flex-e-bility

… after the hype of the new economy, growing disenchantment with e-learning has replaced over-enthusiasm. Failures of e-learning operations have, at least temporarily, overshadowed the prospects of widened and flexible access to tertiary education, pedagogic innovation, decreased cost etc., that e-learning once embodied. (p.11)

So says the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) in it’s 2005 publication E-learning in tertiary education. Where do we stand?.

Defining e-learning as ‘the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to enhance and/or support learning in tertiary education’ (p.11). The authors further clarify this definition with the following:

E-learning refers to both wholly online provision and campus –based or other distance-based provision supplemented with ICT in some way.
Ranges from the most basic use of ICT through to more advanced adoption.

Based on the level to which online technology replaces classroom based teaching, online presence is classified as:
1. None or trivial online practice.
2. Web supplemented (e.g. course outline and lecture notes online, use of email and links to external online resources).
3. Web dependent. Students are required to use the Internet for key “active” elements of the program (e.g. online discussions, assessment, online project/collaborative work) but without significant reduction in classroom time.
4. Mixed mode. Students are required to participate in online activities (e.g. online discussions, assessment, online project/collaborative work) as part of course work which replaces part of face-to-face teaching/learning but significant campus attendance remains.
5. Fully online. (pp.11-12)

The publication reports on a survey of e-learning practices across 19 tertiary education institutions from 13 countries located in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America regions. The organisations are described as ‘operating across the e-learning development continuum. Some are at the leading edge internationally, some in the mainstream and others in the early stages of development’ (p.3). To summarise the some main points.

Adoption of E-learning (Teaching)- At most campus-based institutions enrolments in courses with a ‘high’ level of online presence is relatively low accounting for less than 5% of total enrolments. In some institutions the number of students enrolled in at least one course with high online presence may be between 30-50% of total enrolments (p.12).
E-learning activities across tertiary institutions are very diverse (p.12.)
- In most campus-based institutions, e-learning has not challenged the centrality of face-to-face teaching and e-learning has generally failed to emerge as significant activities or markets to date. Remote international delivery is typically left to small-scale, department-led experiments (p.12).
- E-learning as a supplement to face-to-face delivery dominates the undergraduate market, whole award programs with an online presence are more common at postgraduate level (p.13).
- IT and business/management are more likely to have a higher level of e-learning than other programs (p.13).
- It is generally thought that e-learning has had a positive pedagogic impact but there was little detailed research evidence. (p.13)

Adoption of E-learning (Administration)
- ICT has had more impact on administrative services than on pedagogic fundamentals of the classroom. This has changed the experience of learner by relaxing time and space constraints, providing easier access to information and greater flexibility in participation (p.15).

Technology Issues
- Whilst commercial LMS software has a significant market share there is a growing interest in the use of open source software (p.15).
- Learning objects are still considered to be an immature tool (p.14).

Barriers to Adoption
- Key barriers to adoption in some countries are infrastructure and funding and stakeholder scepticism (p.14).
- Practitioner reluctance to e-learning is associated with the pedagogic limitations an immaturity of the tools, insufficient ICT and pedagogic literacy, the professional culture of teachers/academics and concerns about intellectual property rights (p.16).
- No clear sustainable business model has yet emerged for the commercial provision of e-learning and failures have been more numerous than successes to date (p.18).

It is concluded that- fully online provision at campus-based institutions will remain very much in the minority for the short to medium term (p.13).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2005). E-learning in tertiary education. Where do we stand?. Paris: OECD.
Available at
http://new.sourceoecd.org/education/9264009205

Gen X, gen Y - It's generation con, actually (Christopher Scanlon, July 24, 2006, The Age, Melbourne)

Christopher Scanlon looks at the phenomenon of generation x and y from a marketing perspective to conclude that the whole concept is a marketing strategy of its own.

'Flattering a generation of consumers has proven an effective way to create a niche market'. Make them feel special and they will buy stuff. He asks why 'otherwise intelligent journalists persist in serving up this marketing tosh without a hint of criticism?'

The idea that generation x and y learn differently has certainly been received well in the popular press and has sold a few book. But where is the evidence?

My searches through academic databases suggest that there is plenty of hype but not much supportable substance.

Am I just too suspicious? Or, as Christopher Scanlon proposes from a marketing perspective, is it just 'educational tosh'?

Smith (2005)tests the Readiness for Online Learning questionnaire desgined by McVay (2000) with 314 Australian university students for reliability and factorability (of self-management of learning and comfort with e-learning) to conclude that the instrument has promise for both research and practice.

Smith, P. (2005). Learning preferences and readiness for online learning. Educational psychology, 25(1), 3-12.

Guglielmino and Guglielmino (2003) broadly define two components of learner readiness for e-learnin as technical and self-directed learning readiness. They define each in terms of readines, knowledge, attitudes, skills and habits. They suggest strategies for increasing success rates. These include providing opportunties for students to assess their readiness, providing opportunities for training and support and making changes gradually (Guglielmino & Gugliemino, 2003).

Guglielmino, L., & Gugliemino, P. (2003). Identifying learners who are ready for e-learning and supporting their success. In G. Piskurich (Ed.), Preparing learners for e-learning (pp. 19-34). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Burbules (2004) promotes the idea that virtual learning environments should be considered as 'learning spaces', thus shifting the focus from the technology to the ways in which people interact with the technology. When people are immersed into and inhabit the virtual space it changes to a virtual place. That is, there is some 'ownership'.

At a conceptual level he argues that the distinction between the ideas of 'virtual' and 'real' are overstated. That the distinction is based on the real being unnproblematic and directly perceived. That is, it is normative. The virtual is constructed as 'unreal'. This argument is based on the assumption that all perceptions are actively constructed by the person. Therefore, both 'real' and 'virtual' are constructed realities and assumption consistent with constructivist learning theories.

Using the metaphor of 'immersion' to represent the means through which virtual environments facilitate learning. There are four inter-related factors that contribute to immersion: interest, involvement, imagination, and interaction. Therefore, virtual learning activities that promote learning will be designed in such a way that they are of interest to and involve the participant, engages the particpant's imagination and provides opportunities for participants to interact 'not only perceptually or intellectually but also through embodied action and responses' (p.167)

He argues that these ideas have implications for the educational design of virtual environments (whether these be located online, as film, text or other). Designers and teachers should create an 'architecture' that facilitates learning. Learners adopt the learning space through 'mapping' the virtual space. That is construct mental models through which learning occurs.(Burbules, 2004)

Burbules, N. (2004). Rethinking the virtual. E-learning, 1(2), 162-183.