I think of these terms as being like a sack.  I used to have a sack called “ILT” (information and learning technologies) into which I and lots of other people put things they thought belonged there.  Eventually the sack got too unwieldy and I couldn’t carry it around any more.  Now a have 2 sacks, one called “ICT” into which I put anything that looks like kit, and another called “e-learning” into which I put anything that looks like kit being used in teaching and learning.  No doubt they too will become over-full and of no use to me, then I’ll have to find some new sacks again…..

 

On the “learning platforms” question I use this to describe not only VLEs (commercial and open source products) but also intranets and shared areas on networks when they are used for delivering learning.  So in that case “learning platform” is a big sack, like “ILT”.

 

I’ll shut up about sacks now

 

Steve

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Amber Thomas
Sent: 09 March 2005 12:57
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VLES] FW: [VLES] How widespread is the use of the term (and the concept) of e-learning?

 

posted on behalf of Sarah

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Sarah Currier [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 09 March 2005 12:49
To: Virtual Learning Environments
Subject: Re: [VLES] How widespread is the use of the term (and the concept) of e-learning?

 

Ken Smith wrote:

What really surprises me is that this list has very little traffic when

peeps want to discuss materials or learning technology but ask what

something is being called these days and the world and his dog wants to air

their opinion.  A rose by any other name would surely smell as sweet.

 

 

It doesn't surprise me at all. Working as an information specialist within e-learning, developing taxonomies and classification schemes, has taught me that there is very little that is as emotive as discussing what we call things, what we mean by what we call them, and how that meaning or name is situated within the rest of our understandings of things that we more or less share (or don't share at all). Phew, that is a baaad sentence, sorry!

As an example, anyone involved in e-learning communities of practice must be familiar with the intense discussion that in the past has always followed the question "What is a learning object?". Many of us have long since decided to say "We're not going to define it too closely because it will derail this meeting/discussion etc."

Best
Sarah

-----Original Message-----

From: Virtual Learning Environments [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf

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