E-learning and attaining degrees online have been immensely facilitated with the emergence of the internet and the spread of computers to almost every nook and corner. Today, for many students e-learning as emerged to be a lucrative option as it allows one to operate form home if one has access to a personal computer or a laptop and no physical journey to a college or university is required. Moreover, one can work according to convenience and thus can also indulge in other professional ventures along with studying. In case of online learning, at the conclusion of a course online degrees are awarded to the successful candidates. One of the most significant contributions to the field of online learning is made by the various applications known as learning management systems which provide a set of software tools which provide certain programming functions in order to encourage the growth and development of online education as well as aid the tutors in interacting with their various students. At present there are scores of such software application available in order to support e-learning facilities and one of them is the OLAT which refers to Online Learning And Training. The OLAT is also referred to as an open source or free software and it was introduced in 1999, having being developed in the University of Zurich and here it is also necessary to mention that OLAT also has the unique distinction of winning the MeDiDa Prix in 2000 which is one of the premier awards given out for e-learning. In fact, according to the UNESCO open source portal, OLAT has been given the highest gradation too. It is extremely important to point out that the online learning management systems like OLAT require certain basic tools like Tomcat Servlet Engine, PostgreSQL or MySQL database requirements, Java SDK etc. The various significant online learning standards like SCORM, IMS QTI and IMS Content Packaging are ably supported in case of their functioning by OLAT.



OLAT presents a variety of features mandatory for any online learning platform and these include surveys, blogs, chats, exercise modules and gradation modules, content management, quizzing, forums, wikis, file discussions and multi-language support systems. These are some of the basic features due to the availability of which it becomes easier for the online educational institutions to facilitate online learning. Al the prevalent operating systems like Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Windows allow the usage of OLAT without any kind of change or alteration. The latest version of OLAT is due in 2008.