Architecture Solutions for E-Learning Systems             Call for Book Chapters     Introduction E-learning has become a major form of education. E-learning systems include learning content, but also the infrastructure that allows content to be created, stored, accessed, and delivered and the learning process to be managed. The architecture of these e-learning systems is a crucial aspect. Architectures define structures that connect a system as an e-learning software and information system with its instructional and educational context. The architecture notion shall be deployed here in a broad, integrative sense covering a range of facets, embracing software and information architecture. The software architectures need to enable instruction and need to facilitate the learning experience.     The Overall Objective of the Book The architecture of a e-learning system needs to implement instruction and sound education, i.e. needs to realise the successful and effective learning experience. The aim of the book is to introduce the principles and components of the architectures of e-learning systems, to demonstrate how instruction is reflected in architectures of these systems, and to create an understanding of how e-learning systems are architecturally designed, implemented, and operated in terms of the instructional and content aspects involved. Specifically, the book aims to illustrate common structures in e-learning system architectures, but also solutions for specific forms such as knowledge-based, distributed, or adaptive applications of e-learning. Aspects from foundations to deployment experience to standards shall be covered. The aim is to provide conceptual understanding, but also a practical guideline that would allow readers to design their own infrastructure based on the presented architectural principals and practices.

The Target Audience

The book targets professionals in two categories: firstly, software developers of learning content, management infrastructure, and learning technology systems in general, and secondly, instructional designers and content developers for e-learning applications, who are Web technology literate and have an interest in and a broad understanding of aspects of the underlying software layer. Moreover, students at undergraduate and postgraduate level in computing and educational technology disciplines will get an overview of the issues related to architecture design and researchers will get an overview of the different angles of e-learning system architectures and will be able to use the references list of each of the chapters as a starting point for further research.  

 

Suggested Topics

Suggested topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Software Architecture - general frameworks for E-Learning Systems
  • comprehensive accounts of architectural styles
  • building blocks of e-learning architectures
  • functional models and activities
  • learning object infrastructures
  • service-based architectures
• Conceptual and Learning Architecture
  • instruction and content development in the context of architecture modelling
  • development framework and processes
• Content and Learning Object Architectures
  • reusable learning objects
  • active learning objects
• Management Architecture
  • distributed
  • inter-institutional
• Special-purpose Architectures
  • ontology-based
  • intelligent
  • adaptive
  • distributed
  • collaborative
  • media-intensive
• Standards and Interoperability
  • SCORM RTE
  • IEEE LTSA
  • CORDRA
  • Web standards (XML and Semantics Web, Web services)
• Architecture Quality and Evaluations