www.yassermetwally.com

E-learning: Web graphics

2010-06-22T07:16:00.001-07:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

INTRODUCTION

June 22, 2010 — Web graphics are visual representations used on a Web site to enhance or enable the representation of an idea or feeling, in order to reach the Web site user. Graphics may entertain, educate, or emotionally impact the user, and are crucial to strength of branding, clarity of illustration, and ease of use for interfaces.

Examples of graphics include maps, photographs, designs and patterns, family trees, diagrams, architectural or engineering blueprints, bar charts and pie charts, typography, schematics, line art, flowcharts, and many other image forms.

Graphic designers have many tools and technologies at their disposal for everything from print to Web development, and W3C provides many of the underlying formats that can be used for the creation of content on the open Web platform.

What is a blog

2010-04-29T14:38:00.001-07:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

April 29, 2010 — A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112,000,000 blogs.

Video 1. What is a blog

TYPES OF BLOGS

There are many different types of blogs, differing not only in the type of content, but also in the way that content is delivered or written.

Personal blogs

The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life, or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. One type of personal blog, referred to as a microblog, is extremely detailed and seeks to capture a moment in time. Some sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family, and are much faster than emailing or writing.

Corporate and organizational blogs

A blog can be private, as in most cases, or it can be for business purposes. Blogs used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs. Similar blogs for clubs and societies are called club blogs, group blogs, or by similar names; typical use is to inform members and other interested parties of club and member activities.

By genre

Some blogs focus on a particular subject, such as political blogs, travel blogs (also known as travelogs), house blogs, fashion blogs, project blogs, education blogs, niche blogs, classical music blogs, quizzing blogs and legal blogs (often referred to as a blawgs) or dreamlogs. Two common types of genre blogs are art blogs and music blogs. A blog featuring discussions especially about home and family is not uncommonly called a mom blog. While not a legitimate type of blog, one used for the sole purpose of spamming is known as a Splog.

By media type

A blog comprising videos is called a vlog, one comprising links is called a linklog, a site containing a portfolio of sketches is called a sketchblog or one comprising photos is called a photoblog. Blogs with shorter posts and mixed media types are called tumblelogs. Blogs that are written on typewriters and then scanned are called typecast or typecast blogs; see typecasting (blogging).

A rare type of blog hosted on the Gopher Protocol is known as a Phlog.

By device

Blogs can also be defined by which type of device is used to compose it. A blog written by a mobile device like a mobile phone or PDA could be called a moblog. One early blog was Wearable Wireless Webcam, an online shared diary of a person's personal life combining text, video, and pictures transmitted live from a wearable computer and EyeTap device to a web site. This practice of semi-automated blogging with live video together with text was referred to as sousveillance. Such journals have been used as evidence in legal matters.

E- learning: Blogging.. Online journals

2010-04-06T14:11:00.001-07:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

April 6, 2010 — A Blog is a website that, by default, have their posts and entries arranged in a chorological order from most recent posts or website entries located at top of the main page and older entries located towards the bottom. In other words, Blogs are web publications and online journals meant for publishing personal thoughts. These thoughts, by default, are arranged in a chronological order. (Click to have a look at my online journal)

Blogs are like Journal

Websites are basically constructed to stick with the particular topic where as the most of the blogs contain random thoughts or information and also website contents are arranged with certain order where as blog is arranged in a order where recently published posts present in top of the blogs.

Website’s Static Pages Vs Blog’s Dynamic Pages

Until the introduction of Content Management System (CMS) for controlling the content and navigation, websites once remained as static pages that needs to have their code changed to update the content. But in case of a Blog, it can be updated through their dashboard so it is completely dynamic. Even today, most websites remained static where as blogs are dynamically updated. You can have a look at http://yassermetwally.com (which is my main web site). http://yassermetwally.com is a static web site site that acts as a menu to access other branches, whereas http://yassermetwally.net (which is a branch in my web site) is a very dynamic blog that is updated almost on daily basis. Updating the blog (http://yassermetwally.net ) is much more easier than updating the web site menu (http://yassermetwally.com).

Blogs are user friendly

One of the main aspect that is behind the success of blogs within short period of time is the user friendly architecture of blogs. Updating the contents of blogs and changing their navigation are pretty much more simple than traditional websites. Blog’s user friendly architecture enables anyone to easily manage information even if he doesn’t know HTML or other web programming or scripting languages.

Blogs are cheaper

Another best aspect of blogs is that their creation and maintenance are much cheaper than creating and maintaining websites. Setting up and running blogs are much cheaper or almost free for any one Because most of the blog platforms provide free web space, control panel and other tools for blogging. You can Setup your blog using your name or your preferred domain name. Some of the popular blogging platforms are Wordpress, Blogger, Typepad, Blogjournal and there are literally hundreds of blogging platforms available on net.

Blogs are more interactive With viewers

Blogs are more interactive with viewers than traditional website for various reasons, most importantly blogs accepts viewer comments or discussion for posted articles whereas most of the traditional websites failed to have this feature.

Blogs are highly expandable

Blogs are highly expandable than traditional websites. In traditional websites we have the limitation of having to write scripts to expand the usage or adding any extra features. On the other hand blogs are highly expandable as any one can easily add plug-ins to expand or add new features to his blog without having to write any code at all. There are lots of plug-ins available from blog platform providers and thousands of 3^rd party vendors.

Blogs are Search engine Friendly

Blogs are more Search engine friendly than websites because they have more clean codes, Search engine friendly URL and easy meta tag customization feature than websites. Blogs are easily indexable by search engines than websites due to their Search engine friendly architecture.

Blogs are easily promoted than any websites

There are lot of tools and website communities available to promote blogs where as websites need a lot of optimization to do this. There are hundreds of social networking websites available to promote blogs due to their flexible and expandable nature.

E-learning tips

2010-04-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

April 4, 2010 — E-learning tips

Video 1. E-learning tips

References

1. Metwally, MYM: Textbook of neuroimaging, A CD-ROM publication, (Metwally, MYM editor) WEB-CD agency for electronic publication, version 10.2a April 2010 [Click to have a look at the home page]

E learning: RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

2010-03-26T10:47:00.001-07:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

March 26, 2010 — (Really Simple Syndication) A format for notifying new content at a website; the initials originally stood for Rich Site Summary. RSS defines rules for listing information about new content added to a website, such as the title, link and a short description (or in some cases the full body of the content), which the site publishes as an XML file at a specific URL -- in effect, a web service. This file, often called a newsfeed, can then be read and combined with feeds from other sites by news aggregators, which display the consolidated information either on a user's desktop or on a website. RSS is widely used both by news sites and by weblogs. There are four versions in widespread use: 0.91, developed by Netscape; 0.92, a modification popularized by Userland Software; 1.0, a variation based on RDF (Resource Description Framework); and 2.0, formalized in September 2002 by Userland's Dave Winer.

RSS (most commonly expanded as "Really Simple Syndication") is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an "RSS reader", "feed reader", or "aggregator", which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based. A standardized XML file format allows the information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed's URI or by clicking an RSS icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.

Figure 1. The RSS icon

RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data formats. Although RSS formats have evolved from as early as March 1999, it was between 2005 and 2006 when RSS gained widespread use, and the icon was decided upon by several major Web browsers.

History of web syndication technology

The RSS formats were preceded by several attempts at web syndication that did not achieve widespread popularity. The basic idea of restructuring information about websites goes back to as early as 1995, when Ramanathan V. Guha and others in Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group developed the Meta Content Framework. For a more detailed discussion of these early developments, see the history of web syndication technology.

RDF Site Summary, the first version of RSS, was created by Guha at Netscape in March 1999 for use on the My.Netscape.Com portal. This version became known as RSS 0.9. In July 1999, Dan Libby of Netscape produced a new version, RSS 0.91, which simplified the format by removing RDF elements and incorporating elements from Dave Winer's scriptingNews syndication format. Libby also renamed RSS "Rich Site Summary" and outlined further development of the format in a "futures document".

This would be Netscape's last participation in RSS development for eight years. As RSS was being embraced by web publishers who wanted their feeds to be used on My.Netscape.Com and other early RSS portals, Netscape dropped RSS support from My.Netscape.Com in April 2001 during new owner AOL's restructuring of the company, also removing documentation and tools that supported the format.

