Table of Contents XIII A Semantic Grid Application for E-Learning Data Sharing 457 Wenya Tian and Yuxin Mao Ontology-Based Description of Learning Object 468 Xiaodan Wang, Fan g Fan g, and Lei Fan Interfaces for Learning Activity Designs Studies on Human Computer Interface Design of Chinese Mobile Phone Users 477 Xue-Min Zhang, Yong-Na Li, and Fran C. Blumberg A Flow-Oriented Visual Language for Learning Designs 486 Iv´an Mart´ınez-Ortiz, Pablo Moreno-Ger, Jos´e Luis Sierra-Rodr´ıgu ez, and Baltasar Fern´andez-Manj´on A Mulimodeling Framework for Complex Learning Activity Designs 497 Sofiane Aouag Question Answering from Lecture Videos Based on Automatically-Generated Learning Objects 509 Stephan R epp, Serge Linckels, and Christoph Meinel Mobile and Network Technologies for Learning An Overview on Mobile E-Learning Research of Domestic and Foreign 521 Yun Yang, Wenan Tan, Suxian Lin, Xianhua Zhao, and Fujun Yang A Semiautomatic Content Adaptation Authoring Tool for Mobile Learning 529 Hsuan-Pu Chang, Chun-Chia Wang, Timothy K. Shih, Louis R. Chao, Shu-Wei Yeh, and Chen-Yu Lee An Optimized Scheme for Mobile Learning on IP-Based Network Using SIP 541 Shaojing Fan, Jianbo Fan, Yongping Zhang, and Zhongkun He Author Index 553 F. Li et al. (Eds.): ICWL 2008, LNCS 5145, pp. 1–7, 2008. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008 On Properly Using Technologies to Make E-Learning Effective Won Kim and Ok-Ran Jeong School of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, S. Korea wonkim@skku.edu, orjeong@ece.skku.ac.kr Abstract. E-learning is learning without the presence of a human instructor in class. Advances in technologies have made e-learning possible. E-learning can complement the traditional in-class learning. However, e-learning contents are often boring, or unclear, or detract from learning. If e-learning can be much more effective than today, technologies must be used properly in creating the learning contents, without losing the focus on learning. In this paper, we exam- ine the different types of technologies available, and how they may be used to make e-learning effective. Keywords: e-learning, social networking, effective learning. 1 Introduction E-learning is self-paced learning made possible by the use of technologies, including the PC, Office software, graphics software, the Internet and the Web, the DVD/CD player, and such handheld devices as MP3 player, PDA, e-reader, etc. However, e- learning is first and foremost about learning, not about technology. This simple fact has often been lost to the designers and creators of e-learning contents. As the learner has to learn effectively without the human instructor who will guide him and answer questions, designing and creating contents for e-learning require careful thought and considerable investment of time, and continued improvement [1]. Unfortunately, often the contents are unclear, inconsistent, confusing plain wrong, and/or boring. They often detract the e-learners because of careless use of technologies. Sometimes the contents are not even accessible to the e-learners, due to software or hardware mismatch, or inadequate Internet access speed. In order to make e-learning effective, we should take one step back, and re-examine how technologies may be used to help the e-learners learn, not to just dazzle them or detract them. There are at least four types of technologies that can be used to create and view e- learning contents. These include those that deal with textual contents, those that deal with non-textual contents, those that can help engage the e-learners, and those for social networking. In this paper, we examine how each of these technologies can be properly used to make e-learning effective, and also how not to use it. 2 Textual Contents Text technologies are those that can be used to create, store, and modify textual con- tents. They include the PC and smaller computers, and software such as WORD and 2 W. Kim and O R. Jeong PowerPoint that run on them. They also include the Internet and the Web. Many of these have already become every working tools for knowledge workers. Text is the primary medium for delivering the bulk of e-learning contents today, although some e-learning can be done exclusively with the use of videos or audios. As such, the designers and creators of e-learning contents should focus first on making the textual parts of the e-learning contents for effective e-learning. Making textual contents effective for e-learning requires the same discipline and techniques that it takes for technical writing. We summarize them below, since often the designers and creators of e-learning contents seem to lose sight of them. 1. There should be a good structure or organization for the contents, and different parts of the contents should be connected through a good flow, or logical progres- sion. If the structure consists of a fair number of sections, there should be a table of contents. 