The Foundtionl Understnding of E-Lerning - Term Paper Example

E-Lerning Executive summry Current pper provides the foundtionl understnding of e-lerning while it investigtes its unique potentil to support constructive communities of inquiry consistent with the long-held idels of higher eduction. I will provide coherent perspective nd use the term e-lerning in n inclusive mnner. Brodly defined, e-lerning is networked, on-line lerning tht tkes plce in forml context nd uses rnge of multimedi technologies. Within tht brod prmeter, I will focus on the dominnt eductionl feture of this technology to support synchronous, collbortive lerning. I will lso use cse study to support the evidence of the theory. Tbe of Contents: I. Introduction II. Findings nd nlysis 1. new relity with ccess to E-lerning 2. E-lerning pedgogy 3. Problems in Internet distnce eduction 4. Impct nd future implictions of E-lerning III. Cse studies 1. MRS E-lerning Institute 2. Reserch nd Mrkets Institution I. Introduction It hs been rgued tht computer-bsed communiction is the most fundmentl chnge in communictions technology in the lst 150 yers (de l Sol Pool 1984). The prolifertion of the personl computer combined with the Internet hs precipitted fr-reching chnges in society. Electronic communictions nd digitl networks re trnsforming the wy we work nd re reshping personl communiction nd entertinment. This trnsformtion hs hd tremendous effect on the need nd opportunity to lern. Unfortuntely, the trnsmission model tht still domintes eduction hs chnged little. Notwithstnding the widespred doption of computer communictions in society, we hve yet to fully experience the trnsformtive effects of this medium, prticulrly its effect on e-lerning. We re in wht John Seely Brown (2000) described s the grdul development phse of this trnsformtive medium nd re yet to experience its explosive impct. We re only experiencing e-lerning in its erly forms nd hve much to lern of its inherent cpbilities nd the cretion of new 'lerning ecology' (Brown 2000). II. Findings nd nlysis s hs been suggested, e-lerning is not simply nother technology or dd-on tht will be quietly integrted or ultimtely rejected. E-lerning represents very different ctegory nd mode of communiction. Since communiction is t the hert of ll forms of eductionl interction, it is likely tht its impct on eduction systems nd individul techers nd lerners will be significnt. It mkes little sense to replicte or simulte trditionl fce-to-fce pproches. Clerly, if we relly re experiencing new lerning ecology, simulting prctices bsed on very different ecology simply misses the point. Not only would opportunities to improve the lerning experience be lost, but merely simulting trditionl prctices resists cpitlizing on the chrcteristics of new er of lerning. E-lerning will inevitbly trnsform ll forms of eduction nd lerning in the twenty-first century. Notwithstnding tht e-lerning's influence in trditionl eductionl institutions hs been wek - in relity, little more thn n enhncement of current prctices - s we gin better understnding of its potentil nd strengths, e-lerning will effectively trnsform how we pproch the teching nd lerning trnsction (Grrison nd nderson 2000). E-lerning trnsforms eduction in wys tht extend beyond the efficient delivery or entertinment vlue of trditionl pproches. E-lerning cnnot be ignored by those who re seriously committed to enhncing teching nd lerning. 1. new relity with ccess to E-lerning t the core of the e-lerning trnsformtion is the Internet. report of the US Web-bsed Eduction Commission (on-line) stted: The question is no longer if the Internet cn be used to trnsform lerning in new nd powerful wys. The Commission hs found tht it cn. The Web-bsed Eduction Commission clls upon the new Congress nd dministrtion to embrce n 'e-lerning' gend s centrepiece of our ntion's federl eduction policy. (Retrieved July 2001) The report recommended tht vstly expnded development nd innovtion progrmme 'should be built on deeper understnding of how people lern, how new tools support nd ssess lerning gins, wht kinds of orgniztionl structures support these gins, nd wht is needed to keep the field of lerning moving forwrd.' Similrly, the dvisory Committee for Online Lerning stted tht the focus 'must be the qulity of the