Two entities emerged to fill the void, with neither Netscape's help nor approval: The RSS-DEV Working Group and Winer, whose UserLand Software had published some of the first publishing tools outside of Netscape that could read and write RSS.

Winer published a modified version of the RSS 0.91 specification on the UserLand website, covering how it was being used in his company's products, and claimed copyright to the document. A few months later, UserLand filed a U.S. trademark registration for RSS, but failed to respond to a USPTO trademark examiner's request and the request was rejected in December 2001.

The RSS-DEV Working Group, a project whose members included Guha and representatives of O'Reilly Media and Moreover, produced RSS 1.0 in December 2000. This new version, which reclaimed the name RDF Site Summary from RSS 0.9, reintroduced support for RDF and added XML namespaces support, adopting elements from standard metadata vocabularies such as Dublin Core.

In December 2000, Winer released RSS 0.92 a minor set of changes aside from the introduction of the enclosure element, which permitted audio files to be carried in RSS feeds and helped spark podcasting. He also released drafts of RSS 0.93 and RSS 0.94 that were subsequently withdrawn.

In September 2002, Winer released a major new version of the format, RSS 2.0, that redubbed its initials Really Simple Syndication. RSS 2.0 removed the type attribute added in the RSS 0.94 draft and added support for namespaces. To preserve backward compatibility with RSS 0.92, namespace support applies only to other content included within an RSS 2.0 feed, not the RSS 2.0 elements themselves. (Although other standards such as Atom attempt to correct this limitation, RSS feeds are not aggregated with other content often enough to shift the popularity from RSS to other formats having full namespace support.)

Because neither Winer nor the RSS-DEV Working Group had Netscape's involvement, they could not make an official claim on the RSS name or format. This has fueled ongoing controversy in the syndication development community as to which entity was the proper publisher of RSS.

One product of that contentious debate was the creation of an alternative syndication format, Atom, that began in June 2003. The Atom syndication format, whose creation was in part motivated by a desire to get a clean start free of the issues surrounding RSS, has been adopted as IETF Proposed Standard RFC 4287.

In July 2003, Winer and UserLand Software assigned the copyright of the RSS 2.0 specification to Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, where he had just begun a term as a visiting fellow. At the same time, Winer launched the RSS Advisory Board with Brent Simmons and Jon Udell, a group whose purpose was to maintain and publish the specification and answer questions about the format.

In December 2005, the Microsoft Internet Explorer team and Outlook team announced on their blogs that they were adopting the feed icon first used in the Mozilla Firefox browser. A few months later, Opera Software followed suit. This effectively made the orange square with white radio waves the industry standard for RSS and Atom feeds, replacing the large variety of icons and text that had been used previously to identify syndication data.

In January 2006, Rogers Cadenhead relaunched the RSS Advisory Board without Dave Winer's participation, with a stated desire to continue the development of the RSS format and resolve ambiguities. In June 2007, the board revised their version of the specification to confirm that namespaces may extend core elements with namespace attributes, as Microsoft has done in Internet Explorer 7. According to their view, a difference of interpretation left publishers unsure of whether this was permitted or forbidden.

E-learning: RSS and XML feeds

2010-03-16T13:21:00.001-07:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

March 16, 2010 — It can be a major challenge to keep current with the rapidly growing body of scientific and clinical neurologic knowledge. Fortunately, there are several tools available for neurologists to gain access to this information, almost all of which are now available online. Email alerts, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and XML (Extensible Markup Language) feeds, and mashups (Web pages that display continuously updated information simultaneously from multiple sources, using RSS and XML) are among the most important of these alerting methods. Podcasts (multimedia files that are transferred over the Internet for playback on a mobile device or a personal computer) are another good way to obtain organized presentations of in-depth information on new topics. Other sources of current neurologic information include major media outlets, academic society Web sites, proprietary medical news sites, neurology news magazines (eg, Neurology Today and Clinical Neurology News), the National Library of Medicine's PubMed data service, and traditional peer-reviewed journals.

RSS and XML feeds

Various online tools facilitate access to these information sources. So-called push technologies such as RSS and XML allow media sources to send recipients selective updated information, including late-breaking news or newly published articles, along with links to more detailed information. RSS and XML feeds have come into wide use among media sources, and are identified on Web sites of these sources by the symbols and .

Early versions of the special Web browsers required to view RSS and XML feeds, called readers, were limited in that they could only display one information source at a time. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome all have the ability to display individual RSS/XML feeds. Various readers, or aggregators (eg, Google Reader), allow more efficient viewing of multiple RSS/XML feeds on a single screen.

Mashups permit constant desktop display of multiple RSS or XML feeds. Examples include iGoogle (Box 1) and Netvibes, both of which simultaneously display multiple RSS feeds in small boxes, called modules or gadgets, on a single screen. The mashup can be set as the browser's home page, providing the neurologist with a tremendous array of frequently updated news sources. One advantage of mashups is the ability to create a module, or gadget, based on any RSS or XML feed, in addition to the vast number of predefined modules from commercial sources, such as BBC News World Edition. These are powerful tools for organizing information that is being updated constantly.

Box 1. Creating a custom gadget in iGoogle

Use the following steps to create a custom gadget in iGoogle:

•Open a free Google account

•On the Google Accounts page, click on iGoogle and follow the instructions to create a mashup page

•Find an RSS or XML feed of interest (eg, see the symbols on the home page of http://www.AAN.com)

•Click on the RSS or XML icon

•Copy the URL for the RSS feed from the address box at the top of the browser

•Click on the “Add stuff” link in the upper right of the iGoogle screen

•On the next page, click on the “Add feed or gadget” link in the left-hand column

•Paste the URL into the address box

•The RSS gadget will automatically appear on the iGoogle mashup page. The gadgets can be organized on the page by drag and drop.

Gadgets That show constantly updated information are frequently used in my web site (www.yassermetwally.com) you can have a look at: http://yassermetwally.com/blog/?p=256. A mashup is a Web page that displays constantly updated information from several media sources, using RSS or XML feeds. Each of the small boxes, or gadgets, contains a summary of several news items, with a link to more detailed information. The iGoogle mashup can be set as a home page, allowing the neurologist to follow multiple news sources in real time.

References

1. Chio A, Montuschi A, Cammarosano S, et al. ALS patients and caregivers communication preferences and information seeking behaviour. Eur J Neurol. 2008;15(1):55–60.

2. Diaz JA, Griffith RA, Ng JJ, et al. Patients' use of the Internet for medical information. J Gen Intern Med. 2002;17(3):180–185.

3. Baker L, Wagner TH, Singer S, et al. Use of the Internet and e-mail for health care information: results from a national survey. JAMA. 2003;289(18):2400–2406.

Interactive PDF files: A wonderfull way for E- learning

2010-02-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

February 6, 2010 — JavaScript for Acrobat is an extension of core JavaScript, version 1.5 of ISO-16262, formerly known as ECMAScript, an object-oriented scripting language developed by Netscape Communications.

JavaScript was created to offload web page processing from a server onto a client in web-based applications. Acrobat extends the core language by adding new objects and their accompanying methods and properties, to the JavaScript language. These Acrobat-specific objects enable a developer to manage document security, communicate with a database, handle file attachments, manipulate a PDF file so that it behaves as an interactive, web-enabled form, and so on. Because the Acrobat-specific objects are added on top of core JavaScript, you still have access to its standard classes, including Math, String, Date, and RegExp.

PDF documents have great versatility since they can be displayed both within the Acrobat software as well as a web browser. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the differences between JavaScript used in a PDF file and JavaScript used in a web page:

JavaScript in a PDF file does not have access to objects within an HTML page. Similarly, JavaScript in a web page cannot access objects within a PDF file.
In HTML, JavaScript is able to manipulate such objects as Window. JavaScript for Acrobat cannot access this particular object but it can manipulate PDF-specific objects.

Most people know Acrobat as a medium for exchanging and viewing electronic documents easily and reliably, independent of the environment in which they were created; however, Acrobat provides far more capabilities than a simple document viewer.

