Abstract:

This paper describes best practices for organizing an e-learning training in the higher education system. These findings are the result from the Erasmus+ project e-LIVES (e-Learning InnoVative Engineering Solutions; https://e-lives.eu). The e-LIVES project fosters the integration of operational e-learning best practices and settled methodologies in the South Mediterranean countries of Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. This approach is highly needed due to the recent rise in the number of students in the higher education system in the aforementioned South Mediterranean countries. The rising number of students creates difficulties for the universities and forces them to conduct over-crowded courses. Such difficulties are often noticed in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related courses. To overcome such problems, the e-LIVES project aimed to document a set of best practices to develop reliable remote laboratory solutions and e-engineering training for South Mediterranean countries to become autonomous in the development and accreditation of their own innovative e-engineering courses. In the e-LIVES project, the considered training field area was engineering where recent innovations to realize remote laboratory sessions still needed to be further developed, secured and disseminated to reach sustainable ownership. In this paper, the best practices for e-learning training are approached from two different perspectives:
(1) organization
(2) quality assessment.

The organizational perspective addresses three important factors:
(1) the main aspects which should be considered for successful training,
(2) the daily organization of the training and
(3) ensuring a satisfying daily pedagogical follow-up of students.

For the first factor, we present seven benchmarks which should be considered for a successful e-learning training. The second factor presents the systematic overview of the e-learning organization during an academic year and the final factor briefs important criteria to ensure the pedagogical follow-up of students.

The quality assessment perspective of the e-learning training addresses two important factors:
(1) the measuring tools initially developed to evaluate competences and skills, and
(2) how to obtain data for assessment.

The first factor presents and discusses different assessment methods for quality control and the second factor discusses the data/numbers upon which to base the quantitative and qualitative assessment.

Keywords:

e-learning, e-engineering, higher education, quality assessment and control, innovative course development.