1. Trends and Emerging Issues as a result of tremendous growth in E & M
Learning
ADRIAN VALENTINE OTENG‘I – SIT/G/01/11
ABSTRACT
E-learning and m-learning have become key adjuncts to the business world.
Organizations use it as a powerful strategy to better leverage their intellectual capital.
There are trends and emerging issues in several distinct arenas that influence and
shape e-learning‘sand m-learning‘s growth.
The first trend in e-learning and m-learning, deals with policy makers and
regulators. Nowadays, several national and international policies are happening
topromote lifelong learning practices. These policies can lead toquantifiable
outcomes such asemployability, human resource development, and digital literacy.
Second deals with increasingly complex, competitive workplaces need information
for businesses: workforce performance improvement. This leads to increased
demands for better management of an organization‘s intellectual assets: its
knowledge, history, shared experiences, discoveries, record of successes and failures,
innovations, and when or where these resources are needed most.
The third trend in e-learningand m-learningconcerns the industry. It was no accident
that teaching at a distance began with thedevelopment of industrial technologies,
especially in postalcommunications and transport. The first trains and the
firstcorrespondence courses started at the same time.Even today distance training
would not be possible in a society that hadnot yet achieved an adequate level of
industrialisation.
The fourth trend is very important and concerns society and the general public. A
number of studies suggest that, from a long-term perspective, a wide array of
socialand community benefits are associated with improved education. These benefits
include reduced criminal activity, reduced reliance on welfare and other social
programs, increased charitable giving and volunteer activity—even attainment of
desired family size and improved health for the individual and his or her family.
Knowing the many ways in which e-learning can improve education, it‘s intriguing to
consider that e-learning may indirectly enhance these areas as well.

2. INTRODUCTION
―E-learning is the collection of teaching – and information packages – in further
education which is available at any time and any place and is delivered to learners
electronically. They contain units of information, self-testing batteries and tests,
which allow a quick self-evaluation for quick placement. E-learning offers lower
level learning goals. Higher order goals like understanding, reasoning and (moral)
judging are more difficult to achieve. They require an individualized interactive
discourse and can hardly be planned‖ (Dichantz 2001)
Mobile learning refers to the use of mobile or wireless devices for the purpose of
learning while on the move. Typical examples of the devices used for mobile learning
include cell phones, smartphones, palmtops, and handheld computers; tablet PCs,
laptops, and personal media players can also fall within this scope (Kukulska-Hulme
& Traxler, 2005). The first generation of truly portable information has been
integrated with many functions in small, portable electronic devices (Peters, 2007).
Recent innovations in program applications and social software using Web 2.0
technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, Twitter, YouTube) or social networking sites (such as
Facebook and MySpace) have made mobile devices more dynamic and pervasive and
also promise more educational potential.
The evolution in education and training at a distance can be characterised as a move
from d-learning (distance learning) to e-learning (electronic learning) to m-learning
(mobile learning). These three stages of development correspond to the influence on
society of the Industrial Revolution of the 18th to 19th centuries, the Electronics
Revolution of the 1980s and the Wireless Revolution of the present century.
Irrespective of the exact definition, mobileand wireless technologies,
includinghandheldcomputers, personal digital assistants, camera- phones,
smartphones, graphingcalculators, personal response systems, games consoles
and personal media players, are ubiquitous in most parts of the world and have led to
the development of ‗mobile learning‘ as a distinctive entity.
A key feature of ICT and e-learning is the pace of change and it is critical to consider
future trends not simply in terms of technological developments, but also in teachers‘
and learners‘ skills and expectations. However, it is well established that making
predictions in relation to technology is often difficult and frequently inaccurate.
Digital inclusion is not simply about access to technology it involves meaningful
access, technical skills and information literacy. There is considerable interest in the
potential for individuals to become independent learners through the use of
technology but this assumes a sophisticated learner and at the moment probably only
a tiny proportion of learners have the required skills, knowledge and attitudes.

