Topic Summary: E-Learning By: Rachel Manuel Executive Summary According to Introduction to Electronic Commerce, “E-Learning is the online delivery of information for purposes of education, training, or knowledge management. It is a Webenabled system that makes knowledge accessible to those who need it, when they need it, anytime, anywhere” (Turban, pg. 277). This can have an impact on a number of industries from higher education and K-12 education to training centers, corporate training, and publishers. For the purpose of this topic summary we will be primarily focused on online learning and the impact of K-20 education and will not be discussing corporate training and publishing. According to a review by the U.S. Department of Education the definition of online learning is learning that takes place partially or entirely over the Internet. This definition excludes purely print-based correspondence education, broadcast television or radio, videoconferencing, videocassettes, and stand-alone educational software programs that do not have a significant Internet-based instructional component…the review distinguishes between two purposes for online learning: 1) Learning conducted totally online as a substitute or alternative to face-to-face learning and 2) Online learning components that are combined or blended (sometimes called “hybrid”) with face-to-face instruction to provide enhancement (Means, pg. 9). It would be no surprise that E-Learning is having tremendous impact on distance learning and virtual universities, in addition to a number of benefits for traditional higher education courses ranging from accessibility to cost-savings. According to the Introduction to Electronic Commerce additional benefits include time saving, provide information to large volumes and diverse audiences, proven high content retention for students compared to lecture-led training, flexibility, updated and consistent material, and providing students with a fear-free environment for participation (Turban, pg. 280). In addition, improved performance or comparable performance can also be considered a benefit according to a 12 year meta-analysis by the U.S. Department of Education. “Students who took all or part of their class online performed better, on average, than those taking the same course through traditional face-to-face instruction”(Means, pg. xiv). A study published by MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching shows that the platform of medium (online vs. face-to-face) is not as important as the instructional strategies employed, since there were few differences in the quality of work from the online and face-to-face sections. “Since the comparisons made were based on consistent instruction, interaction, and even the instructor, the basis for comparisons was in the format, and not any instructional differences. It may be said then, that there were
few differences in the quality of student work, regardless of the platform in which the class was taken”(Dell, etc. pg. 35). While there are noted benefits beyond mentioned above, there are also some challenges and concerns related to E-Learning. According to Introduction to Electronic Commerce, drawbacks or concerns can include need for instructor retraining, equipment and support services needs, lack of face-to-face interaction and campus life, assessment concerns, maintenance and updating requirements, protection of intellectual property, computer literacy, and student retention (pg. 282). Instructor training is especially an important issue when it comes to E-Learning that can have a huge impact on whether or not an online course will be effective. A research paper by Julie Ray of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA for the MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching found that a large percentage of instructors are not receiving any training in pedagogy or technology prior to instructing their first online course (Morris, pg. 263). “Findings also indicate that current online instructors desire ongoing training opportunities in technology and pedagogy, believe it is difficult to convert a course from face-to-face to totally online, and think training should be required prior to instructing online for the first time” (Morris, pg. 263). When it comes to identifying online users, Jeffrey L. Bailie at National American University in Rapid City, SD and Michael A. Jortbert at Acxiom Corporation partnered on a pilot program to verify student identity online and their project is viewed as an example of how higher learning and corporate entities interests can collaborate to address technology challenges. The MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching article “Online Learner Authentication: Verifying the Identity of Online Users”, reports information on how a “…user authentication strategies are being applied to verify remote learner identity during formal online performance appraisals” (Bailie, pg. 197). These are techniques commonly used by today’s financial services industry and can enhance the credibility of a university’s online evaluation processes. Impact Analysis Iowa Campus Compact is a state affiliate for the national association Campus Compact representing more than 1,100 college and university presidents who are committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. Our organization seeks to educate active citizens and build strong communities by providing resources and a network for faculty and staff dedicated to integrating service, and civic and community engagement into student’s academic and co-curricular lives. As a higher education organization representing public, private, four-year, and two-year institutions, we know that ELearning has already had an impact on our campuses, however we are especially concerned about how E-Learning will impact the civic role of higher education. This is a relatively new topic for our field, however Iowa Campus Compact is committed exploring how this will impact our work and how we can ensure the civic purpose of higher education is kept in tact with the use and integration of E-Learning. There are obvious impacts on K-12 and higher education when it comes to E-Learning such as changes in technology costs and providing faculty and staff with necessary training. This section will briefly focus on the potential impact as it relates to the role of instruction and learning as a result of E-Learning .