You can enhance a PDF document so that it contains form fields to capture user-entered data as well as buttons to initiate user actions. This type of PDF document can replace existing paper forms, allowing employees within a company to fill out forms and submit them via PDF files, and connect their solutions to enterprise workflows by virtue of their XML-based structure and the accompanying support for SOAP-based web services.

Acrobat also contains functionality to support online team review. Documents that are ready for review are converted to PDF. When a reviewer views a PDF document in Acrobat and adds comments to it, those comments (or annotations) constitute an additional layer of information on top of the base document. Acrobat supports a wide variety of standard comment types, such as a note, graphic, sound, or movie. To share comments on a document with others, such as the author and other reviewers, a reviewer can export just the comment "layer" to a separate comment repository.

In either of these scenarios, as well as others that are not mentioned here, you can customize the behavior of a particular PDF document, implement security policies, interact with databases and web services, and dynamically alter the appearance of a PDF document by using JavaScript. You can tie JavaScript code to a specific PDF document, a particular page within a PDF document, or a form field or button in a PDF file. When an end user interacts with Acrobat or a PDF file displayed in Acrobat that contains JavaScript, Acrobat monitors the interaction and executes the appropriate JavaScript code.

Not only can you customize the behavior of PDF documents in Acrobat, you can customize Acrobat itself. In earlier versions of Acrobat (prior to Acrobat 5), this type of customization could only be done by writing Acrobat plug-ins in a high-level language like C or C++. Now, much of that same functionality is available through Acrobat extensions to JavaScript. You will find that using JavaScript to perform a task such as adding a menu to Acrobat's user interface is much easier than writing a plug-in.

The Value of E-Learning with YouTube: Keeping Medical Students Informed and on the Frontlines

2010-01-09T07:58:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 9, 2010 — Youtube has been one of the cornerstones for E- learning in my web site (http://yassermetwally.com), thanks to its fantastic video-embedding capabilities. The best way to describe a movement disorder is to embed a video of a patient suffering from this type of movement disorders in the middle of a post discussing this type of movement disorders.

For example nothing could be more useful than embeding a video on “Dopa-Responsive Dystonia” in a post discussing the topic “Dopa-Responsive Dystonia”. Still again, the best way to describe neurological tremors is to enrich a post on “neurological tremors” with video clips of patients suffering from various types of neurological tremors.

My blogs (Online news paper of professor Yasser Metwally, its Arabic version , Me and the world around and The Eneurology web sites) are typical examples of E-Learning with YouTube (Vblogs). The following video {Video 1) is a typical example of remote E-learning in which a single online embedded video is quiet enough to describe neurological movement disorders. Nothing else could be more useful for a medical student than such a video if we are going to discuss the topic of movement disorders using a very useful tool in E- learning (The youtube video channels).

Video 1. Movement disorders

YouTube is here to stay, in many ways, beyond its social networking debut. The YouTube generation has been coined as the group of internet users who are making use of today’s technology of video sharing with the ease of personal video uploading. Vblogs are an offshoot of this group, allowing users to blog their lives and experiences in writing, and accompany the whole package with a video rendition of their travels. Video sharing is exploding into a variety of industries, including mass media advertising and music. From local bands, freelance journalists, medical E-learning and consume group rallies, everyone has a chance of getting their message across as creatively and collectively as possible.

Students who use YouTube and other social networking sites today, are not only bombarded with friends’ messages and links, but also the rise in advertising and media-sponsored videos. The LonelyGirl15 debacle only points out further the low threshold of reality vs. media-delivered viral campaigns. The potential for YouTube and other video sharing sites such as yahoo video, in video enriched E learning is actually very great.

Video sharing with classmates on the social front is easy, fun, and rising in participation. Education using multimedia and other visual aids has always been a strengthening component of many subjects’ curriculum, and today’s educators are taking steps to incorporate the Internet and media-based tools to improve participation and learning. Still, video sharing on a small scale could prove to have multiple benefits.

Class projects that involve presentations or directions on how to do something could be enhanced with video uploading. Imagine completing a video project with classmates, uploading to a site, and linking the site to the class’s portal for everyone to view, share, and rate based on the topic. It would be a great way to collaborate and provide ‘live’ feedback on ongoing projects; businesses do this today with a variety of online collaboration tools, and teachers can make use of this process to their advantage.

Internet Explorer 9

2010-01-07T07:18:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 7, 2010 — "Microsoft", specialized in software development, Announced, in the professional developers conference in Los Angeles, that the company is about launch the next version of the famous browser "Internet Explorer 9" .

The company made some progress in the design of "Internet Explorer 9" in terms of performance standards and interoperability. "Microsoft" plans to open the door for software developers, through the new browser, to work on reconciliation between the capabilities of the browser and computer operating system.

Hashamotovic, General Manager of the "Internet Explorer 9", said that his company presented at the Conference a browser that works quickly with hardware components and all forms of text and animation on Web pages, which is lacking in other browsers today.

Hashamotovic pointed out that "Microsoft" is continuing to develop the browser "Internet Explorer" in order to provide the best performance ever for users of operating systems "Windows".

The development group of "Internet Explorer 9" said that It will be characterized by high efficiency to handle files written in "Javascript", comparable to the efficiency of the latest trial version of the browser "Firefox" of "Mozilla".

According to the latest data from the company "Stadtcontr" specialized in research and Internet markets, the ratio of "Internet Explorer" around the world fell by 10% over last year.

Radiological quiz software…A typical example for E-learning and E- examination

2010-01-06T05:06:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 6, 2010 — Radiological quiz software (MCQs software) Downloadable from http://yassermetwally.com

Radiological quiz software (Multiple choice questions software)

1- A downloadable software featuring 5 full radiological cases with applied self- checking multiple choice questions on every case, you can email the result to the author for evaluation and discussion. The software is a freeware, a gift not to sold.

2- You can easily browse through the whole of the case radiology, with a view simulating X ray films, Click on any thumbnail in the left panel and you get it magnified in the right panel viewer. A very powerful way of inspecting a radiological study.

3- You can use the publication for teaching purposes.

4- After inspecting the radiological study of each patient, you can go to the multiple choice questions page to answer the multiple choice questions and then send the result by email to the author for discussion.

5- The publication is free of charge (freeware) that can be freely downloaded, used and distributed free of charge.

6- The publication can be used on any computer running Windows XP or Vista without the need for any thing preinstalled in the system.

7- The publication is updated every month, that is to say a new publication is placed in my web site every month ready to be downloaded and used free of charge.

Download link: http://neurology.yassermetwally.com/mcq.zip

Click here to download radiological quiz software (mcq.zip)

Cloud (net) computing

2010-01-05T07:20:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 5, 2010 — Cloud computing is an emerging computing technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications. Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more efficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth. Cloud computing is broken down into three segments: "applications," "platforms," and "infrastructure." Each segment serves a different purpose and offers different products for businesses and individuals around the world. In June 2009, a study conducted by Version One found that 41% of senior IT professionals actually don't know what cloud computing is and two-thirds of senior finance professionals are confused by the concept, highlighting the young nature of the technology. In Sept 2009, an Aberdeen Group study found that disciplined companies achieved on average an 18% reduction in their IT budget from cloud computing and a 16% reduction in data center power costs.

Video 1. Understanding Cloud computing

Cloud computing is Internet- ("cloud-") based development and use of computer technology ("computing"). In concept, it is a paradigm shift whereby details are abstracted from the users who no longer need knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption and delivery model for IT services based on Internet, and it typically involves the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet.

The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing used to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.

Video 2. Understanding Cloud computing

These applications are broadly divided into the following categories: Software as a Service (SaaS), Utility Computing, Web Services, Platform as a Service (PaaS), Managed Service Providers (MSP), Service Commerce, and Internet Integration.

Comparisons

Cloud computing can be confused with:

1.Grid computing — "a form of distributed computing, whereby a 'super and virtual computer' is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely coupled computers acting in concert to perform very large tasks"

2.Utility computing — the "packaging of computing resources, such as computation and storage, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility, such as electricity";

3.Autonomic computing — "computer systems capable of self-management".

