e-Learning: Changes in Teaching and Learning Styles

e-Learning: Changes in Teaching and Learning Styles

G.N. Wikramanayake
University of Colombo School of Computing
E-mail: gnw@ucsc.cmb.ac.lk

ABSTRACT The lecturing approach emphasises learning by
listening and assists those who are poor readers and
Availability of vast amount of information on the web who are unable to organise printed material.
has provided access to all types of learning material.
The teacher’s lecture notes is no longer the primary However this approach has its own weaknesses.
focus of a learning process, and the teacher’s role and Lecturing encourages one-way communication and
the student’s learning process are changing. puts students in a passive role that can hinder their
learning. It assumes all students are learning at the
In the modern global learning environment e-learning same pace and at the same level of understanding,
has become a facilitator in organisational development which is hardly true. Also lectures do not sustain
through knowledge sharing, especially in the area of student attention and tend to be forgotten quickly.
web based training and project management. It has also
become a potential business for many organisations. Lecturing alone is not suited for learning applications,
analysis and synthesis as well as for complex, detailed
The changes that should be happening in teaching and or abstract material. Other form of learning methods
learning are discussed here with the aid of two case such as practical sessions, group work, tutorial classes,
studies. The key technologies and practices of e- take home activities has to be used in these situations.
learning at University of Western Sydney (UWS) are
highlighted here and are compared with the existing Teacher dictating notes or students copying notes from
activities of the external degrees program at University the board has become part of most lecture sessions. In
of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC). some cases printed handouts have replaced this and
have given the lecturer additional time to practice
The importance of identifying learning objects, different teaching methods. Notes had become an
assessment methods and training to apply the learning important part of a lecture due to the need to sit for
outcomes are some of the changes in the teaching exams and as a source of future reference.
process. These changes should be considered as a
strategy to implement e-learning systems. The learning Limited access to published material and the high cost
process is activity based and focuses on group and of textbooks have been a bottleneck. Hence the
individual work with presentations and discussions. E- teachers are unable to expect the student to gather own
learning environment together with tutorial and knowledge and as a result the student learning process
practical classes facilitates the learning process. has been centred on lecture notes. This means the
knowledge testing mechanisms or exams are also based
on the teacher’s lecture notes. Due to this the exam
papers have focused on testing student’s knowledge on
1.0 INTRODUCTION theories, proofs and concepts that are already available
Traditionally format for the transmission of knowledge in their lecture notes.
is in the form of lecturing in the classroom. In this Over a long period of time the classroom teaching
approach the teacher or lecturer is responsible in approach has gradually prevented the student in
providing the knowledge to its listeners. This approach stimulating ideas and actively participating in the
has its own characteristics and inherent benefits as learning process. Also the students have been lacking
highlighted next [12]. the problem solving skills, i.e. to apply the knowledge
Lectures can convey large amounts of factual material gained into real world situations. As indicated above
to many listeners at the same time. Lectures can these skills cannot be acquired though lecturing alone.
present material in a faster and simpler way according With the introduction of cheap Indian textbooks along
to the needs of the audience. The speaker can convey with easy and cheaper duplicating facilities the access
the knowledge in a way that no book or other media to printed material is not a barrier as in the past. The
can. Lectures can communicate the intrinsic interest of World Wide Web and the Internet have provided every
the subject manner and also convey material otherwise body the opportunity to publish as well as to access any
unavailable in published form. The lecturer can control material of their choice. Hence we can find a wide
the delivery process by deciding on what to cover and variety of study material on the web. Thus it is no
whether to answer questions. longer necessary to limit student’s knowledge to