A new trend in online learning is E-Learning 2.0, which is a changed learning paradigm. “This is the result of how digital technologies have changed how people access and manage information” (Redecker pg. 9). According to an article by the European Commission Joint Research Centre by Christine Redecker, this new paradigm can be summarized to include 1) a need to learn how to organize and manage information according to its relevance; 2) learning in the digital age is collaborative and social networks arise around common interests by providing social and cognitive guidance and support; 3) the learner plays a central role in the learning process – not as a passive recipient; and 4) Learning processes are increasingly personalized (Redecker. pg. 9). According to Redecker, there are at least four innovative strategies to using Learning 2.0 including: 1) Learning and Achieving, which can directly support and enhance learning processes and outcomes; 2) Networking, which can support the communication among students and teachers, creating an environment of understanding and assistance; 3) Embracing Diversity, which enables integrating learning into a wider community including age, cultures, experts, researchers or practitioners in the learning fields; and 4) Opening up to Society, which makes institutional learning accessible and transparent for all members of society (Redecker, pg. 9) This paradigm shift in how educators interact with their students and how students interact with each other will by itself have a tremendous impact in higher education alone, and could provide unique opportunities to enhance current teaching in face-to-face environments. According to a 2009 concept paper by Zane L. Berge, professor of education at the University of Maryland, one of the new trends in distance education is the use of multiuser virtual environments (MUVE), such as Second Life, as a training platform (Smith, pg. 439). The use of MUVE’s requires “..a paradigm shift for educators, researchers, and learners who must adapt to a new environment of teaching and learning. Although things are done differently, many traditional learning theories can apply to Second Life” (Smith, pg. 439). Berge believes that Second Life is a great example of social learning theory in action and fosters observation, imitation and modeling behaviors (Smith, pg. 443). According to Introduction to Electronic Commerce, more than 100 universities have set up campuses on Second Life’s islands where class’ meet and students interact in real time, hold chat discussions, and create multimedia presentations (Turban, pg. 283). Bibliography: Bailie, J.; Jotberg, M. (2009), Online Learner Authentication: Verifying the Identity of Online Users, MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2010. Dell, C,; Low, C.; Wilker, J. (2010), Comparing Student Achievement in Online and Face-to-Face Classes, MERLOT Journal for Online Learning and Teaching. Vol. 6, No. 1, March 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2010. Turban, E.; King, D.; Lang, J. (2009), Introduction to Electronic Commerce, Second Edition. Pearson Education. New Jersey.
Means, B.; Toyama, Y.; Murphy, R.; Bakia, M.; Jones, K. (2009), Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, retrieved 20 March 2010. Redecker, Christine. (2009), Review of Learning 2.0 Practices: Study on the Impact of Web 2.0 Innovations on Education and Training in Europe, European Commission Joint Research Centre Institute for Prospective Technological Studies. Office for Official Publication of the European Communities. Retrieved 20 March 2010. Ray, Julie. (2009), Faculty Perspective: Training and Course Development for the Online Classroom, MERLOT Journal for Online Learning and Teaching. Vol. 5, No. 2, June 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2010. Smith, M.; Berge, Z. (2009), Social Learning in Second Life, MERLOT Journal of Online Teaching and Learning. Vol. 5, No. 2. June 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2010. Retrieved 22, March 2010
Online Resources Educause: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/Browse/ELearning/17176 E-Learn Magazine: http://elearnmag.org E-Learn Space: http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/ E-Learning Centre: http://www.E-Learningcentre.co.uk/ E-Learning Learning: http://www.elearninglearning.com/ European Commission Joint Research Centre: http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=2059 Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching: http://jolt.merlot.org/index.html U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ed.gov/ Videos Designing Online Learning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv-_GCFdLdo E-Learning Tips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akAfCrOVhrM Online Learning Theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW3NTKI80y4