Indeed, many cloud computing deployments depend on grids, have autonomic characteristics, and bill like utilities, but cloud computing tends to expand what is provided by grids and utilities. Some successful cloud architectures have little or no centralized infrastructure or billing systems whatsoever, including peer-to-peer networks such as BitTorrent and Skype, and volunteer computing.

Characteristics

In general, cloud computing customers do not own the physical infrastructure, instead avoiding capital expenditure by renting usage from a third-party provider. They consume resources as a service and pay only for resources that they use. Many cloud-computing offerings employ the utility computing model, which is analogous to how traditional utility services (such as electricity) are consumed, whereas others bill on a subscription basis. Sharing "perishable and intangible" computing power among multiple tenants can improve utilization rates, as servers are not unnecessarily left idle (which can reduce costs significantly while increasing the speed of application development). A side-effect of this approach is that overall computer usage rises dramatically, as customers do not have to engineer for peak load limits. In addition, "increased high-speed bandwidth" makes it possible to receive the same response times from centralized infrastructure at other sites.

Economics

Cloud computing users can avoid capital expenditure (CapEx) on hardware, software, and services when they pay a provider only for what they use. Consumption is usually billed on a utility (resources consumed, like electricity) or subscription (time-based, like a newspaper) basis with little or no upfront cost. Other benefits of this time sharing-style approach are low barriers to entry, shared infrastructure and costs, low management overhead, and immediate access to a broad range of applications. In general, users can terminate the contract at any time (thereby avoiding return on investment risk and uncertainty), and the services are often covered by service level agreements (SLAs) with financial penalties.

According to Nicholas Carr, the strategic importance of information technology is diminishing as it becomes standardized and less expensive. He argues that the cloud computing paradigm shift is similar to the displacement of electricity generators by electricity grids early in the 20th century.

Although companies might be able to save on upfront capital expenditures, they might not save much and might actually pay more for operating expenses. In situations where the capital expense would be relatively small, or where the organization has more flexibility in their capital budget than their operating budget, the cloud model might not make great fiscal sense. Other factors impacting the scale of any potential cost savings include the efficiency of a company’s data center as compared to the cloud vendor’s, the company's existing operating costs, the level of adoption of cloud computing, and the type of functionality being hosted in the cloud.

Architecture

The majority of cloud computing infrastructure, as of 2009, consists of reliable services delivered through data centers and built on servers. Clouds often appear as single points of access for all consumers' computing needs. Commercial offerings are generally expected to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements of customers and typically offer SLAs. Open standards are critical to the growth of cloud computing, and open source software has provided the foundation for many cloud computing implementations.

History

The Cloud is a term that borrows from telephony. Up to the 1990s, data circuits (including those that carried Internet traffic) were hard-wired between destinations. Then, long-haul telephone companies began offering Virtual Private Network (VPN) service for data communications. Telephone companies were able to offer VPN-based services with the same guaranteed bandwidth as fixed circuits at a lower cost because they could switch traffic to balance utilization as they saw fit, thus utilizing their overall network bandwidth more effectively. As a result of this arrangement, it was impossible to determine in advance precisely which paths the traffic would be routed over. The cloud symbol was used to denote that which was the responsibility of the provider, and cloud computing extends this to cover servers as well as the network infrastructure.

The underlying concept of cloud computing dates back to 1960, when John McCarthy opined that "computation may someday be organized as a public utility"; indeed it shares characteristics with service bureaus that date back to the 1960s. In 1997, the first academic definition was provided by Ramnath K. Chellappa who called it a computing paradigm where the boundaries of computing will be determined by economic rationale rather than technical limits. The term cloud had already come into commercial use in the early 1990s to refer to large Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks.

Loudcloud, founded in 1999 by Marc Andreessen, was one of the first to attempt to commercialize cloud computing with an Infrastructure as a Service model. By the turn of the 21st century, the term "cloud computing" began to appear more widely, although most of the focus at that time was limited to SaaS, called "ASP's" or Application Service Providers, under the terminology of the day.

In the early 2000s, Microsoft extended the concept of SaaS through the development of web services. IBM detailed these concepts in 2001 in the Autonomic Computing Manifesto, which described advanced automation techniques such as self-monitoring, self-healing, self-configuring, and self-optimizing in the management of complex IT systems with heterogeneous storage, servers, applications, networks, security mechanisms, and other system elements that can be virtualized across an enterprise.

Amazon played a key role in the development of cloud computing by modernizing their data centers after the dot-com bubble, which, like most computer networks, were using as little as 10% of their capacity at any one time just to leave room for occasional spikes. Having found that the new cloud architecture resulted in significant internal efficiency improvements whereby small, fast-moving "two-pizza teams" could add new features faster and easier, Amazon started providing access to their systems through Amazon Web Services on a utility computing basis in 2005. This characterization of the genesis of Amazon Web Services has been characterized as an extreme over-simplification by a technical contributor to the Amazon Web Services project.

In 2007, Google, IBM, and a number of universities embarked on a large scale cloud computing research project. By mid-2008, Gartner saw an opportunity for cloud computing "to shape the relationship among consumers of IT services, those who use IT services and those who sell them", and observed that "Organizations' are switching from company-owned hardware and software assets to per-use service-based models" so that the "projected shift to cloud computing ... will result in dramatic growth in IT products in some areas and in significant reductions in other areas."

In July 2008, HP, Intel Corporation and Yahoo! announced the creation of a global, multi-data center, open source test bed, called Open Cirrus [1],designed to encourage research into all aspects of cloud computing, service and datacenter management. Open Cirrus partners include the NSF, the University of Illinois (UIUC), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Malaysian Institute for Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS ), and the Institute for System Programming at the Russian Academy of Sciences (ISPRAS).

Political issues

The Cloud spans many borders and "may be the ultimate form of globalization. As such, it becomes subject to complex geopolitical issues, and providers are pressed to satisfy myriad regulatory environments in order to deliver service to a global market. This dates back to the early days of the Internet, when libertarian thinkers felt that "cyberspace was a distinct place calling for laws and legal institutions of its own".

Despite efforts (such as US-EU Safe Harbor) to harmonize the legal environment, as of 2009, providers such as Amazon cater to major markets (typically the United States and the European Union) by deploying local infrastructure and allowing customers to select "availability zones. Nonetheless, concerns persist about security and privacy from individual through governmental levels (e.g., the USA PATRIOT Act, the use of national security letters, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act's Stored Communications Act).

1. "Cloud Computing: Clash of the clouds". The Economist. 2009-10-15. http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14637206. Retrieved 2009-11-03.

Information Technology and E-learning

2010-01-04T14:27:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 4, 2010 — We use the term information technology or IT to refer to an entire industry. In actuality, information technology is the use of computers and software to manage information. In some companies, this is referred to as Management Information Services (or MIS) or simply as Information Services (or IS). The information technology department of a large company would be responsible for storing information, protecting information, processing the information, transmitting the information as necessary, and later retrieving information as necessary.

Information technology (IT) or information and communication technology (ICT) is a broad subject which deals with technology and other aspects of managing and processing information, especially in large organizations. Particularly, IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and retrieve information. Over the past 20 years, its prevalence has dramatically increased so that it is now a part of nearly every aspect of daily life.

Information technology (IT), as defined by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), is "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware."[1] IT deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information.

History of Information Technology

In relative terms, it wasn't long ago that the Information Technology department might have consisted of a single Computer Operator, who might be storing data on magnetic tape, and then putting it in a box down in the basement somewhere.

Today, the term information has ballooned to encompass many aspects of computing and technology, and the term has become very recognizable. IT professionals perform a variety of duties that range from installing applications to designing complex computer networks and information databases. A few of the duties that IT professionals perform may include data management, networking, engineering computer hardware, database and software design, as well as the management and administration of entire systems.

When computer and communications technologies are combined, the result is information technology, or "infotech". Information technology is a general term that describes any technology that helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate, and/or disseminate information. Presumably, when speaking of Information Technology (IT) as a whole, it is noted that the use of computers and information are associated.