lerning experience' (2000:28) nd cre nd understnding is required to ensure such experiences. Moreover, it suggested tht the potentil of e-lerning is cler nd tht we ignore it t our peril. Creting n e-lerning experience involves ' serious commitment to understnding the very different fetures of this medium nd the wys it cn be used most dvntgeously to imprt lerning' (p. 52). E-lerning is n open system. With the power of the Internet, the teching nd lerning trnsction is exposed to unfthomble mounts of informtion. This exposure is tremendously powerful ttrction to techers nd lerners; however, its enggement my not lwys be effective nor efficient. Openness offers conservtive forces nd nrrow views unfettered ccess to differing perspectives nd ides. However, there must lso be limiting nd stbilizing influences if e-lerning is to mintin sense of community nd purpose, not to mention sustinbility. The essentil feture of e-lerning extends beyond its ccess to informtion nd builds on its communictive nd interctive fetures. The gol of qulity e-lerning is to blend diversity nd cohesiveness into dynmic nd intellectully chllenging 'lerning ecology.' This interctivity goes fr beyond the one-wy trnsmission of content nd extends our thinking regrding communictions mong humn beings engged in the eductionl process. Not long go, the provision of incresed lerner independence in terms of spce nd time ment corresponding loss of collbortion nd incresed isoltion. Independence nd collbortion seemed contrdictions. More of one inherently ment less of the other. The trnsformtionl power of e-lerning goes to the hert of this issue. We now cn provide freedom nd control within vibrnt community of inquiry. E-lerning recognizes nd integrtes the personl nd public spects of n eductionl experience. 2. E-lerning pedgogy To relize the potentil of e-lerning s n open but cohesive system, it is essentil tht we rethink our pedgogy. Eduction is bout ides not fcts. Moreover, students in higher eduction re not receiving the eductionl experiences they need to develop the criticl nd self-directed higher eduction skills required for lifelong lerning. The lerning outcomes re generlly substndrd in reltion to the demnds of the twenty-first century. With its lrge lecture hlls nd stndrdized, objective testing, trditionl undergrdute eduction hs tken on n industril chrcter. Fundmentlly, lecturing is bout imprting informtion not bout encourging criticl thinking or even bout understnding ides. ccess to informtion is not the problem. We hve fr greter ccess to informtion thn we cn mnge. E-lerning's trnsformtive power nd cpcity to dd vlue is not bsed upon ccess. Wht is required, nd wht e-lerning offers, re better wys to process, mke sense of, nd recrete this informtion. The current pssive-informtion-trnsfer pproches of higher eduction re contrsted with the interctive nd constructive potentil of e-lerning. While e-lerning cn support nd even mrginlly enhnce current prctices, such s lecturing, the rel impct will be to precipitte new pproches tht recognize nd seize e-lerning's interctive cpbilities. In relity, this my well be bck-to-the-future scenrio s we return to eductionl experiences founded in communities of inquiry. community where individul experiences nd ides re recognized nd discussed in light of societl knowledge, norms, nd vlues. Where utonomy nd collbortion re not conflicting or contrdictory terms but the essentil elements of unified nd qulittive shift in the process of criticl inquiry. For e-lerning to hve significnt plce in eduction it must prove tht it is more thn medium to conveniently ccess content. Institutions of higher eduction hve slowly begun to pprecite tht the content of n eductionl experience lone will not define qulity lerning but tht the context - how techers design tht experience, nd the interctions tht drive the lerning trnsction - will ultimtely distinguish ech institution. qulity eductionl experience is the dynmic integrtion of content nd context creted nd fcilitted by discipline expert nd pedgogiclly competent techer. We express these themes in our model of prcticl inquiry nd in the discussion of cognitive nd socil presence tht is opertionlized through teching presence. The synchronous ecology of e-lerning, from the perspective of the uthors of this book, is