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This research aims to investigate how a generic web‐based ITS can be created which will adapt the training content in real time, to the needs of the individual trainee across any domain.

After examining the various alternatives SCORM was adopted in this project because it provided an infrastructure that makes it possible to deliver personalised learning dynamically using re‐usable learning objects.

The results show that a system which presents a student with content that is supplementary to an authored course should be accompanied by a tool to help the trainee's navigation. For such a tool, key functionality would be: first, to identify learning objects that would take the student towards the ultimate learning goals; second, to suggest a pathway through the authored course structure and additional learning objects to the student; and finally, to present the student with different choices of pathway, such as fastest, most comprehensive and most popular routes.

This investigation has taken another approach of adapting the course by displaying an adapted set of learning objects to the trainee, instead of using a linear course structure.

This paper briefly introduces the trends towards e‐learning and amplifies some examples of state of the art systems, pointing out that all of these are, to date, limited by adaptability and shareability of content and that it is necessary for industry to develop and use an inter‐operability standard. Uses SCORM specifications to specify the skeleton of an architecture to develop an advanced learning management system.

Seeks to show that the software development process is based on the premise to provide an enhanced e‐learning environment by supporting individual learning styles and preferences through the use of emerging adaptive technologies that also enable performance evaluation in the context of meeting agreed learning outcomes.

The design methodology adopts a case study approach that follows the design and implementation of a learner management system.

Web‐based intelligent tutoring systems, aimed at compensating for the absence of a real world tutor have to date mostly concentrated on providing assistance in a particular subject domain and not focused on the problem of utilising content represented as learning objects across multi‐subject domains. This paper describes the creation of a non‐dictatorial tutoring system that has been developed at NTP Information Solutions Ltd. A visualisation tool has bee4n created called “learning navigator” to help learners to visualise the best path through assignable units extracted from a learning repository.

The system is currently able to suggest new paths that take into account learning styles through learner performance, learner previous experience and learning objectives. Future work will include extending this criterion to take into account further individual learning preferences.

The sharable content objects (SCOs) approach to the software solution extends the internationally recognised SCORM development standards. As a consequence the paper contributes to international e‐learning standards development but also extends current knowledge of the role of adaptive technologies in supporting learning styles and preferences.

The paper aims to describe dynamic presentation generator that presents the same content in different ways through different media object and presentation layouts. The different media presentation will then display to student via Learning Management Systems (LMS). The paper also presents SCORM Compliant Learning Objects and Conceptual Model Instance (CMI). The prototype is then evaluated to demonstrate the performance of the students where the CMI data are collected for each student. The data collected include media preference, test score and time spent to study the Computer Programming subjects. The results show that with more media object used, students spent more time on the Webpages. However, the results also showed that using more media object may not produce better results in the assessment.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss research that leads to identifying new metadata for learning objects and extending the SCORM standard.

The research involves a questionnaire to collect data from users of e‐learning resources and a statistical analysis of that data. The discussion employs concepts from such areas as e‐learning, didactics, and statistics.

The main finding is the identification of several learning objects metadata, including those that are not defined in current e‐learning standards. Some of the new metadata could be introduced to the existing standard metadata categories; the others could be used to form completely new categories.

The general solution has been developed but more work is still necessary.

The ideas discussed in the paper, especially the identified metadata, could be used to extend the standard metadata (e.g. in the SCORM standard).

The paper presents both a method for identifying learning objects metadata and conclusions that, after further development, could be applied to extend the metadata parts of e‐learning standards. Both new categories and modification to some existing ones could offer additional support for users who need to choose a suitable resource.

The sharable content object reference model (SCORM) has become one of the important specifications forcontent packaging and platform development in open and distance learning (ODL). SCORM-compliant learning objects(SCLO) areknowledge repositories that have been meta-tagged for SCORMcompliance.SCLO can be easily interoperated among different learning management systems (LMS) without being tied to a single content provider or authoring tool. The content can last longer because it is easier to justify ongoing compatibility with standard content. The purpose of this research is to examine student acceptance of SCLO. The involvement of students wasimportant for a successful content delivery process. Therefore,students'acceptance behavior should be assessed as this reflects whethertheywill eventually adopt SCLO in their learning. Data were collected through Davis's extended technology acceptance survey instrument. The data collected werefurther analysed and evaluated. The results of thisstudy are useful for instructors and course designers with respect to the use of SCLO in their respective courses or anycontent deliveryprocess.

In the process of the implementation of the eBologna program and the recent change of the university system, curricula at German universities have been redesigned; courses have been condensed and learning content has been re‐structured into modules, each of which requires an evaluation. Simultaneously, skills required for working in research and development changed; knowledge of mathematical or numerical algorithms and programming skills play an increasingly important role in the daily job routine of the working engineer. The purpose of this paper is to describe, implement and test a new course on numerical simulations along with a new software infrastructure, addressing this predicament.

To support learning by practical exercises, engineering faculties, the faculties of mathematics and physics, and the Computing Center of the University of Stuttgart setup a project for implementing an online programming lab for teaching the required skills. The focus of this project is to provide easy access to the necessary software tools, to avoid the overhead of installation and maintenance, and to seamlessly integrate these tools into the e‐learning infrastructure of the university.

Student evaluations showed a high acceptance of the project and the developed software is now well‐accepted and taken as a self‐evident part of the homework routine.

An online programming lab that integrates seamlessly into the e‐learning infrastructure of the university and is platform and system independent by following the established SCORM standard.

The MIT libraries were called upon to recommend a metadata scheme for the resources contained in MIT’s OpenCourseWare (OCW) project. The resources in OCW needed descriptive, structural, and technical metadata. The SCORM standard, which uses IEEE Learning Object Metadata for its descriptive standard, was selected for its focus on educational objects. However, it was clear that the Libraries would need to recommend how the standard would be applied and adapted to accommodate needs that were not addressed in the standard’s specifications. The newly formed MIT Libraries Metadata Unit adapted established practices from AACR2 and MARC traditions when facing situations in which there were no precedents to follow.

Distance education has been an important research issue of multimedia computing and communication. Since the instructional activities are implemented on cyberspace, how to control behaviors of students and to increase the degree of communication awareness have been a challenging issue. We propose a system based on the scaffolding theory. Behaviors of students are supervised by an intelligent control system, which is programmed by the instructor under our generic interface. The interface is built based on virtual reality and real‐time communication technologies. Students and instructors have their individual avatars that are controlled by a video game like navigation. Those behaviors that violate virtual campus regulations are detected and interceptive actions are performed. The proposed system is implemented on a Windows system and can be used for general purpose of distance education.

This paper seeks to investigate and report on the status of identity management systems and e‐learning standards across Europe for promoting mobility, collaboration and the sharing of contents and services in higher education institutions.

The present research work examines existing e‐learning standards and the tools and processes applied to managing the identity of learners registered for programmes of study in higher education. The paper draws on recent developments and argues that the creation of identity management federations is mandatory to provide the mobility of users and to permit the exchange of contents and services between institutions.

It is revealed that it is crucial to create identity management federation to provide for ease of mobility and facilitate collaboration and sharing information amongst staff and students in higher education.

The challenges arising from language, culture and differences in systems for the regions require consideration. Future work intends to incorporate some of these issues, to examine and report on them from the diverse perspectives, taking into account, the impact of globalisation.

This paper presents the main features of e‐learning standards and how they can be used in conjunction with identity management systems to create collaborative learning objects repositories to promote a more effective learning experience and a more competitive European space for higher education, with respect to the requirements of knowledge‐based societies.