Modern Information Technology Departments

In order to perform the complex functions required of information technology departments today, the modern Information Technology Department would use computers, servers, database management systems, and cryptography. The department would be made up of several System Administrators, Database Administrators and at least one Information Technology Manager. The group usually reports to the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

Information technology and E learning

Early E-Learning systems, based on Computer-Based Learning/Training often attempted to replicate autocratic teaching styles whereby the role of the e-learning system was assumed to be for transferring knowledge, as opposed to systems developed later based on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), which encouraged the shared development of knowledge.

As early as 1993, Graziadei, W. D.[14] described an online computer-delivered lecture, tutorial and assessment project using electronic Mail, two VAX Notes conferences and Gopher/Lynx [15] together with several software programs that allowed students and instructor to create a Virtual Instructional Classroom Environment in Science (VICES) in Research, Education, Service & Teaching (REST).[16] In 1997 Graziadei, W.D., et al.,[17] published an article entitled "Building Asynchronous and Synchronous Teaching-Learning Environments: Exploring a Course/Classroom Management System Solution"[17]. They described a process at the State University of New York (SUNY) of evaluating products and developing an overall strategy for technology-based course development and management in teaching-learning. The product(s) had to be easy to use and maintain, portable, replicable, scalable, and immediately affordable, and they had to have a high probability of success with long-term cost-effectiveness. Today many technologies can be, and are, used in e-Learning, from blogs to collaborative software, ePortfolios, and virtual classrooms. Most eLearning situations use combinations of these techniques.

E-Learning 2.0

The term E-Learning 2.0[18][19] is a neologism for CSCL systems that came about during the emergence of Web 2.0[20]. From an E-Learning 2.0 perspective, conventional e-learning systems were based on instructional packets, which were delivered to students using Internet technologies. The role of the student consisted in learning from the readings and preparing assignments. Assignments were evaluated by the teacher. In contrast, the new e-learning places increased emphasis on social learning and use of social software such as blogs, wikis, podcasts and virtual worlds such as Second Life [21]. This phenomenon has also been referred to as Long Tail Learning[22] See also (Seely Brown & Adler 2008)[23]

E-Learning 2.0, by contrast to e-learning systems not based on CSCL, assumes that knowledge (as meaning and understanding) is socially constructed. Learning takes place through conversations about content and grounded interaction about problems and actions. Advocates of social learning claim that one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it to others.[23]

However, it should be noted that many early online courses, such as those developed by Murray Turoff and Roxanne Hiltz in the 1970s and 80s at the New Jersey Institute of Technology[24], courses at the University of Guelph in Canada[25], the British Open University[26], and the online distance courses at the University of British Columbia (where Web CT, now incorporated into Blackboard Inc. was first developed)[27], have always made heavy use of online discussion between students. Also, from the start, practitioners such as Harasim (1995)[28] have put heavy emphasis on the use of learning networks for knowledge construction, long before the term e-learning, let alone e-learning 2.0, was even considered.

There is also an increased use of virtual classrooms (online presentations delivered live) as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers such as Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and Sachem School District[29].

In addition to virtual classroom environments, social networks have become an important part of E-learning 2.0. Social networks have been used to foster online learning communities around subjects as diverse as test preparation and language education. Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) is a term used to describe using handheld computers or cell phones to assist in language learning.

Approaches to E-Learning Services

E-learning services have evolved since computers were first used in education. There is a trend to move toward blended learning services, where computer-based activities are integrated with practical or classroom-based situations.

Bates and Poole (2003)[30] and the OECD (2005)[31] suggest that different types or forms of e-learning can be considered as a continuum, from no e-learning, i.e. no use of computers and/or the Internet for teaching and learning, through classroom aids, such as making classroom lecture Powerpoint slides available to students through a course web site or learning management system, to laptop programs, where students are required to bring laptops to class and use them as part of a face-to-face class, to hybrid learning, where classroom time is reduced but not eliminated, with more time devoted to online learning, through to fully online learning, which is a form of distance education. This classification is somewhat similar to that of the Sloan Commission reports on the status of e-learning, which refer to web enhanced, web supplemented and web dependent to reflect increasing intensity of technology use.In the Bates and Poole continuum, 'blended learning' can cover classroom aids, laptops and hybrid learning, while 'distributed learning' can incorporate either hybrid or fully online learning.

It can be seen then that e-learning can describe a wide range of applications, and it is often by no means clear even in peer reviewed research publications which form of e-learning is being discussed. However, Bates and Poole argue that when instructors say they are using e-learning, this most often refers to the use of technology as classroom aids, although over time, there has been a gradual increase in fully online learning.

Computer-based learning

Computer-based learning, sometimes abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of computers as a key component of the educational environment. While this can refer to the use of computers in a classroom, the term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used for teaching purposes. The concept is generally seen as being distinct from the use of computers in ways where learning is at least a peripheral element of the experience (e.g. computer games and web browsing).

Computer-Based Training

Computer-Based Trainings (CBTs) are self-paced learning activities accessible via a computer or handheld device. CBTs typically present content in a linear fashion, much like reading an online book or manual. For this reason they are often used to teach static processes, such as using software or completing mathematical equations. The term Computer-Based Training is often used interchangeably with Web-based training (WBT) with the primary difference being the delivery method. Where CBTs are typically delivered via CD-ROM, WBTs are delivered via the Internet using a web browser. Assessing learning in a CBT usually comes in the form of multiple choice questions, or other assessments that can be easily scored by a computer.

CBTs can be a good alternative to printed learning materials since rich media, including videos or animations, can easily be embedded to enhance the learning. Another advantage to CBTs are that they can be easily distributed to a wide audience at a relatively low cost once the initial development is completed.

However, CBTs pose some learning challenges as well. Typically the creation of effective CBTs requires enormous resources. The software for developing CBTs (such as Flash or Adobe Director) is often more complex than a subject matter expert or teacher is able to use. In addition, the lack of human interaction can limit both the type of content that can be presented as well as the type of assessment that can be performed. Many learning organizations are beginning to use smaller CBT/WBT activities as part of a broader online learning program which may include online discussion or other interactive elements.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL)

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is one of the most promising innovations to improve teaching and learning with the help of modern information and communication technology. Most recent developments in CSCL have been called E-Learning 2.0, but the concept of collaborative or group learning whereby instructional methods are designed to encourage or require students to work together on learning tasks has existed much longer. It is widely agreed to distinguish collaborative learning from the traditional 'direct transfer' model in which the instructor is assumed to be the distributor of knowledge and skills, which is often given the neologism, E-Learning 1.0, even though this direct transfer method most accurately reflects Computer-Based Learning systems (CBL).

In Datacloud: Toward a New Theory of Online Work, Johndan Johnson-Eilola describes a specific computer-supported collaboriatin space: The Smart Board. According to Johnson-Eilola, a “Smart Board system provides a 72-inch, rear projection, touchscreen, intelligent whiteboard surface for work” (79). In Datacloud, Johnson-Eilola asserts that “[w]e are attempting to understand how users move within information spaces, how users can exist within information spaces rather than merely gaze at them, and how information spaces must be shared with others rather than being private, lived within rather than simply visited” (82). He explains how the Smart Board system offers an information space that allows his students to engage in active collaboration. He makes three distinct claims regarding the functionality of the technology: 1) The Smart Board allows users to work with large amounts of information, 2) It offers an information space that invites active collaboration, 3) The work produced is often “dynamic and contingent” (82).[32]

Johnson-Eilola further explains that with the Smart Board “&ldots;information work becom[es] a bodied experience” (81). Users have the opportunity to engage with—inhabit—the technology by direct manipulation. Moreover, this space allows for more than one user; essentially, it invites multiple users.[33]

Technology-enhanced Learning (TEL)

Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has the goal to provide socio-technical innovations (also improving efficiency and cost effectiveness) for e-learning practices, regarding individuals and organizations, independent of time, place and pace. The field of TEL therefore applies to the support of any learning activity through technology.

Technology Issues

Educational technology

Along with the terms learning technology, instructional technology, and Educational Technology, the term is generally used to refer to the use of technology in learning in a much broader sense than the computer-based training or Computer Aided Instruction of the 1980s. It is also broader than the terms Online Learning or Online Education which generally refer to purely web-based learning. In cases where mobile technologies are used, the term M-learning has become more common. E-learning, however, also has implications beyond just the technology and refers to the actual learning that takes place using these systems.

