“Active learning is an antonym of passive or traditional learning, describes a process whereby students take greater responsibility for their education, seek out information and are more motivated. Moreover active learning includes intelligent systems for quizzing, assessment, and evaluation” Imran Aziz

ActiveLearning

RADF has developed state of the art LCMS named as “ActiveLearning” based on research and educational strategies in order to deliver quality education online. LCMS is the combination of two products named CMS (Content Management System) and LMS (Learning Management System) and could be seen as one equation LCMS = LMS + CMS [RLOs], where RLOs (Reusable Learning Objects) are making it fully object oriented.

Characteristics of LCMS

1. Based on a learning object model.
2. Content is reusable across courses, curricula or across the entire enterprise.
3. Content is not tightly bound to a specific template and can be re-deployed in a variety of formats such as e-Learning, CD-ROM, print-based learning, etc.
4. Navigational controls are not hard coded at the content (or page) level.
5. There is a complete separation of content and presentation logic.
6. Content is stored in a central database repository.
7. Content can be represented as XML or is stored as XML.
8. Content can be tagged for advanced search ability (both at the media and the topic level).
9. Pre-tests and post-tests can be automatically aggregated from test questions written for the primary instruction. In addition, the system can deliver the test and prescribe learning based on performance.
10. The system manages the development process by providing some level of workflow tools to manage a multi-developer, team environment.
11. Version controls and archiving capabilities to store previous versions of content.
12. Advanced searching capabilities across all objects in the repository.
13. Interoperability with third-party learning management systems.
14. Includes a delivery engine for serving up content, automatically adapting to user or group profiles, adding navigation controls, collaboration tools, utilities, and look and feel (skins).

RADF LCMS is a system that is used to author, approve, publish, and manage learning content (more specifically referred to as learning objects).

LCMS combines the administrative and management dimensions of a traditional LMS with the content creation and personalized assembly dimensions of a CMS.

1. Instructional designers would create either new RLOs targeting specific performance goals, or new courses by assembling already created RLOs
2. Editors (senior instructional designers/ learning officers) would go view the submitted RLO/course, and either approve or reject it. If approved, the RLO/course would be made available to all to use, otherwise it would be sent back for revision
3. Personalization rules would set in, targeting the new RLOs/courses to those who fit (or, have subscribed to) its profile
4. RLOs and courses that have outlived their usefulness would either be backed up and archived, or just deleted from the repository

Active Learning, like Webct and Blackboard has also been evolved through educational practice and experiments done to integrate technology with teaching and learning. Initial prototypes have been deployed with quizzing technology named Intelligent Quizzing. As the name of product shows it is based on Active Learning theory and focuses the use of technology as cognitive tool in social constructivist learning environment.

Initially the primary purpose to follow the theoretical framework for Active Learning LCMS was to realize a model and here the challenge was keeping pedagogy ahead of technology. We believe that online education in order to transform knowledge to target audience must follow collaborative learning environment where every user is a key component of educational practice. This evolves from the constructivist conceptions of learning that assume that knowledge is individually constructed and socially co-constructed by learners based on their interpretation of experiences in the world. Goal of learner in such system is to interpret and solve the problem or complete the project. Knowledge chunks in form of related cases, cognitive tools, conversation/ collaboration tools, social/contextual support systems are of importance.

We also believe that the most prevalent theoretical perspectives in research on online learning are those related to constructivism, particularly social constructivism and social constructionism. These epistemological positions privilege a focus on collaborative discourse (Amundsen, 1993; Bonk & Cunningham, 1998; Jonassen et al., 1999) and the individual development of meaning through construction and sharing of texts and other social artefacts (Ernest, 1995; Gergen, 1995; Papert, 1991). From these perspectives, learners are apprenticed into "communities of practice" which embody certain beliefs and behaviors (Lave & Wenger, 1991).

Modern constructivist learning environments are technology-based in which learners are engaged in meaningful interactions.  Emphasis is on learners who interpret and construct meaning based on their own experiences and interactions.  Therefore, if educators are to adopt a constructivist approach, they are now challenged to adapt and change instructional design strategies to actively engage learners in meaningful projects and activities that promote exploration, experimentation, construction, collaboration, and reflection of what these learners are studying.