Preserving the e-learning cottage industry

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingPublished Conference contributionpeer-review

    Abstract

    E-learning in higher education is usually either a small scale cottage industry or the product of a production line. Neither approach is perfect: production-line models of distance education suit relatively few learners while the craft approach, though more tailored, is expensive and hard to re-use. However, this picture of the e-learning craftsperson is more complex than it seems: often, learning management systems and their administrators play a subtle role in structuring and scaffolding the process, reducing the artistry required and acting as a silent teaching partner. A closer analogy than a craftsperson's cottage might be an e-learning sweatshop, in which educators assemble courses within a centrally provided mould or pattern. The solution is a post-industrial model in which the tools informate rather than automate. Rather than creating more industrial machines for learning, we must provide more adaptable, aggregatable and interoperable tools for the craftsperson.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationProceedings - The 8th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, ICALT 2008
    Pages1003-1004
    Number of pages2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008
    Event8th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, ICALT 2008 - Santander, Spain
    Duration: 1 Jul. 20085 Jul. 2008

    Publication series

    NameProceedings - The 8th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, ICALT 2008

    Conference

    Conference8th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, ICALT 2008
    Country/TerritorySpain
    CitySantander
    Period1/07/085/07/08

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