tht it is the context nd process of e-lerning tht mkes it unique nd if we re to chieve qulity eduction, it is context nd process tht must be ttended to. Convenient or unlimited ccess to informtion is not the issue, notwithstnding this powerful cpbility. In fct, it is this over-powering cpbility tht hs t times obfuscted contextul nd pedgogicl concerns. Surfing the Internet, no more thn wndering through librry, is not n eductionl experience nd it is ftuous to cknowledge it s nything more thn entertinment or plesnt pstime. t the core of the e-lerning context is collbortive constructive trnsction. E-lerning is exciting from this perspective in tht it enhnces nd enriches both content nd context. The chllenge is to design nd crete context, with pproprite levels of socil presence, which is congruent with the content nd the reinforcement of the eductionl gols tht will enhnce cognitive presence nd the reliztion of higher-order lerning outcomes. When the properties nd powers of e-lerning re recognized nd pplied, the depth of lerning nd qulity of cognitive presence will not be surpssed. 3. Problems in Internet distnce eduction mjor problem for uthors ttempting to describe the impct of the Internet on distnce eduction is the etherel nture of the Web itself. The Net is constntly evolving nd chnging s pplictions re developed tht exploit its cpcity for informtion communiction nd processing. Resnick (1996) cptured this sense well when he noted tht: The Internet cts s type of Rorschch test for eductionl philosophy. When some people look t the Internet, they see it s new wy to deliver instruction. When other people look t it, they see huge dtbse for students to explore. When I look t the Internet, I see new medium for construction, new opportunity for students to discuss, shre, nd collborte on constructions. Despite the impressive convergence nd cost cutting ssocited with the Web for eductionl delivery, the Net's rel potentil for eduction is still some yers from reliztion. The originl conception nd construction - the WWW - ws n informtion storge nd retrievl device (Berners-Lee 1999). The systemtic storge, retrievl nd re-use of informtion hs lwys been defining feture of forml eduction, s illustrted by the loction of the world's first universities in conjunction with collections of rre texts in monstery librries. The cpcity to deliver, monitor nd retrieve results of eductionl computer progrmming (simultions, drill nd prctice, tutorils, etc.) hs llowed re-emergence of interest in computer-ssisted instruction nd the development of immersive environments (Dede 1996) s tools for distnce eduction. But, the emergence of the Net s medium of communiction dds the most criticl feture of the forml eduction process - interction between nd mong techer, students, nd content. We now turn to more detiled discussion of the vrious forms of interction tht define distnce-eduction progrmming. 4. Impct nd future implictions of E-lerning It is difficult to overestimte the impct of the Net on most spects of twenty-first-century society nd its institutions. Though it is believed tht the emerging globl network hs lredy hd profound effects on the forml eduction process, nd promises to contribute even more s the technologies mture nd our cpcity to mnipulte them effectively increses. Further, it is believed tht the development, over the next decde, of the 'semntic web' (Berners-Lee, Hendler, nd Lssil 2001) promises to crete n intelligent network, designed for use by both humns nd mobile gents, tht will simultneously led to rpid enhncements of the communiction, retrievl, nd informtion processing cpcities of the Net. Higher eduction, like mny other businesses, is being chllenged to find wys to operte more effectively nd efficiently. s with other post-industril enterprises there is pressure to relize these economies by substituting the high cost ssocited with humn lbour for tht of mchines. This 'commodifiction' hs been decried by neo-Luddite critics of higher eduction (Noble 2002; Winner 1997), but they hve provided little dt to show tht such substitution reduces lerning, or even decreses stisfction of fculty or students. This pressure for economy leds to ongoing discovery of wys in which student interctions with techers cn be substituted by lower cost interction