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About the History of E-Learning Hello! My name is Sakamoto, and I am in charge of CS. Have you been learning or studying using the Internet, such as through online learning? With the recent proliferation of PCs and smartphones, learning via the Internet has become commonplace, but how did it all begin? In this issue, we would like to talk about the history of e-learning. Click here for the Table of Contents 1. The Beginning of e-Learning 2. Development of e-Learning 3. Internet-based learning 4. Emergence of Smart Devices The Beginning of e-Learning The development of computer-based learning, which is the basis of e-learning, began in the 1950s, mainly in the United States, with the idea that computers could be used to support education, known as CAI. Conventional group training could not be called efficient because the instructor and trainees had to be in the same place for a long time, and all checking of the trainees' progress had to be done by a person. Video materials were also introduced, but they presented information in a one-way manner and could not be said to be highly effective for learning. This is why the use of personal computers for learning has attracted attention because of the advantages of not having to choose where to study, cost savings, and the ability to manage learners. However, because it was difficult to construct an ideal system in practice, the quality of education through CAI did not improve as much as expected. Development of e-Learning In the 1990s, with the development and spread of personal computers, CAI was replaced by computer-based training (CBT). CBT mainly represents a learning method using CD-ROMs as teaching materials, and taking advantage of the large capacity of CD-ROMs, teaching materials utilizing video and audio were created. It was also around this time that the term "e-learning" was introduced. In particular, in 1995, the explosive popularity of Windows 95 was launched and personal computers became widespread in homes, and Windows 95 came standard with a CD-ROM, which helped to establish CBT-based education. CBT, however, did not become widely used due to the cost of producing teaching materials, the difficulty of modifying the content after distribution, and the difficulty for the administrator to manage the progress of all participants. To Internet-based learning In Japan, a major change occurred in 2000, when the then Mori Cabinet announced the "e-Japan Concept," which aimed to create a Japanese-style IT society, and the following year, a project to promote e-learning began in earnest. The following year, e-learning promotion projects began in earnest. As a result, the e-learning learning method shifted from CD-ROM learning to online learning using materials distributed over the Internet. By placing the learning environment online, it became possible to easily and inexpensively manage learning materials and check the progress of students. The online learning method is called WBT (Web-Based Training), and with the spread of the Internet, more and more companies began to introduce e-learning training and it gradually became a part of our daily lives. Emergence of Smart Devices Since the late 2000s, e-learning has changed even further with the advent of smartphones represented by the iPhone and Android, as well as larger tablet devices. Smart devices are portable, making it possible to study anytime, anywhere, in any spare time, and it has become common to study on the move with a smartphone. Because of the convenience of portability, e-learning is also being introduced in occupations where education and training could only be conducted through real group training, such as customer service, maintenance, and cooking. In addition, recently, the combination of SNS and other tools for communication among trainees has been introduced, as it is expected to be highly effective in supporting and motivating trainees to learn by communicating with each other. Conclusion In this issue, we have reviewed the history of e-learning. Starting with the use of computers in education, the spread of personal computers and the Internet, and now with the advent of smart devices and social networking services, the role and effectiveness of e-learning itself has expanded greatly. With the further evolution of technology (which has already begun to be used), cutting-edge technologies such as AI and VR will be incorporated into e-learning, and the nature of e-learning may change in the future. Thank you for reading to the end. We look forward to seeing you next time.

