadays is almost impossible, espe-
cially in formal training. We should create such resources that will integrate multime-
dia, text, feedback tools on the basis of specific teacher’s individual recommendations
and external electronic resources that will meet individual needs and characteristics of
the modern student - regular user of the Internet resources and social networks. There-
fore the integral components of information and educational environment of the mod-
ern university should be: institutional repository of knowledge with full-text elec-
tronic educational and scientific resources; educational portal, which provides elec-
tronic support of all student’s learning activities for each discipline in the form of e-
learning courses with individual tasks and distinct and clear evaluation criteria that
are implemented with tools and methods of forming assessment; video portal with
multimedia resources for teaching and research activities; wiki portal as an environ-
ment to provide teamwork and collaboration; online services based on the use of Web
2.0 and Web 3.0 services and technologies, etc.
One of the main tendencies in the development of Smart Education is the openness
of learning systems – placing the educational content openly available to students
around the world, the development of systems with open code, development of
414 N. V. Morze and O. G. Glazunova
knowledge-sharing under the scheme "student-student", "teacher-teacher", "students-
teacher" and "students-teachers" [7,8]. An important step in the development of the
idea of massive open electronic courses was the adoption of the UNESCO declaration
on global policy on the issue of open e-courses, which sets the task of developing
standards for electronic courses, providing synergy in access to them, conducting
educational seminars on the development of courses and their use, collaboration be-
tween scientists and teachers, education quality assurance [9].
Fig. 1. SMART University infrastructure
3.4 Properties of E-Learning Course for Smart-Education
Some scholars define electronic course as didactic computer environment that con-
tains classified material from the relevant scientific and practical field of knowledge
that is combined by a single software shell, in which the following functional compo-
nents are selected: information and navigation (meaningful connections, annotation
and course structure, information, system of references, the searching system), infor-
mative (interrelated informative elements of the course – theory, practice, guidelines,
additional materials, information resources, including electronic and open), diagnostic
(formative assessment tools in the form of clear evaluation criteria for all types of
students activity, including self-assessment and mutual assessment, evaluation not
only of academic achievements of students, but also evaluation of formation of skills
of the 21-st century – to solve problems, work in team, communicate effectively and
collaborate, etc., the testing system of current, intermediate and final control) [10].
Electronic course for Smart education should provide flexible learning of the students
in an interactive learning environment, which allows him to adapt quickly to the envi-
What Should Be E-Learning Course for Smart Education … 415
ronment, to study in any place, at any time on the basis of free access to content all
over the world. In our opinion, the electronic course for Smart Education can be rep-
resented as a certain scenario or trajectory of educational events how to work with
electronic resources in the form of knowledge-map that leads to the achievement of
learning effect and has the following properties:
Flexibility – enabling rapid resources editing and making adjustments in educa-
tional trajectory
Availability of individual learning scenario, in other words, the possibility to draw
up an individual educational program for each student from the set of training ele-
ments
Integration of training elements with other open information resources
Focusing on the learning needs of the student, the personification of content
Interactivity of learning elements of the course, the maximum use of multimedia
technologies (videocasts, animation, video tutorials, screencasts, etc.)
Feedback between the teacher and the student in the course
Availability of training elements to ensure effective communication and coopera-
tion of students between themselves and with the teacher, in particular based on the
design technology [11]
Availability of game educational elements
Providing communication through modern services of social networks [12]
Creation of e-learning courses usually is carried out with the help of Content
Learning Management Systems. To create an effective e-learning course for Smart
education not only available electronic resources of information and educational envi-
ronment of the University should be used, but also open external information re-
sources and Web services that will serve as sources of educational and informational
materials for electronic course and as means of communication and cooperation
(Fig.2).
Information and educational environment of the university should be focused on
solving the problem of joint creation and use of academic knowledge for the needs of
students and teaching staff of the university. On the one hand, the teacher by himself
adds academic resources to the information and educational environment, such as
video clips and video tutorials posted on educational video portal and on the other
hand, he has the possibility to use available public resources for creating e-learning
course. So, to create an electronic course it is sufficient for the teacher to actualize
material that is available from other sources, submit it in accordance with the above
mentioned properties and criteria of evaluation of its quality, add the necessary train-
ing elements of the course according to the adopted structure and develop an individ-
ual learning scenario for each student, consider the individual evaluation criteria of
educational achievements of students and developed skills of the 21st century.
