Page 168 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

5.2 E-Learning, E-Training, and E-Books 149

Visual interactive simulation is closely related to virtual ized format. Instructors can access modules and transfer
reality (Chapter 2). them on to their university’s Blackboard sites, which can be
accessed by their students.
A professor can easily incorporate a book’s content into
E-Learning Management Systems Blackboard’s software. As of 2009, Blackboard also delivers
corporate and government employee training programs
A learning management system (LMS) (also known as a worldwide which increases productivity and reduces costs.
course management system) consists of software applica- For details, see blackboard.com and en.wikipedia.org/
tions for managing e-training and e-learning programs wiki/Blackboard_Inc.
including content, scheduling, delivery tips, and so forth.
Capterra Inc. Learning Management System Software (cap- Example 2: Moodle
terra.com/learning-management-system-software) and An alternative to Blackboard is a mostly free open source
similar systems exhibit these capabilities: system called Moodle (see moodle.org).

Electronic Books (E-Books)
• Provide effective student–instructor interactions.
• Centralize and automate program administration. An electronic book (e-book) is a book in digital format that
• Enable the use of self-service and self-guided e-learn-
can be read on a computer screen, mobile device, or on a
ing services. dedicated device known as an e-reader. A major event in
• Create and rapidly deliver learning content modules.
electronic publishing occurred in 2000, when Stephen King’s
• Provide a single point of access to all e-learning book Riding the Bullet was published exclusively online. For
online materials.
$2.50, readers were able to purchase the e-book on Amazon.
• Help manage compliance requirements. com and other e-book providers. Several hundred thousand
• Consolidate training initiatives on a scalable Web-
copies were sold in a few days. However, hackers broke the
based platform. security protection, copied the book and distributed free
• Support the portability of systems. copies of the book online. (See bookbusinessmag.com/arti-
• Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of e-learn- cle/after-riding-bullet-12555/1#.)
ing.
Publishers of e-books have since become more sophisti-
• Personalize content and enable knowledge reuse.
cated, and online publishing has become more secure. Today
there are several types of e-books that can be delivered and
read in various ways:
Many companies (e.g., Saba Software, Inc.; saba.com/us/
lms, SumTotal Systems; sumtotalsystems.com) provide
• Via a dedicated reader. The book must be down-
methodologies, software, hardware, and consultation about
e-learning and its management. For more on LMS, see en. loaded to an e-reader such as Amazon’s Kindle.
• Via Web access. Readers can locate a book on the
wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system and
watch the video titled “What is a Learning Management publisher’s website and read it there. The book can-
not be downloaded.
System?” (2:51 min) at proprofs.com/c/category/lms.
Note that it is possible to control what the students are • Via Web download and smart phones. Readers
can download the book to a PC.
doing when they self-study. For example, according to
Streitfeld (2013), teachers can find out when students are • Via a general-purpose reader. The book can be
downloaded to a mobile device such as an iPad or
skipping pages, not bothering to take notes, or failing to
highlight significant passages. iPhone.
• Via a Web server. The contents of a book are stored
One of the most effective tools for learning management
is Blackboard Inc. (blackboard.com; now combined with on a Web server and downloaded for print-on-
demand (which is discussed later in this book).
WebCT). A brief description follows.
Example 1: Blackboard
Blackboard Inc. (blackboard.com) is the world’s largest Most e-books require some type of payment. Readers
supplier of course management system software for educa- either pay before they download a book from a website, such
tional institutions. How do Blackboard products work? A as buying a Kindle copy on Amazon.com, or they pay when
textbook publisher places a book’s content, teaching notes, they order the special CD-ROM edition of a book. Today,
quizzes, and other materials on a Blackboard in a standard- Amazon.com offers hundreds of thousands of e-books,