E-learning Framework for Dilla University using Cloud Computing Dr.Sangheethaa S, Asst. Professor, College of Computer Science and Informatics, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, KSA s.kuttannair@seu.edu.sa Dr. Arun Korath, Asst Professor, College Administration and Finance Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, KSA a.korath@seu.edu.sa Abstract: - In past decade the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) has enormously affected the way education is provided. E-learning is a concept which uses the internet technologies for teaching and learning process. Many educational institutions have developed their own E-learning systems and some outsource it. But most of the universities have invested much and everyone have this E-learning system in their institution. How far this E-learning system is utilized by the teaching and learning community is a question mark! Though technology is in the finger tips of the teaching and learning community, usage of these tools seem to be slow in developing countries like Ethiopia. Investing in E-learning is already done by many Universities, but their fruits are not yet ripe. This paper discusses the current state of E-learning systems and proposes a new frame work which reduces the cost of investment and maintenance. The new framework utilizes the cloud computing technology to reduce the cost involved and internet for increasing the use of E- learning technology by the teachers and students. Keywords--E-learning, cloud computing, effectiveness 1. INTRODUCTION E-learning is not a buzz word. It is there for long years from now and even school children know about it. The technology enabled learning or Electronic learning has become a part of any educational institution without any grade difference. All the Educational institutions and many organizations who want to train their employees have adopted E-learning systems in some way or the other. The industrial organizations are using E-learning system to train their employees on certain technologies. The educational institutions are investing on E-learning technologies to meet the state of art in par with other world class institutions. But usage of E-learning system in Educational institutions of Ethiopia is not to that extent. One of the best universities of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa Science and Technology University. In this institution also the stake holders of E-learning system are less. Main thing is there is no awareness towards the E-learning technologies followed there, among the teaching and learning community. There can be two types of E-learning solutions used by Educational institutions. They can use commercial products or open source models. Both has its advantages and disadvantages. The commercial E-learning applications are easy to implement since they come as readymade. Technical support and maintenance is not a problem. But the cost of initial investment and maintenance will be more for commercial products. For open source e-learning applications, the initial cost is less, but training of professionals, developing customized contents and maintenance involves more cost. Most of the universities will have an ICT wing in which some 5 to 10 members will be working on developing the E-learning system. They use the open source model to develop their customized E- learning system. Irrespective of whether commercial or open source, the cost is more in either in initial investment or in maintaining and hiring professionals for developing. It is necessary to adopt better methods of E-learning system to reduce the cost in countries like Ethiopia where huge investment on an area like Education is very crucial. Detailed analysis is done in selected Universities of Ethiopia [1] to understand the present scenario of E- learning systems and a new framework is proposed for the betterment of Universities in future, who have adopted E- Learning systems. The new framework will be based on cloud computing technology. II. CLOUD COMPUTING Cloud computing is a new approach for managing and organizing the ICT resources in an efficient manner. Cloud computing is defined in [2] as a “model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction”. There are three types of cloud service models in general. 1. Software as a Service (SaaS); (2) Platform as a service (PaaS); (3) Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) [3]. Cloud Technology offers many advantages including availability of up to date software , flexible cost, always on availability etc. Using cloud technology in e-learning will drastically reduce the investment cost in infrastructure of E-learning. III. CLOUD COMPUTING AND E-LEARNING Many institutions are not having fund for the management of e-learning infrastructures. Especially in developing countries, the maintenance and management of the ICT resources are very costly. Many institutions have International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS), Vol. 15, No. 6, June 2017 33 https://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500