E-learning is naturally suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but can also be used in conjunction with face-to-face teaching, in which case the term Blended learning is commonly used. E-Learning pioneer Bernard Luskin argues that the "E" must be understood to have broad meaning if e-Learning is to be effective. Luskin says that the "e" should be interpreted to mean exciting, energetic, enthusiastic, emotional, extended, excellent, and educational in addition to "electronic" that is a traditional national interpretation. This broader interpretation allows for 21st century applications and brings learning and media psychology into the equation.[citation needed]

In higher education especially, the increasing tendency is to create a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) (which is sometimes combined with a Management Information System (MIS) to create a Managed Learning Environment) in which all aspects of a course are handled through a consistent user interface standard throughout the institution. A growing number of physical universities, as well as newer online-only colleges, have begun to offer a select set of academic degree and certificate programs via the Internet at a wide range of levels and in a wide range of disciplines. While some programs require students to attend some campus classes or orientations, many are delivered completely online. In addition, several universities offer online student support services, such as online advising and registration, e-counseling, online textbook purchase, student governments and student newspapers.

e-Learning can also refer to educational web sites such as those offering learning scenarios, worksheets and interactive exercises for children. The term is also used extensively in the business sector where it generally refers to cost-effective online training.

The recent trend in the e-Learning sector is screencasting. There are many screencasting tools available but the latest buzz is all about the web based screencasting tools which allow the users to create screencasts directly from their browser and make the video available online so that the viewers can stream the video directly. The advantage of such tools is that it gives the presenter the ability to show his ideas and flow of thoughts rather than simply explain them, which may be more confusing when delivered via simple text instructions. With the combination of video and audio, the expert can mimic the one on one experience of the classroom and deliver clear, complete instructions. From the learners point of view this provides the ability to pause and rewind and gives the learner the advantage to move at their own pace, something a classroom cannot always offer. One such example of e-Learning platform based on screencasts is YoHelpOnline.

Communication technologies used in e-learning

Communication technologies are generally categorized as asynchronous or synchronous. Asynchronous activities use technologies such as blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. The idea here is that participants may engage in the exchange of ideas or information without the dependency of other participants involvement at the same time. Electronic mail (Email) is also asynchronous in that mail can be sent or received without having both the participants’ involvement at the same time.

Synchronous activities involve the exchange of ideas and information with one or more participants during the same period of time. A face to face discussion is an example of synchronous communications. Synchronous activities occur with all participants joining in at once, as with an online chat session or a virtual classroom or meeting.

Virtual classrooms and meetings can often use a mix of communication technologies

In many models, the writing community and the communication channels relate with the E-learning and the M-learning communities. Both the communities provide a general overview of the basic learning models and the activities required for the participants to join the learning sessions across the virtual classroom or even across standard classrooms enabled by technology. Many activities, essential for the learners in these environments, require frequent chat sessions in the form of virtual classrooms and/or blog meetings. Lately context-aware ubiquitous technology has been providing an innovative way for written and oral communications by using a mobile device with sensors and RFID readers and tags (Liu & Hwang 2009).

Learning management system (LMS) and Learning content management system (LCMS)

Learning management system

A learning management system (LMS) is software for delivering, tracking and managing training/education. LMSs range from systems for managing training/educational records to software for distributing courses over the Internet and offering features for online collaboration.

A learning content management system (LCMS) is software for authoring, editing and indexing e-learning content (courses, reusable content objects). An LCMS may be solely dedicated to producing and publishing content that is hosted on an LMS, or it can host the content itself (remote AICC content hosting model).

Computer-aided assessment

Computer-aided Assessment (also but less commonly referred to as E-assessment), ranging from automated multiple-choice tests to more sophisticated systems is becoming increasingly common. With some systems, feedback can be geared towards a student's specific mistakes or the computer can navigate the student through a series of questions adapting to what the student appears to have learned or not learned.

The best examples follow a Formative Assessment structure and are called "Online Formative Assessment". This involves making an initial formative assessment by sifting out the incorrect answers. The author/teacher will then explain what the pupil should have done with each question. It will then give the pupil at least one practice at each slight variation of sifted out questions. This is the formative learning stage. The next stage is to make a Summative Assessment by a new set of questions only covering the topics previously taught. Some will take this even further and repeat the cycle such as BOFA[34] which is aimed at the Eleven plus exam set in the UK.

The term learning design has sometimes come to refer to the type of activity enabled by software such as the open-source system LAMS[35] which supports sequences of activities that can be both adaptive and collaborative. The IMS Learning Design specification is intended as a standard format for learning designs, and IMS LD Level A is supported in LAMS V2.elearning has been replacing the traditional settings due to its cost effectiveness.

Electronic performance support systems

An Electronic performance support systems (EPSS) is a "computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice, and learning experiences". 1991, Barry Raybould

Content Issues

Content is a core component of e-learning and includes issues such as pedagogy and learning object re-use.

Pedagogical elements

Pedagogical elements are an attempt to define structures or units of educational material. For example, this could be a lesson, an assignment, a multiple choice question, a quiz, a discussion group or a case study. These units should be format independent, so although it may be in any of the following methods, pedagogical structures would not include a textbook, a web page, a video conference or Podcast.

When beginning to create e-Learning content, the pedagogical approaches need to be evaluated. Simple pedagogical approaches make it easy to create content, but lack flexibility, richness and downstream functionality. On the other hand, complex pedagogical approaches can be difficult to set up and slow to develop, though they have the potential to provide more engaging learning experiences for students. Somewhere between these extremes is an ideal pedagogy that allows a particular educator to effectively create educational materials while simultaneously providing the most engaging educational experiences for students.

Pedagogical approaches or perspectives

It is possible to use various pedagogical approaches for eLearning which include:

instructional design - the traditional pedagogy of instruction which is curriculum focused, and is developed by a centralized educating group or a single teacher.

social-constructivist - this pedagogy is particularly well afforded by the use of discussion forums, blogs, wiki and on-line collaborative activities. It is a collaborative approach that opens educational content creation to a wider group including the students themselves. The One Laptop Per Child Foundation attempted to use a constructivist approach in its project[36]

Laurillard's Conversational Model[37] is also particularly relevant to eLearning, and Gilly Salmon's Five-Stage Model is a pedagogical approach to the use of discussion boards [38].

Cognitive perspective focuses on the cognitive processes involved in learning as well as how the brain works.[39]

Emotional perspective focuses on the emotional aspects of learning, like motivation, engagement, fun, etc.[40]

Behavioural perspective focuses on the skills and behavioural outcomes of the learning process. Role-playing and application to on-the-job settings.[41]

Contextual perspective focuses on the environmental and social aspects which can stimulate learning. Interaction with other people, collaborative discovery and the importance of peer support as well as pressure.[42]

Reusability, standards and learning objects

Much effort has been put into the technical reuse of electronically-based teaching materials and in particular creating or re-using Learning Objects. These are self contained units that are properly tagged with keywords, or other metadata, and often stored in an XML file format. Creating a course requires putting together a sequence of learning objects. There are both proprietary and open, non-commercial and commercial, peer-reviewed repositories of learning objects such as the Merlot repository.

A common standard format for e-learning content is SCORM whilst other specifications allow for the transporting of "learning objects" (Schools Framework) or categorizing metadata (LOM).

These standards themselves are early in the maturity process with the oldest being 8 years old. They are also relatively vertical specific: SIF is primarily pK-12, LOM is primarily Corp, Military and Higher Ed, and SCORM is primarily Military and Corp with some Higher Ed. PESC- the Post-Secondary Education Standards Council- is also making headway in developing standards and learning objects for the Higher Ed space, while SIF is beginning to seriously turn towards Instructional and Curriculum learning objects.

In the US pK12 space there are a host of content standards that are critical as well- the NCES data standards are a prime example. Each state government's content standards and achievement benchmarks are critical metadata for linking e-learning objects in that space.

