Book review
Integrated E-learning: Implications for Pedagogy,
Technology and Organisation
RoutledgeFalmer September 2003
Editors: Wim Jochems, Jeroen Van Merrienboer, Rob Koper
Review by Dr Matthew Fox, Director of Learning Solutions,
Epic Group plc
When it comes to e-learning, the higher education sector has blazed
an altogether different trail from that taken by the training community
- unsurprisingly, perhaps, as HE is starting from a very different
place. The dominant model in HE is mature pedagogical approaches,
domain knowledge deeply embedded in experts and a captive onsite
audience: moving from that to reusable and distributed models of
e-learning has tended to be both painful and costly. I speak from
experience here, having once been tasked with moving a higher education
organisation in this direction. The drivers for e-learning are heavily
debated within HE and, indeed, treated with some scepticism in certain
quarters. Rightly so, perhaps, as the challenges are significant
in terms of time, skills and funding.
When we turn to distance education, however, the journey looks
different again. Pioneers of e-learning, with years of experience
in dealing with complex subject matter and distributing it to diverse
and scattered audiences, distance education specialists have been
trailblazers in online education. In the UK, the Open University
has a proud record of achievement in this field, while in the Netherlands,
the Open University of the Netherlands (OUNL) has invested heavily
in defining and developing best practice for distance learning,
building an international reputation for innovation and research
in the process.
This book comes from members of the OUNL team based in its Educational
Technology Expertise Centre. While the content of most of the book
is well constructed, interesting and pragmatically-focused, it does
feel very OUNL-centric. Perhaps this stems from the lack of diversity
in the examples used. Most of the case studies are limited to OUNL
work within the team, and this undermined the credibility of the
book a little for me, making it feel somewhat parochial.
That said, there's plenty to get one's teeth into. I liked the
open assessment of the need for closer integration between Higher
Education and the needs of employers. This vocational slant ensures
practical skills-based approaches to learning, not simply knowledge-based
approaches.
The best chapters for me were:
Designing integrated collaborative learning -
I enjoyed the review of research into effective task design and
liked the concept of 'epistemic fluency' ( the ability to identify
and use different ways of knowing, to understand their different
forms of expression and evaluation and to take the perspective of
others).
Virtual business e-learning - An update on the
use of business simulation in e-learning that models a dual route
of business-based decision-making and accelerated personal development
during the lifecycle of the simulation.
Education modelling language - This concept had
passed me by altogether, but having seen the move towards unified
pedagogical models in Epic's own work with the National Learning
Network, this attempt to bring simplified standards to educational
content made a lot of sense.
Work processes for the development of courses,
and Implementing integrated e-learning - these
chapters struck a further personal note: the concept of critical
information flows I developed for my own doctoral research has been
mirrored in this practical evaluation of the multi-disciplinary
nature of course development and deployment in Higher Education.
If you are looking for a book that has solid recommendations on
the whole process of course development, from management to evaluation,
via content design and delivery, then this book is a good investment.
I didn't discover anything radical or new - but there is a lot to
be said for well thought through and tested approaches to delivering
distance education via e-learning.
Tone and style is unashamedly academic, meaning that readers from
the corporate world might find less of value here, though with collaborative
learning still to make a significant mark in global organisations,
the lessons learned are highly relevant.
Final thought? There's one surprising omission in the book. Accessibility
gets no mention. When there are chapters covering usability and
interface design, and in the context of increasing scrutiny in this
area, it is an omission that can't help but seem odd.
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