Use of available software or CDs with LCD projection for learning interactions

USE OF AVAILABLE SOFTWARE OR CDs WITH LCD PROJECTION FOR LEARNING INTERACTIONS.

INTRODUCTION.

WHAT IS E-LEARNING?

COMPUTER SOFTWARES

CD-ROM

Advantages & Disadvantages.

Educational uses

LCD-PROJECTORS

Advantages & Disadvantages.

Educational uses.

1. INTRODUCTION

The demand to produce information rich environments for students is increasing. This demand has put pressure on academics to come up with more and varied types of media sources other than text to enhance the learning process and to expand the flexible learning environment. At present, World Wide Web access speed is slow, over standard modems, at down loading large amounts of high quality data, such as video and audio. Waiting for this data creates an interruption to the learning process. The need to provide plug-ins and extras for web browsers to view this media other than text, places greater technical demand on the platform of delivery and on the student/lecturer who is not technically inclined, adding further to the complexity of developing an on-line learning environment. A solution, which could be employed, is to use CD-ROM, to contain large files of information, such as video, text, animation, graphics and audio. By developing small self contained learning environments and vignettes, storing them on an external medium, i.e. CD-ROM, and linking these to the web pages, the active learning component is stimulated rather than retarded and the learning environment is enriched as opposed to encumbered. A major project developed, which utilized this concept, was Professional Challenge 98 – Murder Under the Microscope. This Problem-based Learning role playing game, which had its inaugural year in 1998, was developed to challenge University students, High School students and anyone else from the general public on there understanding of catchment management and wetland environments. Due to the immense amount of varied material related to wetland environments, the project required the design of a resource CD-ROM linked independently to a Web site which provided the rules and regulations, objectives, assessment and evaluation criteria of the game. Having the CD-ROM and the Web site independent from each other allowed the CD-ROM to be used as an independent learning environment after the game was over. Teachers would then have the ability to create their own personalized education game to reflect their own learning objectives in relation to wetland environments. This paper will present how this can be implemented into a teaching and learning strategy using Pro Challenge 98 and CD-ROM’s that are part of these flexible learning environments.

What is E-learning?

E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The Information and communication systems, whether networked or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process.[1] The term will still most likely be utilized to reference out-of-classroom and in-classroom educational experiences via technology, even as advances continue in regard to devices and curriculum.

E-learning is essentially the computer and network-enabled transfer of skills and knowledge.

E-learning applications and processes include Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classroom opportunities and digital collaboration. Content is delivered via the Internet, intranet/extranet, audio or video tape, satellite TV, and CD-ROM. It can be self-paced or instructor-led and includes media in the form of text, image, animation, streaming video and audio. Abbreviations like CBT (Computer-Based Training), IBT (Internet-Based Training) or WBT (Web-Based Training) have been used as synonyms to e-learning. Today one can still find these terms being used, along with variations of e-learning such as elearning, Elearning, and eLearning. The terms will be utilized throughout this article to indicate their validity under the broader terminology of E-learning.

E-Learning Advantages

1. Accommodate multiple learning styles. Through the use of media, text and even live technology mediated interactions.

2. Offer individualized instruction through assessment and remediation addressing the learner�s needs.

3. Provide self-paced instruction for learners wanting to move ahead or learners that wanting extra practice.

4. Offer on-demand access to learning when needed. The learner determines when he/she wants to learn.

5. Allow collaborative learning so learners do not feel isolated and maximize learning.

6. Engages users with stimulating content and interactivity that teaches and reinforces.

7. Increase retention by using reinforcers more consistently than other approaches.

8. Increase consistency when the learning is captured and delivered by technology.

9. Reduce learning time according to recent research (Web-based training cookbook, 1997, p.108)

10. Track learners and provide proof of their work and skill development.

E-Learning Disadvantages

1. Investment -- E-learning is a capital intensive endeavor and its costs are often underestimated.

2. Reduced face to face interactions �- E-learning can be isolating if care is not taken to balance the learning modalities. While adult learners can often adapt, young or traditional age learners should have a balanced learning approach with enough interaction.

3. Dependency on technology -- Technology can be a blessing or a curse as it requires resourced, a certain know-how from the learner, and maintenance.