lecture notes. More importantly the students have many videoconferencing and groupware. Here students are
sources to acquire knowledge and using e-learning able to get immediate response to their questions
sites they are able to learn at their own pace. despite not being physically present.
The need to change the teacher’s role from lecturing to Online assessment is a key component of an e-learning
activity based and student learning from passive to system and it is used to evaluate student’s learning
active has already being realised. The recent progress. Quizzes in the form of multiple-choice
educational reforms that took placed were a result of questions are part of this and it has the capability not
this. Application of theories and acquiring problem only to give feed back for the student responses but
solving skills are becoming part of modern learning also to monitor student’s learning progress and
process. achievement levels.
In the field of IT the technology is changing fast and Various information in the form of course overview,
the employees have been forced to retrain their staff on contents, objectives, notes, slides, exercises,
regular basis. New recruitments are also trained to workbooks, references, worked examples, model and
enable them to adapt to the organisation’s needs. past papers with solutions, links to external resources,
Students produced through the traditional classroom student prepared material and their solutions are
approach would take a longer period to adjust to a provided to the learners through these websites. Special
working environment than those trained under the interactive sessions with multimedia are also part of
modern learning process. The trained graduates are these systems.
more suited to fit into employment and are able to
secure higher remuneration than the untrained
graduates. Hence most companies have faced the 2.1 E-learning Solutions
problem of loosing their trained staff unless they are There are many e-learning integrated solutions such as
well looked after. The introduction of modern teaching WebCT [14], Lotus Learning Space [7] and
methods should help to address this problem and Blackboard [2]. These systems provide templates to
eliminate the need to train graduates prior to organise the layouts of the dynamic content that would
employment. be provided by the teachers. Using these tools teachers
Rest of the paper is organised as follows. Section 2 themselves can easily publish their content in their
presents the characteristics of e-learning systems. website.
Section 3 describes how some of those systems have WebCT is one such tool used by most e-learning
evolved. Some of the e-learning related activities at providers including UWS. WebCT allows posting of
UCSC are presented to illustrate this process. Section 4 course material, hosting bulletin boards, conducting
highlights the approach adopted at UWS and the things online quizzes etc. However to explore the full
we need to do in order to achieve our goals. The functionality of an e-learning system other supporting
conclusion summarises the changes that had taken mechanisms must be used in addition to tools such as
placed in teaching and learning styles due to e- WebCT.
learning.
For instance the current e-learning systems lacks the
dynamic nature of learning, the different preferences of
learners, customised learning content and
2.0 E-LEARNING
establishment of non-sequential learning scenarios [9].
Hosting of a website to provide easy access to course As a result poor learning satisfaction, unclear learning
related information over the Internet can be seen as the methodologies and indisposition of learners to use e-
origin of the current e-learning systems. It evolved learning are among the undesirable results of e-
through content that was provided on the web in the learning implementations.
form of lecture notes and other learning material such
Lytras et al [8, 9] have distinguished six value
as lab exercises. This reduced the need for long
components for e-learning products, namely: needs
classroom sessions to deliver knowledge and also
(which refers to the process of examining the needs of
offered the students the flexibility to learn at their own
the learners), knowledge (which refers to the discovery
pace. Now we could see several learning methods
and construction of the required knowledge),
being used as part of online teaching over the Internet
motivation elements (which refers to the enhancement
[6, 10].
of motivation elements on an e-learning environment),
In e-learning systems students are able to communicate problem solving (which refers to the ability of learning
with their teachers through email and discussion scenarios to solve specific problems that learners face),
groups. In this situation students do not get immediate team synergy (which refers to establishment of team
response from their teachers and some times may also synergy and collaboration mechanisms) and packing
not get what they want within the required time. (which refers to putting together the right mixes of the
However some systems offer online discussions among relevant components for the support of any specific
students, teachers and other participants via chats, learning situation). All of them in cooperation

