Digital Libraries and Online Education

Digital Libraries What is Digital Libraries? Digital libraries are the logical extensions and augmentations of physical libraries in the electronic information society. The field of digital libraries deals with augmenting human civilization through the application of digital technology to the information problems addressed by institutions. Work in digital libraries focuses on integrating services and better serving human needs, through holistic treatment irrespective of interface, location, time, language and systems.

Characteristics: Electonic digital formats Networked (sharable information) Organization apparent (a library not a pile) collection development policy Systematic data structuring and tagging Use(fair)policy Persistent Guidance and referral Community based

Library Extension: Current Digital Library R&D

Technology: Infrastructure Access Interfaces Software engineering

Community: Changing practice of work and learning Intellectual property Interoperation and Standards Information security and authority.

Content Selection and Acquisition Multimedia Indexing and Metadata Maintenance and Preservation

Services Query and Selection Reference Filtering Learning Instruction Consortia, clearinghouses, portals

Online Education

What is Online Education? It is an extension of the traditional form of distance education. Typically it involves the use of the internet to do things such us: - to access learning materials - to interact with the content, instructor, and other learners - to obtain support during the learning process

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Learning over Traditional Instruction

Advantages The course become an artifact (a videotape, Web site, set of archived messages) and thus can be evaluated in detail and continually improved. The course is available virtually any time or in any location and thus is accessible to a far broader range of students. Students can learn at their own pace thus improving the learning process.

Disadvantages: Success is dependent on technology. When a course a presented to students outside the usual classroom environment, it demands a significant level of maturity and commitment from the students. Some courses or programs demand additional support which in most cases will also have to deliver at a distance.

Student’s Perspective: Students can learn any time. Students can learn at any place. Student can learn at their own pace, giving extra time to new material and speeding through material already known, with pauses for tutorial help or supplement course. Students can learn more efficiently when concepts are presented with multiple media so students can select those which best assist their own understanding and retention.

Students can learn only what they need to know, reinforcing both retention and motivation learning and then applying individual modules of a course. The course content and course quality are constant; organizations can document training coverage and student learning over a wide geographical or temporal area. The course can be examined and improved.

The need for costly, permanent teaching facilities is reduced; learning can take place at home, in dorms and workplaces, or in temporary facilities.