with other students nd with interctions with content. Such substitution is not esy s there re mny unique fctors in student-techer interction most especilly deling with ffect, power spontneity nd immedicy which crete significnt chllenges for eductors seeking to reduce the costly time commitments of student-techer interction. There re, however, two technologicl fctors propelling efforts to meet the chllenges of creting qulity student-content nd student-student interctions. The first is the ongoing power nd sophistiction of mchines nd their cpcity to ct utonomously nd with vrying degrees of judgment, which we my cll mchine intelligence. This development is illustrted by Moore's Lw, which sttes tht the number of trnsistors on chip (significnt components of processing power nd speed) doubles every 18 months. Thus, computer scientists nd eductors hve mchines tht re twice s powerful s their predecessors every 18 months. The second technologicl driver is encpsulted in Metclf's Lw, which sttes tht the power of network is proportionl to the squre of the number of nodes in tht network. Thus, incresing the size of network increses its functionlity nd usefulness geometriclly. These two technologicl drivers, incresing processing power nd functionlity of networks, give rise to significnt increse in the cpcity of content to interct more effectively nd efficiently with humn interctors. For exmple, the I Help system, designed t the University of Ssktchewn (Vssilev et l. 1999), llows ech student to crete n gent tht negotites with other gents to fcilitte one-to-one tutoring nd response to individul questions by vilble students t ny time locted nywhere on the Internet. We expect more such gent tools to evolve in the next decde, bringing the benefit of medited interction to students nd techers nywhere nd t ny time. III. Cse studies To provide n evidence of the theory, let us review two webpges tht propose E-lerning services. 1. MRS E-lerning Institute This Institution provides new on-line product nd describes its services s "nywhere, nytime" ccess to qulity nd cost-effective trining progrms. It offers e-Lerning computer-bsed trining progrms tht mke it ffordble to trin one or one thousnd employees. udio nrrtion, on-line help nd n esy to use nvigtion system re included with ech progrm. ll courses come with integrted tests nd skill drills to chllenge nd evlute lerner performnce. E-lerning Institution offers three ffilite progrms providing over 300 lerning opportunities in such res s business mngement, end-user softwre trining, web development, metl working, dvnced technologies, etc. More courses re scheduled to be relesed in 2004. If it is needed to mximize employee productivity while minimizing trining expenses nd employee downtime, the Institute's knowledge dtbse cn meet your requirements. The benefits of E-lerning in MRS re: Just-In-Time Trining: Students hve twenty-four hour dy, seven dys week (24x7) triner vilble to you whenever you need to shrpen your skills. Students cn obtin trining instntly, whether t the office, t home, or on the rod. Esy Mngement: Includes use of our wrd-winning Lerning Mngement System (LMS). Our LMS mkes it simple for students to sign up nd complete e-Lerning courses. dult Friendly: Works with n dult popultion. Students cn feel in control. The courses re non-judgmentl nd non-thretening nd ctively engge you in the lerning process. lso, courses re self-pced, flexible nd individulized. Cost-Effectiveness: Becuse there re no trvel time or relted expenses, you cn relize svings up to 40 to 60 % nd students cn tke selection of courses s often s they need for one flt, nnul fee. Lerning Fcilittion: Reduces the time required to mster informtion due to its integrtion of text, grphics, video, nd sound. nd becuse of its rich, multi-sensory delivery system, it fcilittes greter retention of new knowledge. Enhnces Job Performnce: By trining you in specific skills for specific performnce, it provides esy ccess to hundreds of in-depth courses from bsic business skills nd plstics technology certifiction to workplce sfety nd helth. 