2. Each key term should be clearly defined and, if deemed necessary, illustrated with one or more simple and intuitive examples. Each uncommon acronym should be spelled out where it is first used. 3. Each key concept should be clearly explained, and, if deemed necessary, illustrated with one or more simple examples. Whenever possible, all of the illustrations should be based on one, or a few at most, realistic and intuitively acceptable run- ning examples that are relevant to the subjects of the contents. 4. Complex concepts and results should be built up progressively from small, easy and simple to large, difficult and complex. 5. Key complex concepts and result summaries should be shown using standard visu- alization means (figure, table, chart,…). Visualization means should be used in a disciplined way; that is, visual aids should not be created when they are not needed, or if simple textual explanations would suffice. 6. All the terms, acronyms, concepts, icons, etc. that appear in the visual aids should be defined in the visual aids, or should be explained in the textual parts of the con- tents that refer to the visual aids. In other words, when the visual aids are used to help explain certain concepts and results, they should not add to confusion or give rise to needless questions that will go unanswered. 7. A good presentation style should be selected, and used consistently from start to end. The presentation style includes layout, spacing, the mix of font styles, font sizes, colors, background colors; the use of acronyms; the position of the figure and table captions; the use of the upper case letters; etc. 3 Non-textual Contents There are three types of technologies that can be used to create, store, transmit, and view non-textual contents. They are visualization technologies, audio technologies, and simulation technologies. Each of these can potentially make e-learning more effective by conveying concepts that are difficult to convey using only the textual contents. Each of these can also make the e-learning experience more enjoyable by stimulating the senses of the e-learners and by breaking the monotony of e-learning. We discuss each of these below. On Properly Using Technologies to Make E-Learning Effective 3 The visualization technologies can be used to add 2-dimensional and 3- dimensional graphics, motion graphics (animation), images (including screen capture, and digitized photographs), videos, etc. to the learning contents. They include content creation technologies, such as screen capture programs, graphics software, motion graphics software, video cameras, digital cameras, Web cameras, etc. The visualiza- tion technologies also include a wide variety of devices and technologies that can play the visual contents, such as the Web browser with plug-ins, PC and smaller com- puters, digital televisions, DVD players, smart phones, PDAs, e-readers, beam projec- tors, etc. The visual contents can serve as a new medium for helping to convey concepts to the e-learners. Screen captures, images, graphics, motion graphics, and videos can convey complex concepts or details much more clearly than are possible using text alone [2]. Although such contents can be very effective for a variety of learning top- ics, their use must be carefully planned. They tend to come in very large files, and so can require high-speed Internet connection, a computer with a large amount of mem- ory and high-speed CPU, and can take a long time, and visual quality may suffer. The visualization technologies can add interactivity to the otherwise lifeless textual contents. We will discuss this in Section 4. The audio technologies can be used to add music, sound effects, podcasts [3], etc. to the learning contents. The audio technologies include devices and technologies that can record audio, and those that can play the audio contents, such as the PC and smaller computers, smart phones, Web phones, etc. Audio contents are of course essential for learning languages. [4] makes an inter- esting proposal for the use of music as background to the textual contents in e- learning. For example, musical theme, called leitmotif, may be defined for each of a few key situations or characters in the text contents, and may be played in the back- ground. For example, For example, in a customer service training course, a different leitmotif can be associated with a different type of customer: a playful theme for the inquisitive customer, an ominous theme for the angry customer, a rushed theme for the demanding customer, a happy theme for the satisfied customer. This is akin to the use of leitmotif in movies or even video games. Simulation technologies can be used to create simulations or demos of products and situations [5]. The popular Excel spreadsheet may be used as a simulation tool. Learners can use it to learn how changing one