Monday, 11 June 2007

Jun Big Q: Eg of e-Learning


Learning Circuits Blog Question for the month of June is - Where are the examples of e-Learning?

I think that e-learning was the word that was created to distinguish traditional learning with modern learning that is facilitated by electronic means because hardly any learning today is totally separated from the 'e'. I think that the word exists for academic reasons. Ok, having gotten that off my chest, I can answer the question!

Academically, we can understand e-learning as learning that is supported through electronic means. So the first generation stuff tended to be CDs, video and audio tapes. But really, the term caught on when the internet took off in the 90s. However, it was also then that the word web-learning came about. It is for this reason that authors have chosen to place web-learning as a subset of e-learning. Examples of e-learning are aplenty, with the current trend gearing towards discovery systems and personal learning environments using tools/systems such as blogs, wikis and other web-enabled software.

As delivery mechanism and user sophisication increase, the design element becomes correspondingly important as drawn by learner-users. One emerging issue, that cuts across the entire spectrum of learning (e and non-e), will be that of personalisation (i.e. beyond customisation),amongst the evergreen efficiency concerns of course, particularly under organisational settings. With that comes the human elements of engagement by appealing to the senses that interpret fun and interest.

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