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WHITE PAPERS

After top-level research into e-learning? This paper gives examples of excellent research into:

Good practice depends on good research. However, although the use of technology in learning has been around for several decades, there is still the feeling that little evidence based research exists to prove its effectiveness. The research seems difficult to find and fragmented, with no obvious authoritative sources.

In this latest White Paper, Donald Clark, Epic, investigates some of the excellent research and research practice in the e-learning industry.

To get your free copy contact us

SHOW REPORT

Worldwide defence spending is over $950 billion per year and nearly half of that is the US defence budget. The military has been spending $150 - 250 million into technology-based learning research. We therefore have lots to learn from the military.

ITEC 2004, “Europe’s only annual defence conference and exhibition for training and simulation”, was held in London this year at the ExCel exhibition centre in Docklands – a suitably hi-tech venue for a hi-tech industry. With over 2,700 attendees from 53 countries, two key messages to come away with were the global integration of military operations, including training, and the continued growth in technology-enabled learning within the defence sector, to support the exponential growth in the use of sophisticated technology in the military arena.

The former was in evidence with the first of the ‘themes’ running through the conference - ‘Country Briefings’. Experience and knowledge is shared between European, Canadian and the US defence forces. For senior ranks, this type of co-operation is part of working life and officers from different nationalities often attend training courses together. Unlike private sector companies, the military are open to sharing their ideas and experiences, at least with their allies.

Read more about how the defence sector is shaping up to take e-learning on board.

BOOK REVIEW

3. E-Education Applications: Human Factors and Innovative Approaches, INFOSCI (2004)

On the whole it is not worth shelling out £50 for this book unless you can answer YES to all of the following questions:

Are you a researcher?
Do you work in Higher Education?
Are you interested in evaluation?

It is no more than a loose collection of research papers, none of them groundbreaking. The book should have been less than half the length. Some of the papers need pruning, others rejected. On the other hand, a few are excellent. The authors of the papers also make the mistake of thinking that all e-learning takes place in higher education. It doesn’t. There’s far more e-learning taking place in schools, corporates, defence, health, even at home. In any case, I found myself working my way through all twenty papers driven on by the thought that something fascinating would crop up. It didn’t. In a loose collection of academic papers it’s only fair to judge each paper on its own merit, so here goes. They range from the dull, through OK and good to excellent.

THINK TANK DINNER REPORT

Personalisation – some expert thoughts

A think tank dinner was held in July with some top minds in education including publishers, BECTA, DfES, QCA, City and Guilds, Cambridge University, CfBT and the private sector at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in London.

Personalisation is a hot political topic. However, it is not yet clear what is meant and how it will be implemented. There were no shortage of exciting ideas at this dinner.

The state has discovered the customer and words like empowerment, entitlement, unblocking, flexibility abounded in a discussion among a wide range of learning professionals. Rather than relate the entire discussion, the participants were asked to summarise their recommendations at the end of the three-hour discussion.

Read the review

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E P I C T H I N K I N G

Issue 32: July 2004

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