An excellent example of e-learning that relates to knowledge management and reusability is Navy E-Learning, which is available to Active Duty, Retired, or Disable Military members. This on-line tool provides certificate courses to enrich the user in various subjects related to military training and civilian skill sets. The e-learning system not only provides learning objectives, but also evaluates the progress of the student and credit can be earned toward higher learning institutions. This reuse is an excellent example of knowledge retention and the cyclical process of knowledge transfer and use of data and records.

References

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38. E-moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online - Gilly Salmon , Kogan Page, 2000, ISBN 0-7494-4085-6

39. Bloom, B. S., and D. R. Krathwohl. (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1

40. Bååth, J. A. (1982) "Distance Students' Learning - Empirical Findings and Theoretical Deliberations"

41. Areskog, N-H. (1995) The Tutorial Process - the Roles of Student Teacher and Tutor in a Long Term Perspective

42. Black, J. & McClintock, R. (1995) "An Interpretation Construction Approach to Constructivist Design."

The PDF files: Ideal for E- learning

2010-01-02T11:49:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 2, 2010 — The PDF file format is a common Internet file format (PDF stands for Portable Document Format). It’s used for electronic distribution and E-learning because it faithfully preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colors, images, and layout. it is used very frequently in www.yassermetwally.com for the purpose of case studies, original articles publication and others. It also can be used across many different types of computers and browsers and operating systems. It is commonly used for government publications, leaflets and forms. (Download Adobe reader)

There are two ways to read an online PDF file.

Read the PDF file online (You must have Adobe acrobat reader preinstalled in your system to be able to read the PDF file online)

Left click on the PDF link, look at the status bar, wait for the PDF file to get downloaded. The download time depends upon the size of the PDF file and the speed of your Internet connection.
The PDF file must be downloaded first and then opened by your default PDF reader (like the Adobe acrobat reader for example).
After being downloaded the PDF file might be opened in the same browser window or in a different window depending upon the way you configured your PDF reader (like the Adobe acrobat reader for example).
Following being downloaded and opened by your default PDF reader (like the Adobe acrobat reader for example), the PDF file can be saved to your hard drive by choosing save from the file menu of acrobat reader.

Download the PDF file first to your hard drive, then read it offline

Right click on the PDF link, select ’save’ target as’ from the pop-up menu to download the PDF file to your hard disk.
Browse to the directory where you want to save the file
Select ‘Save’
Navigate to where you have saved the file and double-click to open.

Visit my web site | Search | Back issues | Current PDF publications

www.yassermetwally.com: Atypical example of medical E-learning

2010-01-01T16:29:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 1, 2010 — I am professor Yasser Metwally, Professor of neurology, Ain Shams university Cairo, Egypt and as a professor i do belive in E-learning and E-teaching. (Click here for more details about the author publications).

If you are interested in my experience, my experience is digitally available to you. My digital experience is composed of three main categories as follows.

1- Web sites on CD-ROM: They are Offline CD-ROM based web sites. These are searchable publications that have the look and feel of web sites. They are not online, but CD-ROM based. They are not free of charge but they are very much low priced. (Textbook of neuroimaging, Case record publication and textbook of neuropsychiatry for the undergraduate). The CD-ROM based publications constitute the offline sections of my web sites. They are, besides being offline CD-ROM based data intensive medical publications in all branches of neurology and psychiatry, They are also web-browsers through which you can get online and browse through the online sections of my web sites (Both the downloadable and online publications).

2- Downloadable publications: Publications that must be downloaded first and then read offline, They are not designed to be read online. They are either zipped publications software or PDF files. (Help with PDF files) Downloadable publications are small publications (for a fast download) but they very useful, very practical and very informative and can be used for teaching purposes. These publications are updated on weekly or monthly basis. For PDF files, back issues are available online (Back issues) and on CD-ROM. Back issues of Publications software are available only on CD-ROM free of charge. In general publications are downloaded form http://yassermetwally.com web site and its various branches (Site map). Downloadable publications are completely free of charge. Fell free to copy and distribute them on a non-profit basis.

3- Online publications: These publications are designed to be read online. (The Online newspaper, Arabic section, My life and the world and Neurology online).

The CD-ROM publications are typical examples of what is called net-computing or cloud-computing. The basic data are present on CD-ROM (Textbook of neuroimaging, Case record publication and textbook of neuropsychiatry for the undergraduate), or your hard drive (if you have installed any of these CD-ROM based publications), and additional data are present online, these additional data (both online and downloadable publications) can be accessed though the CD-ROM publications which can be regraded as web browsers. In short CD-ROM based publications, besides being offline data intensive medical publications in all branches of neurology and psychiatry, can be regraded as an offline interface to my online web sites and all its sections, domains and subdomains (Click for my web site map). The CD-ROM publications can even be used as web browsers, you simply do not have to exit these publications to get online.

Downloadable publications policy

The Academic years starts on the first of October every year and ends on the 30 of June of the next year. Summer vacation starts on the first of July and ends on the 30 of September every year.

During the academic year (from 1/10 to 30/6) the downloadable PDF files and softwares (downloadable publications) will be updated as usual. (See table 1) however during the summer vacation (from 1/7 to 30/9 every year) the downloadable publications will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from tile to time, with the exception of The neurology bulletin publication (bul.zip file) which will be updated on monthly basis as usual during the academic year and the vacation time.

Table 1. Downloadable publications policy

Downloadable publication	During the academic year	During summer vacation (from 1/7 to 30/9 every year)
The neurology bulletin (bul.zip file)	Udated every month	Udated every monthly
Multiple choice questions software (mcq.zip file)	Updated every month	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.
Single case study (case, zip file)	Updated every month	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.
Case of the week (crow.zip file)	Updated every week	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.
Topic of the month (topic.zip file)	Updated every month	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.
Case record (PDF publication)	Updated every week	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.
Short case (PDF publication)	Updated every week	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.
Issues in brainmapping (map.pdf file)	Updated every month	Will not be updated or will be updated irregularly. Back issues will be uploaded from time to time.

It is much advised to use Internet explorer version 7 or later to view this site for optimum video display

I hope you find my web site as useful as i truly wish.

The author,

Professor Yasser Metwally

Case of the week publication: Anther example of medical E -learning

2010-01-01T16:15:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 1, 2010 — Case of the week publication is anther example of medical E learning from www.yassermetwally.com

1-A downloadable, weekly updated, neurological case with full clinical, radiological and pathological data. You can email the author from within the downloaded software. The software is a freeware, a gift not to sold.

2-You can easily browse through the whole of the case radiology, with a view simulating X ray films, Click on any thumbnail in the left panel and you get it magnified in the right panel viewer. A very powerful way of inspecting a radiological study.

3-You can use the publication for teaching purposes.

4-The publication is free of charge (freeware) that can be freely downloaded, used and distributed free of charge.

5-The publication can be used on any computer running Windows XP or Vista without the need for any thing preinstalled in the system.

6-The publication is updated every week, that is to say a new case record is placed in my web site every week ready to be downloaded and used free of charge.

Download link: http://neurology.yassermetwally.com/crow.zip

Click here to download case of the week publication (crow.zip)

Case record publication: A typical example in medical E learning from http://yassermetwally.com

2010-01-01T16:02:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 1, 2010 — Downloads from http://neurology.yassermetwally.com

1- A downloadable software featuring a full radiological study of one case with a radiological report and review of literature. You can email the author from within the software. The software is a freeware, a gift not to sold.

3- You can use the publication for teaching purposes.

4- The publication is free of charge (freeware) that can be freely downloaded, used and distributed free of charge.

5- The publication can be used on any computer running Windows XP or Vista without the need for any thing preinstalled in the system.

6- The publication is updated every month, that is to say a new case record is placed in my web site every month ready to be downloaded and used free of charge.

7- The publication is small (less than 3 MB for rapid download), yet very powerful and very useful.

8- It is mainly directed to neurologists, neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons.

Download link: http://yassermetwally.com/neurology/case.zip

Click here to download case records publication (case.zip)

E-learning: The main concept

2010-01-01T15:36:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

January 1, 2010 — E-learning (or electronic learning or eLearning) is a term that encompasses all forms of Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) or very specific types of TEL such as online or Web-based learning. Nevertheless, the term does not have a universally accepted definition[1] and there are divides in the e-learning industry about whether a technology-enhanced system can be called e-learning if there is no set pedagogy as some argue e-learning is: "pedagogy empowered by digital technology" [2].

