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An effective e-learning system involves a systematic process of planning, design, development, evaluation, and implementation of a meaningful learning environment where learning is fostered and supported. While there still exists some uncertainty about its role in education and professional training, there is a growing concern about the issues and strategies of e-learning that may be faced by both providers and learners of e-learning in future. This technical report addresses some of the main issues and strategies that are currently encountered in e-learning

T., Kanendran

Savarimuthu, Johnny *

Burra, Venkata Durga Kumar *

Sunway College Journal 1, 99–107(2004) 
________________________________________ 
E-mail: akanen@sunway.edu.my. This article is a condensed version of a paper that was presented at the 
International Symposium on E-Learning 2003 (ISEL-2003), University Malaya Sabah, 20–21 October 2003.  
TECHNICAL REPORT: 
ISSUES AND STRATEGIES OF E-LEARNING 
 
 
KANENDRAN T. A.a 
JOHNNY SAVARIMUTHU 
B. V. DURGA KUMAR 
Sunway College 
 
 
ABSTRACT 
 
An effective e-learning system involves a systematic process of planning, design, development, evaluation, and 
implementation of a meaningful learning environment where learning is fostered and supported. While there still 
exists some uncertainty about its role in education and professional training, there is a growing concern about the 
issues and strategies of e-learning that may be faced by both providers and learners of e-learning in future. This 
technical report addresses some of the main issues and strategies that are currently encountered in e-learning. 
 
Key words: E-learning, technology, strategies, participation, quality. 
 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
In today’s world, a new level of commitment is required in order to educate the young 
generation and e-learning perhaps emerges as  an important tool of imparting knowledge 
and information. The challenge, however, is to provide a suitable means to  disseminate 
disparate information in a dynamic, open and distributed e-learning environment. The two 
areas that this technical report will address are issues and strategies of e-learning. 
 
 
ISSUES 
 
The issues of e-learning are: 
 
· Creating an e-learning system 
· E-learning technology 
· Components of an e-learning system 
· Learning participation 
· Quality issues 
 
 
Creating An E-Learning System 
 
In setting up an e-learning system, careful attention has to be paid to the availability of 
skilled and qualified people. These will include database developers, web developers, 
100 Kanendran T. A., Johnny S., and B. V. Durga Kumar 
subject experts, management experts and technical experts. Within the e-learning system it 
is important to adhere to a total model, a segment model, a clear methodology and a test 
plan. In addition, the main resources required are software tools, systems database and 
middleware (Inglis et al., 2002). 
Setting up a web server on the network requires naming the computer as well as 
providing it a unique Internet Protocol number. File server applications are kept on a central 
computer called a computer server. Security must be taken into consideration when setting 
up such a system. Most systems allow implementation of various levels of security. Most of 
the current web traffic is unencrypted. It is necessary to set up a mirror site on a powerful 
server to support  the e-learning system.  
Server partitioning is another method that makes it easy to load the server and split the 
facilities to different servers. Voluntary system is one that relies on users to choose a 
particular mirror computer. Machine selector software is another idea to allow students to 
access a central server, which then automatically sends them to a mirror computer. When 
preparing material to be used on a mirror system, it is important that all of the links are 
relative. If each of the links is absolute, users will always be brought to the machine 
associated with that link (Horton & Horton, 2003). 
 
 
E-Learning Technology  
 
E-learning technology is the infrastructure that a major shift to online delivery is likely to 
necessitate. Figure 1 shows the role of external function in the e-learning production  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 1. E-learning production processes 
 
 
process. One external function is when the building of the e-learning system is passed to a 
firm that specializes in e- learning, multimedia or web site construction. This relieves  
Analyse 
Design 
Build 
Evaluate 
External 
Buy or Lease 
External 
 Sunway College Journal 1, 99–107(2004) 101 
organizations  of having to maintain a staff of technical specialists and the associated 
hardware and software producers required. 
Another external function is the design-and-build functions. In this approach consultants 
are used to complete the solution. The other way is to buy or lease existing courses or other 
learning products from an application service provider (ASP). This approach works well 
when the training needs can be met by courses with generic content. The ASP maintains an 
e-learning library on its server.  
 