3. 1. Policy Makers and Regulators
Prior to the Electronics Revolution, governments regardedtelecommunications as a
lucrative, monopoly industry. It was linked tosecret defence installations. There was
total regulation. Developmentcontracts were negotiated between the few monopoly
providers and themilitary or government contractors.
Policies, however, associated with the Thatcher government in the UnitedKingdom
led to open tenders, and a seeking for improved services, andbetter value for
government money.
Policies associated with the Reagan government in the United States ofAmerica led to
the breaking of monopolies, especially for the newcellular licences.
Telecommunications became consumer driven.
Pattern to development of e-learning policy
From‖ e-learning policy issues: Global trends, themes and tensions‖ by Mark Brown,
Bill Anderson and Fiona Murray, we identify a discernible pattern to the development
of e-learning policy. The firststage occurs as governments act to make e-learning
possible, the second as they work to integrate e-learninginto the education system,
effectively, to mainstream e-learning. In the third stage, atransformative role for e-
learning is seen, with changes to views of learning and to the nature andoperation of
the tertiary institutions and the tertiary system.
Issues emerging from policy initiatives
These issues aregeneral in nature, focusing on broader questions about e-learning
policy and its development, not onspecific policy issues. Questions are raised about
the way policies might define e-learning; address andacknowledge gaps in e-learning
policy; align and differentiate levels of policy, and account for thenational and global
education context.
i. Conceptions of e-learning
In the policy documents, there is no generally accepted definition of e-learning. This
point is illustrated clearly by the many variations of spelling and the way e-learning,
online learning and distance learning seem to be synonymous. Often the conception
of e-learning is very broad and in many cases, no explicit definition was provided in
policy documentation. The idea of blended learning also appears more recently in
some policy texts but there is a danger of seeing this concept as largely business as
usual. It is noteworthy, however, that poorly defined conceptions of e-learning are not
entirely a bad thing as there is reason to suggest that in some countries this may have
helped to avoid setting up a policy framework which does not align with other
initiatives. In other words, the lack of an explicit definition may have encouraged the
embedding of e-learning within existing policy texts.

4. ii. Supply of and demand for e-learning
Throughout policy texts, the emphasis has been on providing supply by building
infrastructure rather than focusing on why there would be demand in the first place.
The assumption has been that if the right infrastructure is built, people will follow.
The fact is that some groups have not made use of the infrastructure to access tertiary
education and other services. There was little evidence of any attempt to find out
what it is that disadvantaged groups and students studying at a distance actually want
in support of their educational aspirations. This point also raises questions about some
of the deeper structural barriers to promoting wider access to tertiary education that
have largely been ignored by e-learning policy. The key point is that provision of
access is a complex issue and in the current move to personalise learning, more
attention is required on understanding the demand side of tertiary education.
iii. Strategies for disadvantaged and under-represented groups
A common feature of the policy texts was few specific strategies for disadvantaged
and under-represented groups. In a majority of policy documents, there is little or no
reference to such groups and even fewer evaluations that specifically focused on
disadvantaged groups. This is somewhat surprising given the acknowledged gender
issues associated with the adoption of technology in society and the number of
minority and indigenous cultures spread across different countries.
iv. Current emphasis on e-learning is restrictive
When reflecting on the policy initiatives as a whole, there is a sense in which the
current emphasis on e-learning is too narrow. Most of the isolated and remote e-
learning initiatives took little advantage of the opportunities to widen access to basic
government, financial and social services, which may have been lost or never
available to these communities. To ensure uptake, arguably, e-learning needs to be
embedded within a more comprehensive package of initiatives that allows access to a
range of services and addresses issues of social exclusion and access for all. Thus,
there is a sound argument for expanding the policy focus beyond e-learning to a
wider strategy for e-development.
v. Maturity of the policy landscape
In terms of evaluation, there is reason to suggest that research has not always been
acted on or used to inform the next iteration of policy, as the new policy cycle is often
already underway by the time findings of any evaluation have been published.
Another problem is that while there has been a shift away from infrastructure to a
stronger focus on learning in a number of policy texts, infrastructure keeps changing
and technological developments continue to shape the nature of e-learning.
Questions of what citizens truly want from e-learning are not addressed in such a
short policy cycle. Largely the benefits of e-learning are taken-for-granted and few, if
any, cases were found where governments engaged in wide ranging consultation to