4. Inappropriate match of technology, content, objectives, and approach -- Appropriate instruction requires a 4 way match between the technology, the nature of the content and how its presented, the objectives that must lend themselves to the �e� medium, and the approach taken to produce learning. If any of these fails E-Learning is suboptimal or perhaps worse.

Web Advantages

1. Accessibility: learners can access the content anywhere there is an Internet connection

2. Human interaction: with chat, desktop conferencing, e-mail, forums and blogs learners can reach high levels of interactivity and even intimacy with others providing an high level and, if handled right, high quality human interaction.

3. Interactivity: Web based learning may provide high level of interactivity and response to the individual learner.

4. Cost effective: Once the learning has been developed it can be reused. How cost effective depends on the nature of the teaching approach (instructor lead, self paced, etc.).

5. Learning style flexible: Web based learning can be designed to serve all learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic).

6. Learner tracking: Web based learning systems can easily track student progress.

7. Learning object based: Content can be effectively displayed and effectively reused by employing a learning object based approach highly compatible with web-based instruction.

8. Synchronous or Asynchronous: Enabling the marriage of approaches to meet instructional objectives.

9. Customizable: Web content can be customizable by user selected preferences, for example. Top

Web Disadvantages

1. Bandwidth: The biggest single problem with the web is the bandwidth available. As technology progresses this will be less of an issues but even today with DSL lines and Cable, the web is slow compared to other media. This seriously limits what is possible on the web. e-Learning is the use of technology to enable people to learn anytime and anywhere. e-Learning can include training, the delivery of just-in-time information and guidance from experts

Other Definitions

If you could stop time and inexpensively bring together all of the people in your organization who need to learn and the resources to teach them, you would not need e-learning. In the real world, people have jobs to do and budgets are limited. Your learning program will need the power of technology to overcome the limitations of time, distance and resources. You know that people learn in many different ways and at different times. To support these different learning needs, you will need different e-learning delivery methods. Additionally, you will need a way to develop and manage e-learning. Click on the following e-learning solutions to learn more.

• Asynchronous e-Learning

o Self-paced Courses

o Discussion Groups

• Synchronous e-Learning

o Virtual Classroom

o Audio and Video Conferencing o Chat

o Shared Whiteboard

o Application Sharing

o Instant Messaging

• Development and Management

o Learning Management Systems

o Learning Content Management Systems

o Knowledge Management

We can help you create an e-learning program or improve your existing e-learning program with our e-learning consulting services, e-learning software, e-learning authoring tools and learning management system (LMS). No single e-learning method is best for every learning need. You will most likely need to use several e-learning technologies as well as traditional learning methods. A blended learning program combines e-learning and traditional learning methods. Blended learning can provide the convenience, speed and cost effectiveness of e-learning with the personal touch of traditional learning.

Computer software

Computer software, or just software, is the collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions telling acomputer what to do. We can also say software refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of the computer for some purposes. Program software performs the function of the program it implements, either by directly providing instructions to the computer hardware or by serving as input to another piece of software. The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware(meaning physical devices). In contrast to hardware, software is intangible, meaning it "cannot be touched".[1] Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Sometimes the term includes data that has not traditionally been associated with computers, such as film, tapes, and records.[2] Examples of computer software include:

Application software includes end-user applications of computers such as word processors or video games, and ERP software for groups of users.

Middleware controls and co-ordinates distributed systems.

Programming languages define the syntax and semantics of computer programs. For example, many mature banking applications were written in the COBOL language, originally invented in 1959. Newer applications are often written in more modern programming languages.

System software includes operating systems, which govern computing resources. Today[when?] large[quantify] applications running on remote machines such as Websites are considered[by whom?] to be system software, because[citation needed] the end-user interface is generally through a graphical user interface, such as a web browser.

Testware is software for testing hardware or a software package.

Firmware is low-level software often stored on electrically programmable memory devices. Firmware is given its name because it is treated like hardware and run ("executed") by other software programs.

Shrinkware is the older name given to consumer-purchased software, because it was often sold in retail stores in a shrink-wrappedbox. Device drivers control parts of computers such as disk drives, printers, CD drives, or computer monitors.

Programming tools help conduct computing tasks in any category listed above. For programmers, these could be tools for debuggingor reverse engineering older legacy systems in order to check source code compatibility.