 
 
                  
 
Figure 2. Categories of tools 
 
 
Figure 2 shows the categories of tools for developing e-learning technology. The curriculum 
is a collection of learning products. The course is typically composed of clusters of smaller 
lessons, each organized to accomplish one of the major objectives of the course as a whole. 
At a lower level are the individual pages, each designed to accomplish a single low-level 
objective that answers a single question. At the bottom level are media components. These 
are the individual pictures, blocks of text, animation sequences, and video passages that 
contribute to the page.  
Figure 3 shows how the learner uses a web browser to access content offered on a web 
server. A big part of that content may have come from a web site authoring tool. Choosing a 
browser may also be based on what media players will be used or not used for the kind of 
content e-learning will contain. Web servers are core technology for e-learning. 
 
 
Access  Offer  Create  
 
 
 
 
Figure 3. Product and process 
 
 
Figure 4 shows the collaboration tools used in e-learning. These usually consist of a 
server component that routes messages among learners and collaboration clients that run on 
the computers of the individual learners. The collaboration server (CS) can work directly 
through the browser. 
The collaboration tools include common online meeting products and services. Sound, 
animation, video and other media may require specific authoring and editing tools. Video 
and sound may also require special media servers to ensure that they play efficiently over 
the network. All projects reuse existing documents and spreadsheets. Content converters 
help producers make existing documents and other content available online. 
Curriculum Course Lesson Pages 
Web browser Web server Web site 
Media 
102 Kanendran T. A., Johnny S., and B. V. Durga Kumar 
Create Offer   Access 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 4. Collaboration tools 
 
 
Hardware 
 
The main component is a processor having sufficient speed, bandwidth, generation model 
internal cache and memory. In addition, a video camera and pointing devices are also 
required. 
 
Tools to Access E-Learning 
 
The choice of tools is crucial as most of the time one may have little control over these 
components. Of these, web browsers are perhaps the most important. Internet Explorer is 
very popular in business, especially the ones that have been standardized on the Windows 
operating system. Netscape Navigator was the first full-featured browser. Mozilla is an open 
source browser available for Windows and Macintosh Linux. Amaya is the World Wide 
Web consortium test-bed. AOL (America Online), the world’s largest ISP, provides its users 
with a customized version of the Internet Explorer browser. Opera browser prides itself on 
being small, fast and standard. Lynx is a well-established text-only browser.  
 
 
Components  
 
The major components of an e-leaning system are: 
 
· Subject experts · Media developers 
· Instructors · Editors 
· Designers · Technical experts 
 
 
The other components are:  
 
· Well-defined learning objectives 
· High-resolution graphics 
· Video clips 
· Animation 
· Interactivity 
· Voice-over, music, sound effects 
Web site Web server Web browser 
collaboration 
CS 
 Sunway College Journal 1, 99–107(2004) 103 
· Authoring or programming 
· Simulations 
· Testing and scoring  
· Course management to track individual records and bookmarks 
 
 
Learning Participation 
 
Learning participation— an integrated part of e-learning— must be user-friendly and easily 
accessible . The subject content must be clear with detailed descriptions  that can be 
understood without difficulty. It should contain updated activities, assignments and 
assessment data. Including a help desk and technical support will enhance the user benefit of 
the system (White & Weight, 2000). 
Recommendations for increasing participation and satisfaction in e-learning include: 
 
· Use targeted dynamic and continuous marketing activities, including traditional 
marketing methods, such as face-to-face discussion and print advertising.  
· Provide time and space to learn on company time.  
· Create a learning culture that encourages and appreciates e-learning.  
· Develop an environment where peer support is widespread.  
· Ensure that frustration with e-learning technology is not a barrier to successful e-
learning.  
· Develop incentives beyond candy bars and meaningless certificates to those who 
provide valuable benefits. Examples of such incentives are peer recognition and 
career advancement.  
· Continue to implement and develop synchronous, collaborative courses that fuel the 
learner’s fundamental desire for interaction while more closely simulating the 
classroom experience.  
· Blend e-learning with other complementary forms of instruction to attract those who 
may be uncomfortable with learning via technology. 
 