5. establish the type of society and education system people might want to create
through the use of new digital technology.
vi. Greater emphasis on formal aspects of tertiary education
With some notable exceptions, such as Australia, the vast majority of policy texts
appear to focus on formal academic tertiary education, as opposed to post-secondary
vocational training and non-formal e-learningexperiences. The European Open and
Distance Learning Liaison Committee share this viewand identify the focus on formal
education as an important weakness of policy. This does not mean thate-learning is
not happening in less formal learning contexts. There is evidence tosuggest that
privatetraining organisations and large multi-national corporations use e-learning
regardless of governmentpolicy. An emphasis on national e-learning policy may fail
to recognise these kinds of privatecorporations and organisations with reasonably
large initiatives in the area of e-learning.
vii. Lack of debate and critical dialogue
Finally, the lack of debate and critical dialogue on the risks of the investment in e-
learning is a consistent theme across the policy texts. The value of e-learning is rarely
questioned and the discourse is removed from any deeper consideration of
educational policy. The missing question in the policy discourse is: What kind of
education do we want e-learning to help deliver? With notable Scandinavian
exceptions, there is rarely any consideration of what type of widely accessible tertiary
education system a country might want to create. Most of the policy texts do not
explain ‗why‘ an investment in e-learning will help to meet the commonly agreed
goals of education—such as equity, fairness and social justice.

6. 2. Businesses
Demands for Workplace Performance Improvement
Jobs will go where the best trained workforce is. Poor educational skills and illiteracy
cost business daily through miscalculations, misspellings, or poor comprehension.
Industry needs highly educated individuals to drive the growth and productivity.
Technology can help lower costs of providing education or provide more effective
education through use of technology. Companies like Cisco increasingly are turning
to computer and interactive classes to train their own employees.
To succeed in today‘s economy; organizations need to develop core competencies in
responding to and even thriving on change. These competencies depend on
employees‘ ability to think critically, to solve problems, and to anticipate new
possibilities.
Growing workplaces demand information, instruction, and training resources when
and where needed. Individuals‘ requirements drive the need for "just-in-time, just for
me" learning and performance support tools, both as they perform their current jobs
and as they prepare for new challenges. The growing online learning and performance
support marketplace shows this shift in the balance of power away from providers to
individual learners. No wonder there is a growing impatience with traditional
methods of designing, delivering, and managing learning experiences. Traditional
methods are often seen as out of touch with our wired world.
To assist in content filtering and selection, e-learning and m-learning typically
combines the functionality of "just-in-time" access to digital, web-delivered content
with profiling functionality. Further, it actively leverages online collaboration
opportunities, and offers "e-commerce" transactional functionality to facilitate
subscription, purchase or "pay-per-view/hit" options. (Ironically, e-commerce
transactional functionality is the cause of so much business-to-business and business-
to-consumer attention on e-learning.)
e-learningand m-learning provide a combination of features unconstrained by
conventional training. e-learning tools can offer individualized, personalized learning
by profiling variables such as interests, learning styles, presentation preferences and
performance requirements. They can diagnose skill gaps and prescribe professional
development activities ensuring the link between learning events and on-the-job
practice. Individuals can monitor their own progress and determine what the next step
in their professional development should be. Learning resources, ranging from
individual objects to online communities of professional practice to professional
advisors and mentors, can be available when and where the learner needs those
resources.