formulate the concept of a learning product that has to also provided. Later on other student support activities
be constructed and delivered using Information and such as weekly television programs and
Communication Technology in an advanced way. correspondence through e-mail or phone was also
provided. Using telephones students are able to have
online discussions on academic and non-academic
2.2 Bloom’s Taxonomy matters. Also through emails some forms of
discussions have taken placed. At the moment although
The learning process itself has been well defined the content and quizzes are provided for the students of
through the Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational goals the first two semesters they are yet to be organised in a
[3, 4]. It is some thing that all teachers should be aware manner that will allow the student to interactively
of as well as practice. Bloom has defined six question participate in the learning process.
categories, namely: knowledge, comprehension,
application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
Researchers in the recent past have come up with 3.1 Content Based Learning Objectives
variations to Bloom’s Taxonomy to accommodate the
When looking back at the Bloom’s Taxonomy one
dynamic e-learning scene present in e-learning systems
important item when developing content is the
[9]. Lytras et al have defined ten different learning
identification of learning objectives. It should be
processes to support different learning models.
measurable and not vague. The content should be
Analysis, synthesis, reasoning, judging, problem
identified to achieve the learning objectives. However
solving, collaboration, simulation, evaluation,
due to the use of above mention sequence to introduce
presentation and relation are these learning processes.
our learning objectives they were based on the content
The objective is to provide flexibility to dynamically
supplied. As a result the teaching process and the
construct the learning scene for every learner.
testing mechanism has deviated from the process that
E-learning itself is widely being used. Research and should have been used to achieve some of the goals of
surveys have indicated that it is gradually overtaking this course.
the traditional classroom-based instructions at least in
Figure 2a illustrates an example of a set of learning
the form of investments to provide such facilities [5].
objectives developed to support the content provided as
in Figures 1a-1b. Here each objective tries to explain
3.0 E-LEARING AT UCSC why we should learn the content identified. We can
also see that most objectives are not measurable due to
As identified in section 2, hosting of a website to the use of words such as “understanding”.
provide easy access to course related information Now we shall look at the abilities of a person after
originated the e-learning process. At University of achieving the objectives of a module. In the selected
Colombo although a website [11] had been there for example the main objectives (figure 1c) have focused
sometime it did not provide course information beyond on theoretical knowledge and application skills.
overviews, subjects offered with brief syllabi and some However if we look at the topic objectives (figure 1c)
project guidelines. However with the introduction of and the brief syllabus (figure 1a) we see that more
the Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) emphasis has been given for acquiring theoretical
external degree in 2000 the University of Colombo knowledge.
School of Computing (UCSC) then known as the
Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) launched a
web site [1] to provide learning support.
3.2 Content Based on Learning Objectives
Initially the course content was expanded and detailed
Next we would identify the learning objectives before
syllabi were provided along with guidelines for
content. When we adopt this process we are in a
teaching. This included number of hours to be spent for
position to highlight the importance of application
each topic, the need for practical for each topic with
skills. Figure 2b illustrates the learning objectives for
software and hardware requirements and the
the same module with the content identified to support
recommended reference list. Model papers and answers
the learning process. Here we have one main objective
were also provided. All of them were part of this
accompanied by about 6-7 detailed learning objectives.
website. An extract of the brief and detailed syllabus of
Also each objective is measurable and is of the type “to
the IT2301 Database Systems module is given in
be able to design and develop” and not of the type
Figures 1a and 1b.
“understanding” etc. Bloom’s Taxonomy is an ideal
As teaching to students is not part of a university’s source to learn how to prepare the learning objectives
external degree programme the private educational [3, 4].
institutes had to takeover the teaching role for this
When comparing the content of figure 2b with figure
course. In order to identify the depth of course content
1a we see that they are different. The importance here
the teachers of these institutes wanted to know the
is the identification of essential topics to achieve the
learning objectives of each module and hence this was

main objective and ignoring the nice to know content. with the consultation with the industry, academics and
Certainly the awareness of the nice to know content professional bodies. Also, in addition to the subject
should be there but it can be in the form of being able knowledge the graduate should have the skills on
to refer to them as and when needed. communication, group work and content.
The application skills acquired through this process For example Mathematics and Information Technology
will allow the student in performing database design course at UWS aims at producing graduates with
and development activities on real world problems.
Such a student is in a position to fit into an • a good grounding in the mathematical and
organisation without further training. However a statistical techniques useful in modelling and
person who learned the content under the first approach simulation tasks and computer software
would need to be further trained, as the focus had development
been more on theory. • a sound knowledge and skills in computer
Besides developing the correct learning objectives few programming, computer systems analysis and
other activities should also be practised. These are software engineering, information systems,
discussed in section 4. database and data mining and visualisation
techniques
The need to change the teaching and learning process
has already being identified and necessary changes • the knowledge and skills needed to analyse and
have been happening. Some of them can also be seen improve industrial and management processes
in our internal degree programs. • communication and inter-personal skills required
At UCSC we still have not gone to the level of using of a modern professional
an e-learning platform although such systems were
built for internal use. UCSC is in the process of
4.2 Modules of a Course
developing content for e-learning systems and we
expect these to be available for students in the The next step is to allocate the knowledge and skills
immediate future. identified to the respective program structures. This
will help to determine the modules/subjects for each
program.
4.0 E-LEARING AT UWS
For example the following are some of the modules
University of Western Sydney (UWS) is one of the that should be taught to achieve the above goals. Some
pioneers in adopting e-learning into their education of these modules (e.g. Systems Analysis and Design)
system. They initiated it by developing their own will actually have several components such as systems
product called the PlatformWeb with facilities such as design principals, systems engineering principals etc.
upload material and construct online quizzes that are
now part of products such as WebCT. Due to the added • Statistics and Maths for Computing
functionality of WebCT, UWS now uses WebCT for
• Programming Principles
student learning and PlatformWeb for administrative
purposes. • Systems Analysis and Design
Due to the early introduction of e-learning at UWS, the • Information Resource Management
UWS has been able to identify the needs to change the
traditional teaching and learning processes. In fact they • Application Development
are practising most of these changes and the impact of
them can be seen from the performance of the students 4.3 Grouping of Courses and Research
after graduation. As indicated in section 3.2 students no
longer need to be further trained to commence We should look at the learning outcomes only after
employment. determine the modules as indicated in section 4.2.
Before developing the learning outcomes the UWS has
UWS has focus on student’s being able to solve done another important activity. They identified sub-
problems using current technology and related issues. discipline groups and members to develop the learning
Identification of module content based on learning outcomes. These groups can be informal but ideally
objectives has helped to achieve this task. In addition linked to the research groups. Some academics may be
to this we need to do few more things before/after in multiple groups.
developing the learning objectives (outcomes) for
course modules. Linking sub-discipline groups to research groups
means that the members can teach subjects related to
their research interest. This has given the academics
4.1 Aims of the Course the opportunity to apply or perform their research as
In the case of undergraduates, we must first identify the part of teaching.
aims of producing the graduates. This will be done