 
Quality Issues 
 
High quality interactive learning materials exemplify potentially new and exciting ways of 
approaching education and training. The demand for excellent education and training 
programs has never been greater. Students, governments, funding bodies and communit ies 
expect education systems  to deliver high quality products, services and graduates (Abby, 
2000). 
Consideration of quality in software should address the following issues:  
 
· Bug-free 
· Does what it is supposed to do 
· Usable for intended audience and tasks 
· Aesthetic quality 
104 Kanendran T. A., Johnny S., and B. V. Durga Kumar 
· Provides a satisfying learner experience 
· Only valid in context  
· Appropriate for learners’ ability 
· Framework setting 
 
 
STRATEGIES OF E-LEARNING 
 
The main purpose of a strategy is to make out a set of proposals to show how education 
leaders, teachers, learners and commercial suppliers may contribute to the process of 
change. The questions that need to be considered include these: 
 
i. How may teacher educators turn a traditional educational institution— whether 
school, college or university— into one that blends the best of the old and the new? 
ii.  What would it mean for general teachers to mix e-learning with traditional 
methods, enabling them to offer more active and creative ways of learning in all 
subjects, disciplines and skills? 
iii.  How do we make sure that the personal needs of the learners are met and that the 
way they are assessed keeps pace with these new kinds of learning? 
iv. How may commercial suppliers of ICT system, software publishers and service 
providers support these new approaches that will, after all, provide them with 
graduates possessing highly employable skills?  
 
 
The Strategy Document 
 
An e-learning strategy needs a clear and precise strategy document containing the following 
areas: 
 
· Vision · Content 
· Success benchmark · Culture 
· Learning value chain · Transition 
· Technology  
 
 
Vision in E-Learning 
 
The first step in e-learning is to have a vision. A careful introduction and implementation of 
e-learning can empower learners immensely irrespective of age and allow them to take full 
responsibility for what they learn. It can make teaching more creative and innovative, offer a 
more flexible and responsive educational system, generate greater professionalism and 
empower educators to develop their own capacity by integrating e-learning with class-room 
teaching methods. 
At the heart of the strategy, of course, is the objective to realize the full potential of 
digital technology and include it in all learning and teaching processes. The proposed action 
 Sunway College Journal 1, 99–107(2004) 105 
areas are four: leadership and management, transforming teaching/learning, prioritizing 
learners’ needs and learning outcomes, and enabling e-learning to work better for users and 
suppliers. 
E-learning strategies should provide a consistent framework within which education 
leaders can discuss the direction and pace of change as they develop their own e-learning 
strategies. A favourable environment must be created for the teachers to take greater 
responsibility for the way in which teaching and learning is carried out and encourage them 
to become innovators in the learning process. Also, a team of committed and skilled 
academic staff may be required to realize the potential of e-learning in a fast changing 
learning environment. Educational organizations, agencies and services will also need to 
focus on linking with each other to meet personal learning needs at every stage. Moreover, 
e-learning can provide the means to assess the new kinds of e-learning skills. Teachers and 
learners must be able to access, use, create and share high quality learning materials  
 
 
Success Benchmarks  
 
A strategy with a clearly defined vision is likely to be successful. The following are some 
of the areas that provide benchmarks of success: 
 
 
· Key performance results · Environmental fit 
· Management · Ease of implementation 
· Resource availability  
 
 
 
Success in the above areas requires a significant initial investment in resources and a 
continuing commitment by the host organization to long-term sustainability. Identifying the 
benefits and determining the role of e-learning are crucial for the development of future 
policies and strategies. 
 
