E-Learning and Semantic Technologies

Traditional teaching and learning methods have had to adapt to keep up with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in modern society. E-learning stands for all forms of Web-based learning and uses computer and computer networks to create, store, deliver, manage and support online learning courses to anyone, anytime and anywhere. It provides a configurable infrastructure that can integrate learning materials, tools, and services into a single solution to create and deliver training or educational materials quickly, effectively, and economically. Recently, emerging Semantic Web technologies have changed the focus of e-learning systems from task-based approaches to knowledge-intensive ones. The Semantic Web is a W3C initiative and according to Berners-Lee et al. (2001) comprises “an extension of the current Web in which information is given welldefined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation”. The capability of the Semantic Web to add meaning to information, stored in such way that it can be searched and processed, as well as recent advances in Semantic Web-based technologies provide the mechanisms for semantic knowledge representation, exchange and collaboration of e-learning applications (Anderson & Whitelock, 2004).