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In response to the government’s push toward a “knowledge-based economy society”, the development and applications of e-learning technologies have become more and more popular in Hong Kong. E-learning provides a student-centered learning environment and delivers knowledge on-demand with up-to-the-minute information. However, a high student-dropout rate and low satisfaction with the learning processes remain to be the drawbacks currently. In this paper, we review several universities’ initiatives in launching e-learning programs and/or conducting projects in this direction. We also look at some of the trendy directions in addressing the current problems of existing e-learning systems.

In this paper, we describe our work on developing an eLearning video database system. The eLearning video database provides a temporal modeling framework for describing eLearning video data and it supports data distribution by applying vertical class partitioning techniques. Building on top of our previous work on Four Dimensional Information System (4DIS)—an object-oriented temporal modeling framework, we apply vertical class partitioning techniques onto a 4DIS eLearning video database system as a means for efficient query execution. We further describe our work on dynamic fetching of multimedia eLearning video on the Internet. A detailed cost model for query execution through vertical class partitioning is developed. Finally, we demonstrate through the use of a running example the effectiveness of our vertical class partitioning approach.

To cope with the increasing trend of learning demand and limited resources, most universities are taking advantage of Web-based technology for their distance education or e-learning (Montelpare & Williams, 2000). One of the reasons is due to the significant price drop of personal computers in recent decades; the Internet and multimedia have penetrated into most households. Moreover, most students prefer to learn from an interactive environment through a self-paced style. Under the Web-based learning model, students can learn anytime, anywhere because they are not required to go to school on schedule (Appelt, 1997). Meanwhile, universities also enjoy the economic benefit due to the large student base that can share the development cost of course materials and other operational expenses. Gradually, more and more universities follow this similar way to provide online education.

As a flourishing field, e-learning at large (including distance learning, Web-based learning, and digital game-based learning) has attracted increasing attention from both industry and academic sectors. To facilitate the development of effective e-learning systems, scalable technologies that support an arbitrary number of users while providing them with a good learning environment are needed. In this introduction, we provide an overview of e-learning system development with respect to a layered reference architecture, including the Internet infrastructure layer, the conceptual/modeling layer, and the application layer. In addition, the three articles included in this special issue cover the issues of managing the learning objects in an open and scalable architecture, incorporation of learners' pedagogical features in Web-based learning environments, and support of digital game-based learning. All these issues, though not exhaustive, are important to ensure successful development of e-learning systems on an Internet platform. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

In response to the government’s push toward a “knowledge-based economy society”, the development and applications of e-learning technologies have become more and more popular in Hong Kong. E-learning provides a student-centered learning environment and delivers knowledge on-demand with up-to-the-minute information. However, a high student-dropout rate and low satisfaction with the learning processes remain to be the drawbacks currently. In this paper, we review several universities’ initiatives in launching e-learning programs and/or conducting projects in this direction. We also look at some of the trendy directions in addressing the current problems of existing e-learning systems.

A dramatic increase in the development of technology-based teaching and learning has been witnessed in the past decade. Distributed Learning Environments (DLEs) have emerged rapidly, which blend traditional and IT-based learning with the aid of distributed environments and learning communities. In this paper, we address the issues of collaborative agent communication in DLEs through describing 1) a multi- agent architecture supporting DLEs, 2) agent communication policies to govern the conversation among agents, and 3) XML-based language facilities and algorithms to facilitate communication among agents in DLEs.

In a web-based learning environment, student-centered study plan become critical since the target users who have the self-learning expectation and individual academic background are very different from those of a traditional classroom. In fact, designing individual study plan is very complicated and time consuming as the target users normally are very diversified. To the best knowledge of our understanding, most of existing course enrollment facilities are quite primitive. In this paper, we introduce a conceptual framework for setting up individual student-centered study plan through 1) a dynamic conceptual network mechanism for capturing the relationships among courses to facilitate the dynamic generation of a study plan, and 2) intelligent knowledge base facilities, such as personal profiles, to help understand students’ behavior so as to provide student-centered results to different learning groups.

The World Wide Web (WWW) provides new opportunities for online education on the Internet. With other network tools being applied to the Web, it can create a virtual learning environment to bring together a community of learners for interactive education. Based on the investigation of the use of agent-based approach to e-Learning, this paper shares our views on how to develop an architecture framework to apply the electronic education on the Internet in an effective way.