3.5 Structure of E-Learning Course for Smart-Education
Analysis of papers devoted to the creation and use of e-learning courses [13, 14] led
to the conclusion that in the issue of the course structure they should be focused on
the modular principle of its construction. When structuring the content of educational
416 N. V. Morze and O. G. Glazunova
subject by the principle of training modules each module should consist of intercon-
nected theoretical, empirical and practical components of the content, each of which
would carry out an independent function. Thus the educational discipline module is an
information and didactic unit, in which the approach to structuring the whole into
parts is unified. It has a complex structure that includes goal of its integral develop-
ment, objectives, content and results with the corresponding system of formative as-
sessment.
Fig. 2. Sources of electronic course formation for Smart education
Furthermore, the structure of the e-course for Smart education should provide
availability of:
Tools to build individual learning trajectory (prior surveys, questionnaires, tests,
formative assessment tools, including check-lists and tables of evaluation criteria,
etc.)
Multimedia presentations of summarizing character, video resources, interactive
electronic manuals, external Web resources with multimedia theoretical material
Links to external public resources including articles, conference proceedings, re-
search materials, etc.
Discussions on the forums, feedback with teacher, webinars and other Web ser-
vices
Intermediate control elements during the lessons and formative evaluation instru-
ments, final control in the form of control tasks and tests, element of reflection
Each element of the training course must meet certain standards and be evaluated
using criteria that are accepted at the level of educational institution [15].
Approximate structure of Smart course is shown in the Figure 3.
Example of the course topic, created in the CLMS Moodle environment, presented
on training and information portal NUBiP Ukraine
(http://it.nubip.edu.ua/course/view.php?id=21).
What Should Be E-Learning Course for Smart Education … 417
Further we will focus in more detail on the features of the e-learning course struc-
ture for Smart education.
Fig. 3. Structure of the electronic training course for Smart education
3.6 Formation of Individual Learning Trajectory
For the modern student, who has formed basic IT competences, there is a need not
only in the access to the resources, but mostly in the navigation knowledge-map,
"guidebook" to knowledge, that can be found in information space, as it is important
to help student to find quality resources. And this is a complex task for untrained
student. Smart education using Smart courses of the new model is the most comfort-
able and modern teaching model for such cyber-students. To build individual training
418 N. V. Morze and O. G. Glazunova
trajectory of the student in the electronic course you can use several approaches. One
of them lies in the prior survey and testing of the students in terms of competence in
the course educational material and the preparation of educational trajectory on the
results of such survey and their identified learning needs (Fig. 4). Thus the survey is
based on extensive use of formative assessment tools that provides self-assessment
and mutual assessment.
Fig. 4. Stages of the individual trajectory construction
During the experimental study of the introduction of e-learning course of the new
sample for the students of the "Computer Sciences" specialty a survey was conducted
for assessing their competencies on the subject under the scale: "have a good knowl-
edge", "be partially familiar", "heard something", "not familiar". Then each student
was offered a test for competence in the training material, which he/she "has a good
knowledge of" and "is partially familiar" with. According to the survey and testing
results individual learning trajectory was built for each student or group of students.
In other words, sequence of learning elements of the course was chosen, which stu-
dent should study. Moodle platform that we used to create the course allows to make
each training element available to a particular group of students. Therefore each stu-
dent or group of students receives an individual set of training elements of the course.
Training course is adapted for personal characteristics of each student that allow to
implement personally oriented approach and to develop an individual training pro-
gram. At the same time the course itself does not changed, but the methods of presen-
tation, set of tasks for performance and the tools, methods of evaluation and control
are changed.