parameter can affect the overall results. There are various elaborate simulation tools that e-learners can use to learn to operate products and experiment with various hypothetical situations without causing any undesirable side effects. They include complex and expensive systems, that duplicate every key, button, and function of the actual products, such as Global Knowledge On Demand (kp.globalknowledge.com), X.HLP Designer (www.xhlp-usa.com), XStream Software RapidBuilder (www.xstreamsoftware.com). They also include less expensive tools, such as CamtasiaStudio (www.camtasia.com), ViewletBuilder (www.qarbon.com), and RoboDemo (www.ehelp.com), etc. These offer limited interactivity, and some only allow the e-learners to see demos. Although the use of technologies opens up great possibilities for helping e-learners learn, bad use of technologies can actually confuse and frustrate e-learners instead. Un- fortunately, e-learning content designers and creators too often end up making bad use of technologies. The bad use of non-text technologies comes in several different flavors. 4 W. Kim and O R. Jeong 1. inaccessible or difficult-to-access visual or audio aids. The creators of the learning contents should not create visual aids or audio aids that the e-learners cannot see or hear, or take too long to load or play, or take up too much memory space in the e- learners’ computer. Motion graphics may use animated GIF format, or Macrome- dia Flash and Shockwave. Motion graphics, 3-dimensional graphics, images, and videos come in large files that tax the Internet access speed and the e-learners’ computer capacity [6]. The creators of the visual aids and audio aids should ad- dress such issues as incompatible data formats, software or software versions or hardware; or hardware capacity, network capacity, or Internet access speed. 2. form factor (device size) mismatch. Mobile phones (with the possible exception of Apple’s i-phone) today have small screens that cannot really display normal Web pages for comfortable viewing. This is due to mismatch in form factors between the Web pages designed for display on the monitor of a PC or a laptop computer, and the small screen of the mobile phone. The creators of the visual aids or audio aids should take into consideration, the form factor of the devices on which the contents are to be played. 3. unnecessary or gratuitous use of non-textual aids. Other than to help the learner at a disadvantage, a non-textual aid for explaining a concept should not be created, when it is simple enough to clearly convey the concept, for example, using a short list of bulleted items using PowerPoint. 4. embedding terms, acronyms, and even concepts, that are not explained either in the visual or audio aids, or in the main body of the textual contents that refer to them. Non-textual contents should be included to make it easier for the e-learners to un- derstand things, and they should certainly not add to confusion or cause additional questions to arise that will go unanswered. 4 Engaging the Learners Using technologies, the creators of e-learning contents can engage the e-learners. As we discussed in Section 3, non-textual contents, in the form of visual/audio contents or visual/audio aids, can stimulate and engage the e-learners. Beyond this, there are several ways to engage the e-learners, and thus help them learn and retain what they learn. Some require the use of technologies and some do not. 1. A theme or imagery may be used from start to end in explaining or illustrating key concepts in the e-learning contents [7]. Common themes include sports, movies, food, vehicles, people, geography, history, etc. For example, in binary search trees in data structures, all keys smaller than the current root key go to the left subtree, while all keys larger go to the right subtree. To drive home this essential character- istic of binary search trees, a “small to the left, and the large to the right” theme or image (e.g., short persons on the left of the center, and tall.persons on the right) may be shown. 2. The challenges that force people to think at various steps in computer games may be injected at various points in learning a sequence of concepts [8]. This may take the form of exercises to force the learners to think deeper into one or more of the concepts learned. . E-learning is learning without the presence of a human instructor in class. Advances in technologies have made e-learning possible. E-learning can complement the traditional in- class learning think at various steps in computer games may be injected at various points in learning a sequence of concepts [8]. This may take the form of exercises to force the learners to think deeper into. networking, effective learning. 1 Introduction E-learning is self-paced learning made possible by the use of technologies, including the PC, Office software, graphics software, the Internet