[Session 1: Text]

This is Prof. Suzuki. Welcome to this course! I'm looking forward to working with you.

 This course is intended for you to read texts prepared for the pilot course through the SCS (Space Collaboration System). The course has come to be well-known as an "very hard course involving intense study" that was conducted in September 2003. At that time, I worked on creating a cohesive curriculum of e-learning fundamentals, specialized for practitioners in corporate training or higher education, from the viewpoint of instructional design. I received a research grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Japan as well as support from the e-Learning Consortium Japan (eLC). As a special course of SCS, operated by the National Institute of Multimedia Education (NIME), the first course was delivered. That was the course, "e-Learning Fundamentals (eLF 2003)."

 eLF 2003 was offered experimentally with 129 participants, connecting 10 sites throughout Japan by SCS. Its unparalleled "intensity" covering 15 sessions over 5 days, including a weekend in the middle, and its marvelous "results" (See [1].) were recognized; consequently, it became an eLC authorized course for getting "e-Learning Fundamentals Certificate." This formed the bases of "e-Learning Professionals (eLP)" certificate program, for which eLC was in the final stage of preparation in year 2004 (and started in 2007).

 The success of eLF 2003 brought a firm base to our Instructional Systems program at Kumamoto University in various senses. Without eLF 2003, I would not have come to Kumamoto out of Iwate, and coordination between our program and eLC and NIME might not have been established. Therefore we are trying to deliver the course as original as possible, resisting the temptation to revise the somewhat outdated content, so that those who become crew members of our program can experience the origin.

 Well, so much for preliminaries (or excuses). Now is warm-up time.

 For Session 1, please read "Preface" of the eLF 2003 text. In this text, what I thought of is explained, picking up three fresh episodes (at the time of 2003) containing what was happening to me then. It will be offered as a PDF file, because you probably cannot tolerate reading on the screen any longer. If your eyes get sore, please print it out and read on paper. If not (because you are so young?), you may view and read it on the screen.

How was this text?

 Please post your feedback to the "Preface" on the Discussion Board. Posting of your messages on Discussion Board would be the only proof of your steady study. While writing in a message at ease with your self-introduction, please also aim at demonstrating your eagle eye. In addition, "Reply" to comments on others' Postings. You cannot inform them that you read their messages, unless you return a response.

 To view the Discussion Board, select "iv [Task 1] Discussion Board for feedback to the preface from the left index.

 Are you a person who read the "Afterward" just after the "Preface" even before start reading the main body of the book? If you have the same habit as myself, you may want to read the "Afterward" before going on to Session 2. The Afterward is an unnecessary addition at this time, but just in case you have the same habit as I do, it is provided below. Moreover, this Afterward includes another unnecessary addition of sentences written by myself in the past. It covers as much as 7 pages, but I hope you like it!

 This Afterward is also getting older. The blending workshop to be started at that stage has developed into "eLP Seminar," and the sale of packaged texts ended in March 2007. In addition, accompanying transfer of Prof. Suzuki, "Site for Support of e-Learning Fundamentals Learning" has also been moved (to URL=http://www2.gsis.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/eLF/) (Japanese only). As mentioned in the further unnecessary addition to the unnecessary addition, in terms of continuity and change, I guess that there are permanence and change in anything.