What Should Be E-Learning Course for Smart Education … 419
3.7 Presentation Educational Material in the Theoretical Resources of Smart
Course
Peculiarity of the new model electronic course is also the diversity of the theoretical
learning resources presentation forms. Besides the theoretical material must be deliv-
ered by 60-70% in the multimedia interactive form, we also note the necessity to
choose the method of material delivery, depending on the level of its teaching. The
theoretical material in electronic course can be delivered on the following four levels:
phenomenological, analytical and synthetic, mathematical, axiomatic [16]. Each level
has its peculiarities in the delivery of educational material (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5. Ratio of levels and methods of educational material presentation in the theoretical re-
sources
Phenomenological level is characterized by the descriptive way of presenting edu-
cational material. Therefore, these materials should be delivered in the form of mul-
timedia presentations, interactive electronic manuals with graphics, multimedia and
video elements. Analytic and synthetic level is characterized by the necessity of pre-
senting of the theory of individual phenomena in naturally logical language that cre-
420 N. V. Morze and O. G. Glazunova
ates background for phenomena and processes forecast on a qualitative level. For this
level animation resources with elements of cognitive graphics should be prepared that
will be able to demonstrate the nature of the phenomenon and its dynamic changes.
Video tutorials with explanation and demonstration of the logic of the processes as
well as sound screencasts will be also effective. The mathematical level is character-
ized by the use of mathematical tools for modeling, theorem proving, examples of
solving problems, etc. Therefore, conventional textbooks are not enough to deliver
such material. It is necessary to create resources in the form of video lectures, video
lessons, and text resources should be reduced to the minimum amount – in the form of
handbooks with basic rules, formulas, theorems, etc. Educational material of the
axiomatic level can be presented in the form of video tutorials, e-manual and multi-
media presentations. Also it is necessary to actively use the links to external resources
that cover material from the considered topic. Such resources will add credibility to
the course and allow students to familiarize with additional sources of educational
materials.
3.8 Presentation Learning Tasks in the Smart Course
Another feature of the e-course for Smart education is the existence of elements for
communication and cooperation between the students in the performance of tasks of
mastering theoretical material, practical tasks, research projects, etc. Web 2.0 ser-
vices, online services, social networks provide tools for organizing discussions, col-
laboration, counseling. These elements are embedded in the course directly through
the platform that is used, or by reference to it. While performing tasks students should
use modern information and communication technologies effectively. Usually for
mastering the theoretical teaching material students (Fig.6) are offered tasks on
writing essays, composition of the related bibliography, writing summaries, para-
phrasing theoretical information of a small amount in the form of "question-answer",
compiling a glossary of terms under the certain topic, performing descriptive works,
making instructions for the implementation of various operations, plotting grid plans
and schedules.
In order that such tasks become interesting for students it is necessary to use Inter-
net resources, and present the result of the performance in the electronic form using
modern information technologies.
Tasks on mastering practical skills include solving problems, performance of ex-
ercises, graphical works, practical works, calculated works, designing, modeling,
compilation of practical situations from their own experience and on the basis of prac-
tical training, performing analysis of enterprise activity. Students should be offered to
solve such tasks using virtual laboratory workshops and specialized software.
Tasks on forming research activity include implementation of individual research
tasks, writing term papers, graduation works, participation in the educational projects.
Such types of tasks involve creative activity of the students, which should be carried
out by means of modern computer technologies, teamwork and communication. And
one of their peculiarities is the use of formative assessment tools for their assessment
that clearly guide the student to achieve learning goals in all types of educational
What Should Be E-Learning Course for Smart Education … 421
activity that are presented specifically, clearly and should be achievable for each of
them.
Fig. 6. Types of tasks to master practical skills
Thus, the main features of the students practical work organization using e-course
in the Smart education is the availability of tools for collaboration, communication,
combination of different information technologies in the performance of tasks. But
we should not forget that tasks should have practical significance, and contain de-
tailed information on their implementation, evaluation criteria and support resources.
We offer such pattern for the formulation of the task in the e-course (Fig.7)
3.9 Results of Experimental Research
In the course of research conducting we proposed a new model of electronic learning
course for students of shortened training period. As a result, after questioning and
testing six groups of students were identified who studied in different educational
trajectories, successfully completed training course and demonstrated 13% better
academic progress compared to the group of students who studied in one training
trajectory. At the same time, the participants of the experimental groups performed
larger volume of tasks on the depth study and worked extra theoretical study material
according to the references to the external information resources. In addition, teach-
ers-participants of the experiment, indicated that the presence of distributed environ-
ment of the opened resources in the university allows to create e-learning courses
applying much lesser efforts and requires lesser time compared to the case when the
422 N. V. Morze and O. G. Glazunova
course is created from the beginning. Teachers are able to use ready resources for
creating elements of the course – presentations, video recordings, electronic versions
of manuals and guidelines, a database of scientific publications, etc.