CD-ROM

CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data.[2] CD-ROMs are popularly used to distribute computer software, including games and multimedia applications, though any data can be stored (up to the capacity limit of a disc). Some CDs hold both computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player, while data (such as software or digital video) is only usable on a computer (such as ISO 9660 format PC CD-ROMs). These are called enhanced CDs. Although many people use lowercase letters in this acronym, proper presentation is in all capital letters with a hyphen between CD and ROM. At the time of the technology's introduction it had more capacity than computer hard drives common at the time. The reverse is now true, with hard drives far exceeding CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray, though some experimental descendants of it such as HVDs may have more space and faster data rates than today's biggest hard drive.

'Media'

Compact Disc

CD-ROM discs are identical in appearance to audio CDs, and data are stored and retrieved in a very similar manner (only differing from audio CDs in the standards used to store the data). Discs are made from a 1.2 mm thick disc of polycarbonate plastic, with a thin layer of aluminium to make a reflective surface. The most common size of CD-ROM disc is 120 mm in diameter, though the smaller Mini CD standard with an 80 mm diameter, as well as numerous non-standard sizes and shapes (e.g., business card-sized media) are also available. Data is stored on the disc as a series of microscopic indentations. A laser is shone onto the reflective surface of the disc to read the pattern of pits and lands ("pits", with the gaps between them referred to as "lands"). Because the depth of the pits is approximately one-quarter to one-sixth of the wavelength of the laser light used to read the disc, the reflected beam's phase is shifted in relation to the incoming beam, causing destructive interference and reducing the reflected beam's intensity. This pattern of changing intensity of the reflected beam is converted into binary data.

CD ROM Advantages

1. Better or faster graphics than on the web.

• Graphics may be embedded, in larger number, and with larger file formats than on the web. 2. Better audio and video than on the web.

• Video is more detailed and can be seen in larger windows than web-based video.

• Video is much faster to access than web-based streaming video or flash movies.

3. Use of executable files (programs) can make a CD Rom have features difficult to accomplish on the web including realistic simulations.

4. Reduced costs as a CD ROM might be used by many learners and the media is cheap to replicate.

Note: DVDs share many of the advantages and disadvantages with CDs. The main edge of DVDs over CDs is, of course, the much greater capacity. Top

CD ROM Disadvantages

1. Lack of face to face interaction with instructor and peers

2. Inability to update the content as in web based instruction. If you have highly changing content CD might not be appropriate.

3. More costly distribution than web based learning due to the need to mail the CD.

4. Student management is not available as on the web where the instructor in many systems the instructor can log in and see where each learner has been and how much they have accomplished. This can be resolved but it requires a hybrid approach including the CD ROM and an external database usually accessed over the web.

5. Challenge saving note and bookmarks-- saving user data onto the CD Rom is not possible. This can also be overcome with the use of a hybrid approach.

EDUCATIONAL USES OF CD-ROM.

There are many ways to use this CD-ROM including: Adult Education classes, Family Education workshops, Congregational School lessons and a range of other educational activities. One of the most useful applications is to create personal, family, or Congregational using the Hebrew text and colorful illustrations on the CD-ROM. Each individual page can be printed on a standard color printer, while close-ups of the Illustrations can be either printed or captured electronically for use with word processing and desktop publishing software. For instructions on how to print and capture the pages and illustrations of this be sure to read the Tutorial or FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). There is also a myriad of learning opportunities that educators can structure around the CD-ROM itself as an electronic and educational resource. First, some general Suggestions about THEMES/ACTIVITIES and SETTINGS.

OVER HEAD PROJECTOR

An overhead projector typically consists of a large box containing a very bright lamp and a fan to cool it. On top of the box is a large fresnel lens that collimates the light. Above the box, typically on a long arm, is a mirror and lens that focusses and redirects the light forward instead of up. Transparencies are placed on top of the lens for display. The light from the lamp travels through the transparency and into the mirror where it is shone forward onto a screen for display. The mirror allows both the presenter and the audience to see the image at the same time, the presenter looking down at the transparency as if writing, the audience looking forward at the screen. The height of the mirror can be adjusted, to both focus the image and to make the image larger or smaller depending on how close the projector is to the screen.

