The increasing growth in the use of e-learning environments, in which education is delivered and supported through information and communication technologies, has brought new challenges to academic institutions. From all the current definitions of e-learning, it can be seen that learning contents are one of the key issues for a successful e-learning experience. Therefore, there is a real need for academic staff, managers and librarians to re-think the whole process of delivering courses, information resources and information services. The book focuses on defining content management and its relationship with knowledge management, providing perspectives on how the semantic web could complement content management, how to deal with copyright restrictions, and how to describe information competencies and skills required and acquired by teachers and students in virtual environments. Offered is a design project for managing digital content for classical and distance education institutions, covering all the aspects related to the content lifecycle, integrating it into the learning process. Practical aspects such as standards for content e-learning management, a review of existing experiences of learning repositories, and a survey of available platforms for delivering courses and providing access to information resources is also covered. Lastly, the book addresses the three main factors which make it crucial in the current context: first, the web 2.0 paradigm, which breaks the content producer-consumer barrier; second, the open content movement for educational purposes, which changes the knowledge management transference model; and third, the new European Higher Education Area, where the concept of content needs to be rethought.

A comprehensive guide to help you cut through the hype in order to select the best E-Learning tools and vendors for your specific needs With its ability to both reduce operating costs and train more people, E-Learning is an attractive option for companies that are trying to balance business and educational goals. But in order to implement an E-Learning program, you'll have to wade through hundreds of learning management systems, learning content management systems, authoring schools, and collaboration environments to determine what solution will work best for your situation. In this in-depth book, recognized E-Learning experts William and Katherine Horton survey the entire field of E-Learning tools for you. They provide you with a systematic way to identify, evaluate, and choose products and services based on different E-Learning scenarios. In this no-holds barred look at E-Learning tools, the authors: * Arm you with a complete list of questions to ask vendors before you commit to a product * Describe product limitations throughout each chapter and include special Rant sections that you must read * Present tips and tricks as well as common mistakes to avoid * List potential vendors and contact information by tool category The companion Web site contains design forms, checklists of features to look for in the various tool categories, spreadsheets, and lists of specific tools and vendors.

The technical resources, budgets, curriculum, and profile of the student body are all factors that play in implementing course design. Learning management systems administrate these aspects for the development of new methods for course delivery and corresponding instructional design. Learning Management Systems and Instructional Design: Best Practices in Online Education provides an overview on the connection between learning management systems and the variety of instructional design models and methods of course delivery. This book is a useful source for administrators, faculty, instructional designers, course developers, and businesses interested in the technological solutions and methods of online education.

Online learning is transcending from the text-rich educational experience of the past to a video- and audio-rich learning transformation. The greater levels of media-rich content and media-rich interaction that are currently prevalent in online leisure experiences will help to increase e-learning's future efficiency and effectiveness. Enhancing E-Learning with Media-Rich Content and Interactions presents instructional designers, educators, scholars, and researchers with the necessary foundational elements, theoretical underpinnings, and practical guidance to aid in the technology selection and design of effective online learning experiences by integrating media-rich interactions and content.

With its intuitive interface and open-source development method, the WordPress web platform has emerged as a uniquely flexible content management system (CMS) with many library-related applications. In this book Jones and Farrington, two web designer/librarians, explore the variety of ways libraries are implementing WordPress as a CMS, from simple "out-of-the-box" websites to large sites with many custom features. Emphasizing a library-specific perspective, the authors Offer a brief history of WordPress, reviewing its genesis and sketching in some possible future directions Analyze the software's strengths and weaknesses, spotlighting its advantages over other existing web publishing platforms as well as discussing the limitations libraries have encountered Present a variety of case studies, offering first-hand examples which detail why WordPress was selected, methods of implementation and degree of customization, feedback from users, and reflections on usability Discuss essential plug-ins, themes, and other specialized applications for library sites This useful book shows how scores of libraries have used WordPress to create library websites that are both user-friendly and easy to maintain.

The rapidly growing demand for online courses and supporting technology has resulted in a plethora of structural and functional changes and challenges for universities and colleges. These changes have led many distance education providers to recognize the value of understanding the fundamental concepts of both e-learning and knowledge management (K

"This book explores the theoretical and practical aspects of technological enhancements in educational environments and the popularization of contemporary learning methods in developing countries"--