Fig. 7. Pattern for the formulation of the task in the e-course
4 Conclusions
Thus we note that the electronic course that has the properties required in the view of
Smart education is an effective tool for nonformal and informal learning, in which
most motivated students are interested now for obtaining high-quality knowledge, not
only a diploma of higher education. For efficient organization of learning activity in
the conditions of Smart education modern university should have distributed informa-
tion and educational environment that will enable to concentrate open electronic
learning resources and to move knowledge into a distributed network, actively use the
Web 2.0 services, mobile technologies, management system for learning content for
delivering knowledge to the students and the interactive exchange of information data
and training materials with them. In the future the development of such approach is
possible due to the joint development and use of the open educational content reposi-
tory by the universities based on the technologies of the Smart education.
What Should Be E-Learning Course for Smart Education … 423
References
1. Tikhomirov, N.V.: Global Strategy for the Development of Smart-Society. MESI is on a
Smart-University, http://smartmesi.blogspot.com/2012/03/smart-smart.html (In Russian).
2. Measuring the Information Society 2012, Committed to connecting the world,
http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/ind/D-IND-ICTOI-2012-SUM-PDF-R.pdf (In Rus-
sian).
3. Traxler, J.: The Learner Experience of Mobiles, Mobility and Connectedness. Evaluation
of Learners’ Experiences of e-Learning Special Interest Group.
http://www.helenwhitehead.com/elesig/ELESIG%20Mobilities%20ReviewPDF.pdf
(2010)
4. McAuley, A., Stewart, B., Siemens, G., Cormier, D.: The MOOC Model for Digital Prac-
tice. http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/MOOC_Final.pdf
5. Kuharenko V. M.: Formal, Informal, Informalne and Social Studies. In: Modern Educa-
tional Technology in Education, pp. 114–124 (2012) (In Russian)
6. Mapping Informal and Formal Learning Strategies to Real Work.
http://performancexdesign.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/mapping-informal-and-formal-
learning-strategies-to-real-work
7. Helmer, J.: A Pair of Key Trends for this Year Learning: MOOCs and OA,
http://www.smart-edu.com/moocs-and-oa.html
8. Open Educational Resources, http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-
information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-resources/
9. Pawlowski, J.M., Hoel, T.: Towards a Global Policy for Open Educational Resources: The
Paris OER Declaration and its Implications, White Paper, Version 0.2, Jyväskylä, Finland,
(2012)
10. Bezdolny A.V.: Model of E-Learning Course as a Means of Organizing the Self-Training,
http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/model-elektronnogo-uchebnogo-kursa-kak-sredstva-
organizatsii-samostoyatelnoy-podgotovki (In Russian)
11. Gnedkova O., Lyakutin V.: Methodological Recommendations of Internet-Services Usage
in Distance Learning System “Kherson Virtual University”. Information Technologies in
Education, 10, 183–187 (2011) (In Russian)
12. Ravenscroft, A.: Dialogue and Connectivism: A New Approach to Understanding and
Promoting Dialogue-Rich Networked Learning. International Review of Research in Open
and Distance Learning, 12(3), http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/934
13. Osin A.V.: E-Learning Resources in a New Generation of Questions and Answers,
http://www.ed.gov.ru/news/konkurs/5692#g10 (In Russian)
14. Mosher, B.: Five Myths About Informal Learning, http://www.smart-edu.com/stati-
korporativnoe-obuchenie/pyat-mifov-o-neformalnom-obuchenii.html
15. Morze N. V., Glazunova E. G.: Quality Criteria for E-Learning Courses. Information
Technologies in Education, 4, 63–76 ( 2009)
16. Deryabina G. I., Losev V. Yu.: Creating E-Learning Courses: Studies. Samara. Univers –
groups (2006)