2. Reserch nd Mrkets Institution This is comprehensive e-lerning Institution tht dels with the CMELS pproch for rting the sfety nd soundness of finncil institutions The themes of this product re: Cpitl dequcy, sset Qulity, Mngement Competence, Ernings bility, Liquidity Risk, Sensitivity to Mrket Risk. Institution ssesses different spects of commercil bnks opertions to determine the soundness of its condition. The courses describe the methodology used by exminers to ssess these fctors nd the criteri for ssigning rtings to bnk. With the help of cse study, the courses demonstrte the method of identifying risks in internl processes, the evlution of these risks, monitoring procedures nd internl controls. The cse study guides us on how component rtings nd composite rtings re ssigned by exminers to bnk. fter completing this course e-lerning institution promises for students to be ble to understnd qulittive s well s quntittive fctors for evluting finncil institutions, identify vrious risks fced by finncil institutions, nlyze finncil institutions nd ssign overll rtings.. The trget udience of the online institution is every professionl involved in the globl finncil services industry (s provider, user, regultor or dvisor of product/services, mrketplce/exchnge) would benefit from our innovtive solutions. III. Conclusion E-lerning does not represent more of the sme. Electronic communictions technologies, with their multiple medi text, visul, voice nd their cpcity to extend interction over time nd distnce, re trnsforming teching nd lerning. Notwithstnding this widespred influence nd the lrge nd growing discourse on the topic, developments in communictions technology, nd their doption generlly in the cdemy, hve outpced our understnding of how to use them to support n eductionl experience. The qulities tht will be vlued in 'knowledge-bsed future' will be the bility to ccess nd understnd informtion. Tht is, the bility to order nd construct knowledge. This is n enormous chllenge nd there re no simple rules or recipes for designing nd delivering n effective e-lerning experience. This is true of most eductionl experiences but, in the cse of e-lerning, is compounded by the vribles nd vritions inherent in deep nd meningful e-lerning experience. The complexities of context nd distinct communiction chrcteristics of e-lerning to support communities of inquiry do not lend themselves to esy or simplistic solutions. n e-lerning experience demnds the insight nd gility of reflective nd knowledgeble techer who cn trnslte principles nd guidelines to the contingencies nd exigencies of their unique contexts. This necessittes criticl thinking cpbilities not dissimilr to those defined s gols of higher eduction. 1. 2. 3. Bibliogrphy: 4. de l Sol Pool, I. (1984) Communictions flows: consensus in the United Sttes nd Jpn, msterdm: University of Tokyo Press. 5. Brown, J. S. (2000) 'Growing up digitl: How the Web chnges work, eduction, nd the wys people lern', Chnge, Mrch/pril, 11-20. 6. Grrison, D. R., nderson, T. nd rcher, W. (2000) 'Criticl inquiry in text-bsed environment: Computer conferencing in higher eduction', The Internet nd Higher Eduction, 2, 2/3: 87-105. 7. Report of the Web-Bsed Eduction Commission (2001) 'The power of the internet for lerning: Moving from promise to prctice', The President nd the Congress of the United Sttes. vilble [Online]: http://interct.hpcnet.org/webcommission/index.htm. Retrieved 2 July 2002. 8. dvisory Committee for Online Lerning (2000) The e-lerning e-volution in colleges nd universities: pn-Cndin chllenge, Ottw: Industry Cnd. 9. Resnick, M. (1996) 'Distributed constructivism', Proceedings of the Interntionl Conference on the Lerning Sciences ssocition for the dvncement of Computing in Eduction, Northwestern University, Retrieved 6 June 2002. vilble [Online]: http://el.www.medi.mit.edu/groups/el/Ppers/mres/Distrib-Construc/Distrib-Construc.html#RTFToC1. Retrieved 6 June 2002. 10. Berners-Lee, T., Hendler, J. nd Lssil, O. (2001) 'The semntic web', Scientific mericn, My. 11. Noble, D. (ed.) (2002) Digitl diplom mills: The utomtion of higher eduction, New York: Monthly Review Press. 12. Vssilev, J., Greer, J. M. G., Deters, R., Zpt, D., Mudgl, C. nd Grnt, S. (1999) ' multi-gent pproch to the design of peer-help environments', Proceedings of IED'99. rtificil Intelligence in Eduction. vilble [Online]: http://julit.ussk.c/homepge/gents.htm. 13. http://www.reserchndmrkets.com/ 14. http://www.mrcp.org/elerning/ 15. Read More