Abtar Kaur

Re-Purposeable Learning Objects Based on Teaching and Learning Styles

The interactive, multimedia learning object has become an important part of high quality online education. The cost of producing such learning objects can be prohibitive. Re-purposeable learning objects made with learning object templates allow instructors with little or no programming experience to produce highly interactive and immersive learning objects. These learning object templates are based on key styles of teaching and learning and can be used to create and customize new learning objects within those styles, without creating new source code. The templates allow instructors to create learning objects simply by inserting text, and media (images, movies, etc.) because they closely mimic specific teaching strategies.

E-learning challenges as perceived by communities of practice: Open University Malaysia's experiences

E-learning has become ingrained in conversations that border around learning, however, how much and how effectively e-learning is practiced and understood is an issue that needs further investigation. This paper will first provide an overview of elearning practices in Malaysia followed by detailed findings of e-learning practices at Open University Malaysia. Findings of a survey done on 26 Malaysian organizations show that only 4% truly practice some form of e-learning. Nevertheless most participants in the survey noted that e-learning will be the preferred choice in time to come. The survey also shows that most organizations are still very comfortable with a blended style of learning or training. Findings of a research conducted at Open University Malaysia (OUM) shows that as a new player in e-learning initiatives, the OUM has achieved much especially in ensuring that its over 30,000 students are practicing some form of e-learning. At OUM, although self-managed and face-to-face learning are the preferred choices, much effort and resources are pumped into elearning in ensuring that OUM has the right mix for its blended mode. The paper will present a report on findings of e-learning and explicate issues within to determine how e-learning efforts can be further refined to support the overall blended pedagogy practiced at OUM.