Before deciding whether or not your organization needs implementing an e-learning platform, reading the following article written by JobsOra will be beneficial:
Remote courses. Pros and cons of online learning
E-learning platforms can by default manage forums, chats and deliver quizzes but they usually rely on external services in order to be able to deliver video lectures and manage video conferences. The next sections of this articles investigates some options available to those who are willing to setup a e-learning platform.
This can be achieved by choosing a paid video hosting platform:
Or free one:
Which one to choose? While the majority of students is more likely to be familiar with well known free video hosting platforms such as YouTube, paid solutions might be able to add those extra features that might be needed by an online College. This also means that extra training might be required by lecturers and students, should customised software be used.
E-learning platforms usually rely on external tools in order to be able to set up and make video conferences, which is what is required in order to run oral examinations, live lectures, video Q&A with students and much more. Colleges need to thoroughly evaluate their requirements for video conferencing services as students will also need to buy compatible software and hardware, which might turn out to be expensive. While this article will not cover all different options in terms of video cameras, the next section will focus on software packages available to Colleges.
Once again Educational Providers are able to use video hosting platform such as YouTube and Twitch to start video conferences students are also able to join. However, streaming multiple cameras will require any of the following additional software:
Should the College decide to acquire video conferencing software, a wide range of solutions is available to them:
Once again, technical requirements should be very clear since the beginning as each one of this packages may or may not offer those capabilities required by the school. For examples, some units might require the ability to share users’ screens or applications, which might not be offered by all packages.
While cost might be important for the Educational Provider, performances will be crucial to the students who will have to be able to attend the sessions possibly without experiencing any streaming video lag, stutter and glitch. In fact, should the quality of the video not matching the students expectations, the lecturer will need to re-schedule the session or re-publish the video again which will cost time and money.
The aim of this article was to give the reader an overview on what running an e-learning platform is really like. Educational providers will rely on external services that will enhance the overall students’ experience by adding those extra features which are essential to any web based course.