The Beginning of MOOCs in the U.S. [e-Learning Around the World Hello. My name is Motoki, and I am in charge of marketing. This is the first installment of the "e-Learning Around the World" series, which began last time. In the first installment, we introduced you to Khan Academy, one of the first flipped learning programs in the United States. This time, as a continuation of the Khan Academy, I would like to look into "MOOCs," which have become popular as a form of online education. Click here for the table of contents. 1. What is a MOOC? 2. Representative MOOCs 3. Summary What is a MOOC? A MOOC is also known as "MOOCS," and its official name is "Massive Open Online Course. As the name suggests, MOOCS is a platform service that allows students to take large courses online. It became popular mainly in the U.S. and other countries because it allows anyone with Internet access to attend lectures at prestigious universities (basically) for free. Some of them offer not only lectures but also post-lecture tests and assignments to qualify for completion of the course. MOOCs are platform services, so each university does not set up its own service, but rather, students use the platform of a "MOOC consortium" or "MOOC provider" that acts as an intermediary. Now it seems that not only universities but also companies are participating and offering lectures, so in a broad sense, it seems that it can be simply regarded as an "online course. (This page focuses mainly on online courses at the university level.) Representative MOOCs ▼Coursera https://www.coursera.org/ Courses from famous universities such as Stanford University are available. ▼EdX https://www.edx.org/ It was launched jointly by MIT and Harvard University. Udacity https://www.udacity.com/nanodegree Udacity is a MOOC specializing in programming and other computer science fields. Summary MOOCs have created learning opportunities for anyone with Internet access to take university-level courses without having to go to a university. In fact, there was news that a 15-year-old student from Mongolia received excellent grades in an edX course and went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). However, MOOCs have a very low completion rate due to their low hurdles. The completion rate is low because MOOCs are self-study services that depend heavily on the motivation of the learner. However, MOOC courses are being developed through industry-academia collaboration with the world's top companies such as Google and Facebook, and the number of lectures on cutting-edge technologies such as AI, data science, and automated driving, which are currently the focus of attention, seems to be increasing. It is likely to continue to attract attention in the future. The spread of edtech services like MOOCs in the U.S. is also changing the way students learn in school education. From the next issue onward, I would like to take a sharp look at the impact on school education. I would like to discuss the impact on school education in the next and subsequent issues. We look forward to your continued support in the next issue. Reference: Edtech will change the future Author: Masahiro Sato

How to Effectively and Efficiently Create E-Learning Questions that Anyone Can Easily Create For those in charge of e-learning who are considering using e-learning and are not sure how to go about it. Generally, eLearning questions are used to check the level of knowledge acquisition and achievement. The main purpose is to check the level of understanding of the learning content, and it is desirable to select questions based on this purpose. However, this task is quite difficult. When e-learning is used, it is not enough to know only the learning content that is the "correct answer" to a question. In this article, I would like to explain how to effectively and efficiently create an e-learning program that anyone can easily create. The key to success in e-learning education is to provide students with both "good learning materials" and "good tests. Please take a look at this article. Table of Contents What are "good" questions and tests in e-Learning? 2. First of all, study materials! The process of creating e-learning materials 3. After creating learning materials, let's create questions and tests! Summary 1. What is a "good" question/test in e-Learning? The purpose of implementation is clear. To begin with, what is the purpose of e-Learning? Without a clear objective, it is impossible to start considering question specifications and creating questions and explanations. If you start the production process with unclear objectives, there is a high possibility of rework during the production process. It may cause delays in the question creation schedule, increase production costs, and even result in the creation of unintended and unrelated questions. The start of anything is crucial. To avoid regrets during the creation process, start with a clear idea of "What is the purpose? to avoid regrets during the process of creation. Validity and reliability The second condition is that the test questions have validity and reliability. The second condition is that the test questions must be valid and reliable. The purpose of the test is to question students about what they have learned through the course material and to measure their understanding of the material. Do not use concepts or ideas that are outside the scope of study for reasons that make it easier to create questions. This will cause confusion and increase the number of inquiries. Stress-free Answering When creating test questions, it is important to put yourself in the "learner's shoes. For example, a student who is asked a question about something he or she has not learned will be confused and say, "I have not learned this! They will be confused and think, "I didn't learn this! Even if the questions are within the scope of what they have learned, the content of the questions may cause unnecessary stress to the learner. Start with easy problems and gradually increase the difficulty level. The more problems they cannot solve, the less motivation they will have to learn, and the more they will stop working on the assignment itself. *Test questions should only ask clear and straightforward questions about what has been learned. The intent of the question should be clear. Make more use of phrased 'asserted sentences' when creating questions. Sentences that are wordy or double negative may lead to misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Use images and video materials. Most of the information we perceive comes from the visual sense. If you find yourself writing long sentences that lack cohesion, take the plunge and use images and videos more frequently. 2. First of all, learning materials! Analysis We examine the information necessary for creating learning materials, such as "what is the purpose of creating learning materials and who is the target audience," "how much learning time should be set aside and where should the goal be set," and "how to use the system. 　↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Design Based on the information solidified through the analysis process, we proceed with the preparation of "specifications for teaching materials," "structure of learning content," "schedule for creation," etc. 　↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Development Based on the design image diagram, we will actually create the teaching materials. The completed teaching materials are reviewed by a third party to ensure that they are easy to understand and use, and revisions are made and created. 　↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Implementation The completed teaching materials are used to teach the course to the participants. 　↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Evaluation After a certain period of operation, we will analyze whether the initial objectives have been achieved by understanding the trends of learners based on their course history and the results of questionnaires. This information will provide useful data for reviewing the educational content. 3. After creating educational materials, create questions and tests! Let's review the specific flow of "creating questions and tests" in e-Learning. Basically, questions are created in the following flow. Decide what to measure and by what standard. The main purpose of the test is to "check the level of understanding of the test content," but the breadth and depth of that understanding will depend on the purpose of the learning material paired with the test. The following three points should be confirmed. ▼ What is the purpose of the study material that is paired with the test? What is the purpose of the test based on the learning materials? ▼ What are the criteria for measuring the level of student understanding? Set the criteria for creating questions based on these points! Determine the question specifications (type, question format, whether or not explanations are provided, passing criteria, etc.) Once the objectives of the questions have been established, consider the test specifications necessary to achieve those objectives. The main specifications to consider include the following ▼ Types of testing There are several types of test formats. Select the most appropriate type according to your objectives. Pre-test: A test that measures the learner's current ability. Post-test: A test that measures the learner's knowledge gain by comparing it to the results of the pre-test. Confirmation test: A test designed to assess the learner's understanding of each unit of study. Completion test: A test that measures the learner's understanding of the entire course of study and certifies completion of the course if a set number of points have been achieved. ▼Test format The most commonly used testing formats are "multiple-choice," "multiple-answer," and "X-X" format. If you want to measure students' understanding more strictly, it is better to choose "multiple-choice" rather than "single-choice" or "multiple-choice" rather than "multiple-question" format. To further increase the difficulty level of the test, "Randomized" questions are available. This means that the order in which the questions are presented changes each time the test is administered. There is also "Choice Shuffle," which changes the order of the choices. There is also the "Writing" method, in which the test taker is asked to write down the answers in writing. It is important to understand that this writing style is difficult to grade after the test is administered. ➡Difficulty level "X-X type" < "Multiple Choice type" < "Multiple Choice type ▼Necessity of commentary It is necessary to decide whether or not to provide explanations after grading. For questions that simply ask about the content of the study material, explanations are not required. This is because if the score is below the passing standard, it would be more effective for the student to take the confirmation test after re-learning the parts of the test where knowledge is unclear. In the case of practice-type questions, explanations are generally provided. This is because practice-type questions are application questions that incorporate the knowledge learned in the study materials, and it is sometimes difficult to understand why the answers are given. The explanations are effective in helping students acquire an applied way of thinking. ➡In this case, the test is not merely "something to measure," but contains an element of "learning" in itself. ▼Passing Criteria While it is common to set a passing standard for a test, that standard should be adjusted according to the learning content and learning objectives. In some cases, as in the example below, a score of 100% may be required. 70% if you want all participants to acquire the minimum required knowledge 80% if a certain standard is required to be met 100% if a perfect response is required, etc. Prepare drafts according to the question specifications Unify question specifications Try to unify the specifications of the question text as much as possible. Multiple specifications may cause stress to learners and make it difficult for them to concentrate on answering the questions. The test draft should be written in "です・ます" or "da・ある" style. Care should be taken not to mix the two tones in one sentence. Again, this can cause unnecessary stress to the learner. Actual Creation Using the Question Creation Tool Once the manuscript is complete, we will actually create the questions. Here is a brief explanation of the creation process using our question creation tool, Quiz Generator. First, create a manuscript that conforms to the file format to be imported into the creation tool. Below is part of the Excel and text file screen used to import the test manuscript into our teaching material creation tool. The image of the teaching material created by importing this file (manuscript) into the tool is shown below. Sample questions ➡Sample questions created by our tool *As you can see, once the file (manuscript) is created for the question creation tool, the creation of questions and tests can be done in a short time (a few minutes). It also facilitates the revision process. Detailed work procedures can be found here ➡Create questions in a text file ➡Create questions in Excel ➡Analyze test results and make improvements Although the created teaching materials are loaded onto the LMS for operation, there is no point in just creating them. It is important to analyze the results of the test and create the next measures based on the results of the learner survey, or to improve the test itself. Points of analysis include the following Did we achieve our objectives? Are the questions appropriate for the learner's level? Are the acceptance criteria appropriate? Were the learners stressed out? ➡Continuous implementation of such analysis and improvement will enhance the quality of the test, as well as the quality of education and training utilizing e-learning, and lead to higher learner satisfaction. 4. Summary In this report, we have discussed the creation of questions using e-learning. Did you discover anything new? Let's take a brief look back. What is the purpose of e-learning? What is the purpose of e-learning? Let's understand the process of creating e-learning materials. After creating the materials, let's create questions and tests. How to use question creation tools to streamline the process. Analyze test results and make improvements. Finally, testing does not end when the test is administered. Test results and learner feedback (evaluations) need to be analyzed and linked to the next measure or test improvement. To this end, the person in charge of test creation must be familiar with the contents of the learning materials. Creating a test is a difficult task, but it is not that difficult if the objectives are clearly defined and procedures are followed. We encourage you to try your hand at creating questions using this article as a guide.