 
Learning Value Chain 
 
The purpose of this value chain is to provide a commonly understood language for digital 
learning content market. It represents the value that is added to digital learning content 
through the key stages from conception to use. It also depicts the key roles undertaken by 
organizations involved in these stages. The learning value chain is an important element of 
the learning strategy. Learning channels that currently exist and those that need to be added 
have to be identified. 
The design, a hybrid of a value chain and process diagrams, follows the evolution of 
raw content through various phases of value-add to finally reach a finished stage when the 
core meaning within the content is transferred to learners as knowledge, skills and 
understanding. 
106 Kanendran T. A., Johnny S., and B. V. Durga Kumar 
Technology 
 
The pace of technological change is so phenomenal that a strategy for technology can be 
outdated even before the final decision on choice is made and executed. There is always a 
time lag between decision-making and implementation which makes it difficult to fit 
technology into the overall e-learning strategy. This issue needs to be seriously addressed 
in the strategy document.  
 
 
Content 
 
The content of e-learning experience needs be learner-centred and integrated into the 
learning value chain.  
 
 
Culture  
 
There is no doubt that an e-learning implementation will have an impact on corporate 
culture and vice versa. To be successful, an e-learning implementation needs to manage the 
impact by anticipating its effects and creating mitigations where necessary. In addition, 
implementation also needs to recognize the difficulty of changing human behaviour. 
 
 
Transition 
 
Change and transition are realities within organizations today. Management is always 
concerned with the changes and transitions that take place over a period of time. Therefore, 
any strategy should include a plan for transition from the content to the proposed level of 
learning (Rosenberg, 2000). 
 
 
CONCLUSION  
 
It is clear that e-learning is not about digital technologies any more than classroom teaching 
is about chalkboards. E-learning involves people and it is about using technology systems to 
support constructive social interactions, including human learning. The e-learning concept 
may work best when it is combined with some face-to-face classroom experience. An 
eventual goal may be for students to have their own notebook computers to support both in-
school and at-home learning. 
 
 
REFERENCES 
 
Abby, B. (2000). Instructional and cognitive impacts of web based education. New York: Wiley. 
Horton, W., & Horton, K. (2003). E-learning tools and technologies. Indianapolis: Wiley. 
 Sunway College Journal 1, 99–107(2004) 107 
Inglis, A., Ling, P., & Joosten, V. (2002). Delivering digitally (Managing transition to the knowledge 
media). London: Kogan Page. 
Rosenberg, M. (2000). Technologies and knowledge management. New York: Wiley. 
White, K. W., & Weight, B. H. (Eds) (2000). The online teaching guide: a handbook of attitudes, 
strategies and techniques for the virtual classroom. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 13–23. 
 
 
 


Technical report : issues and strategies of e-learning

oai:eprints.sunway.edu.my:1Victor Turner's concepts of liminality and communitas have left an indelible mark on anthropological studies on ritual. Basically, Turner argued that there is a dialectic between the mediacy of social structure (characterised as a 'closed society' or 'status system') and the immediacy of communitas (an 'open society'). This article argues for a more fluid understanding of these kinds of social processes, drawing from Arjun Appadurai's char acterisation of a 'locality'as a 'complex phenomenological quality, constituted by a series of links between the sense of social immediacy, the technologies of interactivity and the relativity of contexts'. This is illustrated through the ethnographic description and analy sis of a local annual Hindu festival in an urban squatter settlement in Malaysia. While the mythic territoriality of the female deity primarily engenders symbolic boundary-making and life-sustaining activities, it also constitutes other layers of social spaces for organ isers and participants alike. Individual and corporate agendas overlap and criss-cross one another. Local knowledge is both parochial and constituted within the wider religious, social and political landscapes. Altogether, these kinds of activities contribute towards a 'public culture' of Hinduism in Malaysia, characterised both by differentiation and the semblance of communitas

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