As the modules/subjects are allocated to the sub- process. The teachers have been able to focus on
discipline groups the learning outcomes are first activity-based learning due to the presence of learning
prepared for each sub-discipline group and then only material over the Internet. Here we have highlighted
for the modules. This process will identify the need to the importance of identifying learning objects,
have each of the modules identified for respective assessment methods and training to apply the learning
programs. Through this process core and optional outcomes. The changes have provided opportunities for
modules can also be identified. cooperative learning. Teachers now spend less time in
front of the class and more time working with small
For example the need to teach advanced topics such as
groups of individuals. The learning process is activity
artificial intelligence, image process etc can be
based and focuses on group and individual work with
identified through this process. This will also assist in
presentations and discussions. These changes should be
distinguishing the modules offered for various courses,
considered as a strategy to implement e-learning
like Information Technology and Computer Science.
systems.
The changes in teaching and learning styles have
4.3 Module Handbook transformed course evaluations from testing of
After developing the learning outcomes we need to knowledge to application of knowledge. This in turn
determine the method of measurement, presentation has eliminated the need to further train the raw
and assessment method. At UWS a handbook is graduates. Finally this will serve the industry need of
prepared for each module by the module coordinator. It being able to directly employ people who can do things
describes the above items (actually there are 14 and the degree certificate will become just an entry
altogether). You will find many handbooks from qualification for the job interview.
the UWS web site [13].
6.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
At UWS there is a policy that all modules must have a
This research was done at University of Western
minimum 40% for continuos assessment. So the final
Sydney with the help of Prof. Athula Ginige. Asian
year exam is at most 60%. There are modules without a
Development Bank staff development program funded
final exam. The lecturer decides the structure of the
the author’s stay at UWS.
exam papers. There is no rigid rubric as in many other
cases. This gives the flexibility to include long and
short questions with different mark allocations. This is 7.0 REFERENCES
needed for case studies and various application testing. 1) BIT website of University of Colombo School of
The importance here is application skills are acquired Computing. http://bit.lk/ [June 01st, 2003]
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Unfortunately external degree program of UCSC do 3) Bloom and Krathwohl, “Taxonomy of Educational
not have this component due to the practical difficulties Objectives, Handbook I: Cognitive Domain”,
in running both types of systems (i.e. internal and Addison-Wesley, New York, 1984.
external).
4) Bloom’s Taxonomy - a website.
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5.0 CONCLUSIONS learning pedagogy: A value definition from a
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Figure 1a: Brief syllabus Course Module IT2301 Figure 1b: Part of Detailed Syllabus of Module IT2301

Figure 2a: Part of Original Objectives of Module IT2301 Figure 2b: Part of Revised Objectives of Module IT2301

e-Learning: Changes in Teaching and Learning Styles

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