Use in education

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010) The overhead projector facilitates an easy low-cost interactive environment for educators. Teaching materials can be pre-printed on plastic sheets, upon which the educator can directly write using a non-permanent, washable color marking pen. This saves time, since the transparency can be pre-printed and used repetitively, rather than having materials written manually before each class. The overhead is typically placed at a comfortable writing height for the educator and allows the educator to face the class, facilitating better communication between the students and teacher. The enlarging features of the projector allow the educator to write in a comfortable small script in a natural writing position rather than writing in an overly large script on a blackboard and having to constantly hold his arm out in midair to write on the blackboard. When the transparency sheet is full of written or drawn material, it can simply be replaced with a new, fresh sheet with more pre-printed material, again saving class time vs a blackboard that would need to be erased and teaching materials rewritten by the educator. Following the class period, the transparencies are easily restored to their original unused state by washing off with soap and water.

LCD overhead displays

In the early 1980s–1990s, overhead projectors were often used as part of a classroom computer display/projection system. A liquid-crystal panel mounted in a plastic frame was placed on top of the overhead projector and connected to the video output of the computer, often splitting off the normal monitor output. A cooling fan in the frame of the LCD panel would blow cooling air across the LCD to prevent overheating that would fog the image. The first of these LCD panels were monochrome-only, and could display NTSC video output such as from an Apple II computer or VCR. In the late 1980s color models became available, capable of "thousands" of colors (16-bit color), for the color Macintosh and VGA PCs. The displays were never particularly fast to refresh or update, resulting in the smearing of fast-moving images, but it was acceptable when nothing else was available. The Do-It-Yourself community has started using this idea to make low-cost home theater projectors. By removing the casing and backlight assembly of a common LCD monitor, one can use the exposed LCD screen in conjunction with the overhead projector to project the contents of the LCD screen to the wall at a much lower cost than with standard LCD projectors. Due to the mirroring of the image in the head of the overhead projector, the image on the wall is "re-flipped" to where it would be if one was looking at the LCD screen normally.

Projector may refer to:

• Image projector, a device that projects an image on a surface

o Video projector, a device that projects a video signal from computer, home theater system etc.

o Movie projector, a device that projects moving pictures from a filmstrip

o Slide projector, a device that projects a still image with a transparent base

o Overhead projector, a device that projects a transparent image

o Opaque projector, a predecessor to the overhead projector

o Magic lantern (projector), a historic projection device

o Camera obscura, the historic ancestor to projection devices

o Enlarger, a device used to produce photographic prints from negatives

• Ceiling projector, a device used to measure the height of clouds

• Projection (linear algebra), a linear transformation of a vector space

• Projector (album), an album by Dark Tranquillity

• A type of mortar (weapon)

• A version control system used in the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop

• As a synonym for promoter, e.g. in the phrase "railway projectors"

• Projector (patent) is an archaic term in US patent law meaning original inventor to reduce an invention to practice.

Types of projector

• Carousel slide projectors

• Straight-tray slide projectors

• Dual slide projectors

• Overhead projectors

• Single slide projectors (manual form)

• Viewer slide projectors

• Slide Cube projectors

• Stereo slide projectors (projects two slides simultaneously with different polarizations; slides appear as three-dimensional with polarizing glasses) • Large Format Slide Projector for uses on stages, for events or for architectural and advertising issues of high light output needs.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF LCDS IN SCHOOLS?

Students savvy about technology often learn best via methods that bring learning to life. Using LCD projectors in school, teachers can reach a generation of students who have grown up with computers. Multimedia Presentations

1. Projectors with liquid crystal displays (LCDs) can be hooked up to computers to produce colorful multimedia presentations. LCDs are known for producing a spectrum of colors and shades using their own light source. Classroom Uses

2. Anything available on an individual computer can be projected onto a large classroom screen or wall. Internet sites, Power Point projects, music videos, science lab instructions and math tutorials come to life at the press of a button. Goodbye Tired Methods

3. As MP3s replaced CDs, LCD projectors are replacing antiquated methods such as slide projectors and overhead projectors. Modern students appreciate when a teacher ditches blurry and messy overhead transparencies in favor of clear LCD images. Multiple Approaches

4. Using LCD projectors allows educators to reach students with multiple approaches. Students enjoy seeing, hearing and interacting with technology rather than simply reading a textbook or listening to a lecture.

Considerations

Other benefits of LCD projectors include their reasonable cost, size and portability. Projectors are small enough to be mounted in classrooms or placed on carts to move easily from room to room. LCD projectors have become affordable for schools with a limited budget.