The International Collaboration to Extend and Advance Grid Education

eLearning

In order to support advanced Grid education, ICEAGE provides and manages various e-Learning services.

What is eLearning

e-Learning is any kind of learning facilitated by the use of digital tools and content. In the context of distributed computing, e-Learning content is delivered through various Web services. More about e-Learning

Why e-Learning

• No time spent commuting to class
• No travel costs
• You can have a job while you take classes
• You can learn when you need it (Just-In-Time)
• Your learning options are not constrained by your geographic location
• You can learn at your own pace
• Learning can be fit into your busy schedule
• Can be more effective for certain types of learners (shy, reflective, language challenged, those that need more time)
• Often more student to student interaction
• Can be more focused on the learner and less on the instructor
• Instruction can be more customized and flexible
• Can lower costs for both learning providers and organizations that need training
• Often less costs for students than traditional programs
• Side benefits of learning new technologies and technical skills

The full source

E-learning and distributed computing

While using resources distributed throughout the network, Grid users and scholars still usually learn in traditional face-to-face mode. Whether they study the latest technological advancements in one of many summer schools, short training events or complete MSc courses, placed in such educational environment they have to accept traditional mouth-to-mouth pedagogy. This kind of knowledge transfer creates a significant epistemological gap between the concepts they study (distributed, open, user-adoptive) and the way they study (centralized educational systems restricted to people who have enough resources for attendance, one-size-fits-everyone-in-the-room education).

Certainly, events such as the International Summer School for Grid Computing (ISSGC) or full MSc courses have achieved great success in promotion and adoption of Grid technologies. They are an irreplaceable way of creating communities and transfer of knowledge and experiences: after all, people are in the first place social beings. However, the concepts of distributed computing and e-Learning share the same epistemological position: hence it is natural to provide Grid education through e-Learning services.

By its very nature, Grid computing offers new possibilities to e-Learning and vice versa. "Until recently network-based education and grid technologies were two distinct areas. But e-Learning increasingly addresses learning resources sharing and reuse, interoperability and various modes of interactions. And it is where grid technology comes up." ( From Shaping e-Learning applications for a service oriented GriD ).

It can easily be concluded that combinations between Grid and e-Learning are currently the cutting edge of both technologies: at ICEAGE, we are proud to offer a wide range of e-Learning services essential for development of this new and exciting area.