The term e-learning is ambiguous to those outside the e-learning industry, and even within its diverse disciplines it has different meanings to different people [1]. For instance in companies, it often refers to the strategies that use the company network to deliver training courses to employees and lately in most Universities, e-learning is used to define a specific mode to attend a course or program of study where the students rarely or never meet face-to-face, nor access on-campus educational facilities, because they study online.

Goals and benefits of e-learning

E-Learning can provide benefits for the organizations and individuals involved.

1. Improved performance: A 12-year meta-analysis of research by the U.S. Department of Education found that higher education students in online learning generally performed better than those in face-to-face courses.[3]

2. Increased access: Instructors of the highest calibre can share their knowledge across borders, allowing students to attend courses across physical, political, and economic boundaries. Recognized experts have the opportunity of making information available internationally, to anyone interested at minimum costs. For example, the MIT OpenCourseWare program has made substantial portions of that university's curriculum and lectures available for free online.

3. Convenience and flexibility to learners: in many contexts, eLearning is self-paced and the learning sessions are available 24x7. Learners are not bound to a specific day/time to physically attend classes. They can also pause learning sessions at their convenience.The High technology is not necessary for all online courses. Basic internet access, audio, and video capabilities are common requirements. [4]

4. To develop the skills and competencies needed in the 21st century, in particular to ensure that learners have the digital literacy skills required in their discipline, profession or career Bates (2009)[5] states that a major argument for e-learning is that it enables learners to develop essential skills for knowledge-based workers by embedding the use of information and communications technologies within the curriculum. He also argues that using e-learning in this way has major implications for course design and the assessment of learners.

Market of E-learning

The worldwide e-learning industry is estimated to be worth over thirty-eight (38) billion euros according to conservative estimates, although in the European Union only about 20% of e-learning products are produced within the common market [6]. Developments in internet and multimedia technologies are the basic enabler of e-learning, with consulting, content, technologies, services and support being identified as the five key sectors of the e-learning industry.[7]

Higher education and E-learning

By 2006, nearly 3.5 million students were participating in on-line learning at institutions of higher education in the United States.[8] According to the Sloan Foundation reports[9,10] there has been an increase of around 12-14 per cent per year on average in enrollments for fully online learning over the five years 2004-2009 in the US post-secondary system, compared with an average of approximately 2 per cent increase per year in enrollments overall. Allen and Seamen (2009)[11] claim that almost a quarter of all students in post-secondary education were taking fully online courses in 2008, and a report by Ambient Insight Research[12] suggests that in 2009, 44 per cent of post-secondary students in the USA were taking some or all of their courses online, and projected that this figure would rise to 81 per cent by 2014. Thus it can be seen that e-learning is moving rapidly from the margins to being a predominant form of post-secondary education, at least in the USA.

Many higher education, for-profit institutions, now offer on-line classes. By contrast, only about half of private, non-profit schools offer them. The Sloan report, based on a poll of academic leaders, says that students generally appear to be at least as satisfied with their on-line classes as they are with traditional ones. Private institutions may become more involved with on-line presentations as the cost of instituting such a system decreases. Properly trained staff must also be hired to work with students on-line. These staff members need to understand the content area, and also be highly trained in the use of the computer and Internet. Online education is rapidly increasing, and online doctoral programs have even developed at leading research universities.[13]

References

a b Dublin, L. (2003). If You Only Look Under the Street Lamps... Or Nine e-Learning Myths. The eLearning Developers' Journal, 1-7.
Nichols, M. (2008). E-Learning in context. E-Primer Series.
Means, B.; Toyama, Y.; Murphy, R.; Bakia, M.; Jones, K. (2009), Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf, retrieved 20 August 2009
Kerkman, L. (2004). Convenience of Online Education Attracts Midcareer Students. Chronicle of Philanthropy, 16(6), 11-12. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
http://www.tonybates.ca/2009/06/24/e-learning-and-21st-century-skills-and-competences/
EC (2000). Communication from the Commission: E-Learning - Designing "Tejas at Niit" tomorrow’s education. Brussels: European Commission
Nagy, A. (2005). The Impact of E-Learning, in: Bruck, P.A.; Buchholz, A.; Karssen, Z.; Zerfass, A. (Eds). E-Content: Technologies and Perspectives for the European Market. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, pp.79-96
"Sloan Consortium"
Allen, I. E. and Seaman, J. (2008) Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008 Needham MA: Sloan Consortium
Allen, I.E. and Seaman, J. (2003) Sizing the Opportunity: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2002 and 2003 Wellesley, MA: The Sloan Consortium
Allen, I. E. and Seaman, J. (2008) Staying the Course: Online Education in the United States, 2008 Needham MA: Sloan Consortium
Ambient Insight Research (2009) US Self-paced e-Learning Market Monroe WA: Ambient Insight Research
Hebert, D. G. (2007). "Five Challenges and Solutions in Online Music Teacher Education". Research and Issues in Music Education 5 (1). http://www.stthomas.edu/rimeonline/vol5/hebert.htm.

Marantic (nonbacterial thrombotic) endocarditis

2009-12-31T07:58:00.001-08:00

The author: Professor Yasser Metwally

http://yassermetwally.com

INTRODUCTION

December 30, 2009 — This disorder is characterized by platelet fibrin thrombi that are deposited most commonly on either the aortic or mitral valve and have been termed “verrucous vegetations.” There is a clear association with hypercoagulable conditions and advanced malignancy. It often presents with arterial cerebral embolism. This risk of the disorder is roughly 1% of all cancer patients,[1] but it accounts for up to 20% to 30% of stroke in patients with cancer. [2,3] Characteristics of this uncommon disorder are listed in Box 1.

Box 1. Characteristics of marantic (nonbacterial thrombotic) endocarditis

1. Associated with sterile platelet-fibrin thrombi on heart valves

2. Most commonly affects the aortic and mitral valves

3. Associated with advanced malignancies and hypercoagulable states

4. Seen in approximately 1% of malignancies and most commonly associated with adenocarcinoma of either the pancreas, lungs, or stomach

5. Accounts for up to 20% to 30% of stroke in cancer patients

6. Often associated with other manifestations of hypercoagulation, such as venous thrombosis and disseminated intravascular coagulation

7. Transesophageal echocardiograpy is the most sensitive imaging device for detection of the verrucous vegetations on affected heart valves

8. Evaluation for malignancy or a hypercoagulable state is indicated when such vegetations are detected if such a condition has not already been found

9. Anticoagulant therapy may have some benefit for the associated hypercoagulable condition, but effective treatment of the underlying condition has the greatest potential for longer-lasting benefit

The identification of associated conditions, such as advanced malignancy or hypercoagulable condition, in a patient with stroke should lead to investigation for possible noninfectious valvular vegetations on the left side of the heart. The most sensitive study in this regard is transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), with one study reporting a yield of 18% in cancer patients with cerebral ischemia. [2] If such vegetations are detected in a stroke patient with negative blood cultures and no obvious associated condition then evaluation for occult malignancy or clotting disorder, such as disseminated intravascular coagulation, is indicated. [4] There is a tendency to use anticoagulant therapy in such a clinical setting, especially when there is clearly established thrombotic coagulopathy, although controlled clinical studies are lacking and there is concern over the potential for hemorrhagic complications. [5]

References

Lopez JA, Ross RS, Fishbein MC, et al. Nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis: a review. Am Heart J. 1987;113(3):773–778.
Macdonnell RA, Kalnis RM, Donnan GA. Non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis and stroke. Clin Exp Neurol. 1986;22:123–132.
Dutta T, Karas MG, Segal AZ, et al. Yield of transesophageal echocardiography for nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis and other cardiac sources of embolism in cancer patients with cerebral ischemia. Am J Cardiol. 2006;97(6):894–898.
Graus F, Rogers JB. Cerebrovascular complications in patients with cancer. Medicine (Baltimore). 1985;64(1):16–35.
Rogers LR. Cerebrovascular complications in cancer patients. Neurol Clin. 2003;21(1):167–192.