First COLLA Regional Workshop, Putrajaya, Malaysia, 28-29 June, 2004. 146 e-MaS AND SaLMaS: LEARNING CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR LIFELONG LEARNING Mohamed Amin Embi & Afendi Hamat Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Bangi, MALAYSIA Abstract Since e-learning is a relatively new phenomenon in Malaysia and efforts to introduce it in the Malaysian scenario only started in the late 1990s, Malaysian educators usually do not have access to the tools or skills needed to successfully implement it in their institutions. Those who are competent enough could develop rudimentary delivery systems that may or may not meet all their instructional needs. Systems that provide facilities to help educators deliver their instructional materials are usually very costly or do not fit into the institutions’ needs. Although there are a few commercially available products that offer solutions for e-learning like Web-CT, they are expensive to acquire and maintain. They are also not designed specifically for the Malaysian scenario, catering instead to global markets. This paper describes two user-friendly Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) known as e-MaS (e-Learning Management System) and SaLMaS (Self-access e-Learning Management System) developed by the authors to help teachers and educators create and manage online learning materials and activities. Introduction Since online learning is a new phenomenon in Malaysia and efforts to introduce it in the Malaysian context only started in the late 1990s (Abu Daud Silong, Daing Zaidah Ibrahim & Bahaman Abu Samad, 2001), Malaysian teachers usually do not have access to the tools or skills needed to successfully implement it in their institutions (Mohamed Amin Embi, Ramlee Mustapha & Sidek Abd. Aziz, 2001). Those who are competent enough could develop basic delivery systems that may or may not meet all their instructional needs. Systems that provide facilities to help teachers deliver their materials and instructions are usually very costly (Abbey, 2001). Although there are a few commercially available products that offer solutions for online learning, they are expensive to acquire and maintain. They are often designed to cater for global markets. Mohamed Amin Embi et al (2001) also argue that although online learning is more available than before with the advent of Learning Networks, there is still lack of localised systems for managing online teaching and learning (see also Mohamed Amin Embi, Zalizan Mohd Jelas & Ramlee Mustapha, 2002). This paper describes two localized user-friendly Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) known as e-MaS (e-Learning Management System) and SaLMaS (Self-access e-Learning Management System) developed by the authors to help teachers and educators create and manage online learning materials and activities.