Dear Jean,
I think there are a lot of us that get rather frustrated at some people's
perceived need to spend
millions on building new technology "solutions", when simple ones would be
OK even if just to
get people started [viz the eUniv UK or the NHS University debacles].
That was a bit away from the topic of e-learning, so I would just add my
view that people;s modes
of learning dont change just because they are online; what changes is the
options that they are offered to apply their learning skills to. E.g.
people who do things methodically without technology are likely
also to be methodical with it. But of course we dont really know; how can
we observe and measure
such things accurately, or even usefully? So I dont like the term
e-learning because it suggests a special kind of learning. Nevertheless, I
agree with Malcolm Ryan that - now that we have it - it would be irritating
to change to a new one. But using "blended" learning doesnt mean cutting
out "e-learning".
Anita
At 11:55 07/03/2005, J Ritchie wrote:
>Dear Gianni and Anita
>
>I was most interested in Gianni's suggestion that
>
> > >- The use of technologies to enhance learning does not have to be
> > >based on the use of costly courseware, but rather on simpler and cheaper
> > >digital documents (for organising and delivering contents) and on
> > >communications and collaboration tools not necessarily arranged under the
> > >form of a complex LMS
>
>largely because it seemed to indicate a community of practitioners who
>weren't aware of the use of digital technologies in education _before_
>the advent of complex LMSs. I have been using digital technologies in
>education for many years, in common with lots of others, and I remember
>2 or 3 years ago being puzzled why LMSs were so popular. At that point
>I concluded that they were popular because they made it easier to access
>the disparate bundles of tools that were already in use. So now it's
>interesting to - perhaps - see people who started to use these tools via
>a LMS now starting to think, aha, these tools can be used on their
>own...
>
>I am also interested to see LMS being castigated as 'complex' when I had
>thought the reason LMSs were popular was because they made life simpler
>:)
>
>All the best
>Jean
>
>
>
>On Mon, 7 Mar 2005, Anita Pincas wrote:
>
> > Dear Gianni
> >
> > Exellent summary as far as I am concerned.
> >
> > My only change would be to revise "The failure of the 'e-learning approach'
> > to enhance the learning experience" to read, instead: "The realisation that
> > early expectations of the e-learning approach were totally
> > unrealistic". This avoids giving the impression that elearning fails
> > altogether to enhance learning - since it clearly does in some ways.
> >
> > Anita
> >
> > At 06:43 07/03/2005, Gianni Marconato wrote:
> > >Apologises for cross-posting
> > >
> > >Dear List colleague
> > >
> > >Within our group of "learning with technologies" practitioners, we have
> > >been debating the use of the term "e-learning" to designate the
> > >educational use of technologies.
> > >As members of many international mailing lists in the field, we realised
> > >that the term "e-learning" is now much less frequently used that it once
> > >was. We have also noticed that within the titles of journals (printed and
> > >online), conferences, books and portals the term is disappearing and terms
> > >such as "learning", "teaching" and "technology" are being employed
> instead.
> > >
> > >What are your thoughts on this phenomenon?
> > >
> > >If you agree with our perception of this, what is the cause of this change
> > >in terminology?
> > >Our view is as follows.
> > >- The failure of the "e-learning approach" to enhance the
> > >learning experience (to use technologies for delivering contents/learning
> > >materials; to substitute analogical teaching/learning tools with digital
> > >ones) has created the change in terminology;
> > >- Within the "community of practice" of the people who use
> > >technologies to improve the learning outcomes at the individual and the
> > >educational systems levels, there is a growing awareness of the necessity
> > >of adopting a more pedagogically-based approach than the
> > >technologically-based one adopted in the early e-learning era;
> > >- To demonstrate a tangible added-value in the use of
> > >technologies to justify the added-cost, it is necessary to adopt an
> > >operational model which uses technologies not only in the online/distance
> > >learning settings, but also in face-to-face learning settings;
> > >- The use of technologies to enhance learning does not have to be
> > >based on the use of costly courseware, but rather on simpler and cheaper
> > >digital documents (for organising and delivering contents) and on
> > >communications and collaboration tools not necessarily arranged under the
> > >form of a complex LMS
> > >
> > >Regards
> > >Gianni Marconato
> >
> > Anita Pincas, Senior Lecturer,
> > Lifelong Education and International Development [LEID}
> > Institute of Education,
> > 20 Bedford Way
> > University of London
> > London WC1H 0AL
> >
> > Tel +44 0207 612 6522
> > Tel +44 0207-286-5324 {home}
> > Personal Web page <http://www.ioe.ac.uk/english/Apincas.htm>
> >
> > Short course: Online Education and Training
> > Full details and application form:
> > <http://www.ioe.ac.uk/english/OET.htm>
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>Jean Ritchie
>
>0131 651 1202
>
>[log in to unmask]
Anita Pincas, Senior Lecturer,
Lifelong Education and International Development [LEID}
Institute of Education,
20 Bedford Way
University of London
London WC1H 0AL
Tel +44 0207 612 6522
Tel +44 0207-286-5324 {home}
Personal Web page <http://www.ioe.ac.uk/english/Apincas.htm>
Short course: Online Education and Training
Full details and application form:
<http://www.ioe.ac.uk/english/OET.htm>