7. 3. Industry
The telecommunications industry underwent swift and complex changes inthe 1980s,
which constitute an electronics revolution. These changes canbe attributed to three
factors:
An urge to deregulate
Speeding up of chips
Introduction of broadband technologies.
Computing technology was introduced into telecommunications in the 1960swith the
first public, analogue software switchboards dating from themid-1970s. These were
digitalised almost immediately, and were followedby the development of Integrated
Services Digitalised Networking (ISDN)in the 1980s. In the 1990s, seamless
digitalised connections between fixed and air networks were achieved. In all these
developments, theever-increasing speed of chips was crucial. The processwill be
accelerated with the replacement of silicon chips by nano-chips in theearly 2000s.
The development of broadband technology is of vital importance fordistance training,
because one needs extensive bandwidth for pictures,audio, video and virtual realities.
Broadband is usually defined asrates of more than 2 Mbits per second over a public
switched network.Interactive multimedia, image processing, data and video are all
largeconsumers of bandwidth.The electronics revolution led to group-based
distancetraining and opened the way to the net and the web.
The electronics revolution changed the nature of distanceeducation, making it
possible to teach face-to-face at a distance, torestore eye-to-eye contact electronically,
and to teach groups as wellas individuals at a distance. The mobile revolution will
change the distance student from a citizen who chooses not to go tocollege, to a
person who not only chooses not to go to college, but ismoving at a distance from the
college.
The development of the didactic structures for the implementation of themobile
revolution will fall largely to the open universities and thegovernment distance-
training systems, as there is little likelihood thatuniversities will focus didactically on
students who choose to be mobileaway from them.
If there is a rule about the choice of technology for distance trainingit is that
technologiesthat are available to citizens may succeed.Rarely has a technology
penetrated so quickly andas widely as themobile telephone.
There is an unprecedented take up of wireless telephones and wirelesscomputers
indeveloped and developing countries alike. The World WideWeb and the Internet
are not enough, says the telecommunicationsindustry: wireless access independent of

8. location and Internet serviceseverywhere is the requirement. The air interface is
replacing the wireinterface.
We have only seen the beginning of the wirelessinformation society. But the
protocols for provision are already beingput in place: Bluetooth, GPRS, and WAP.
Bluetooth is the universal radio interface for wireless connectivity.Previous portable
devices used infrared links, were limited to 2m, weresensitive to direction, needed
direct line-of-sight, and could only link twodevices. By contrast, the Bluetooth air
connectivity uses radio links,which have much greater range, can function around
objects, can gothrough certain materials, and they canalso connect many devices at
the same time.
General packet radio system (GPRS) brings official data and internet connectivity to
mobile terminals giving instant, transparent, IP accesswith no call set up time.
Wireless access protocol (WAP) brings webbrowser usability of the Internet to
mobile terminals. It provides data-oriented, non-voice, services, anywhere and at any
time The majormanufacturers are committed to global standardisation of third
generation mobile systems in radio environments like wide-band codedivision
multiple access.
The challenge for distance systems at the dawn of the third millenniumis to develop
didactic environments for mobile phones and mobilecomputers as the availability of
mobile devices spreads to a billionusers. The mobile telephone is becoming a trusted,
personal device with Internet access, smart card usage, and a range of possibilities
forkeeping the distance student in touch with the institution's studentsupport services,
in contact with learning materials and fellowstudents, while at home, or at work, or
travelling.

9. 4. Society and the General Public
We can't accurately predict the future of course, but what we can do is watch the
trends. So will learners in 2020 be any different from those we see in our schools
today? Will their needs and aspirations have changed from our own? It's highly likely
they will.
i. Blogging
Blogging is a technology whose time has definitely come as far as e-learning, and
indeed the whole academic community, is concerned.
In fact, learning to blog effectively is seen as an important skill for those seeking to
enter the research community of practice. A study carried out at the Open University
of the blogging habits of a group of postgraduate researchers over a four-year period
(Ferguson et al., 2010), observed how the blogging changed from the first year of
research to the completion of the doctorate and early-career researcher jobs.
The researchers moved from using blogs as a tool for reflection and collaboration, to
a more atomized approach where ideas related to their research were hidden in dark
or password-protected blogs (to prevent other researchers getting there first), while
general discussion with the scholarly community was moved to more collaborative
tools.
Blogging epitomizes the social nature of learning and knowledge, with bloggers and
their respondents co-creating meaning. It is an excellent tool for academic dialogue –
as Wheeler (2010) points out, it is much easier to express a contrary opinion to a blog
than it is to an academic journal article.
The way in which the group studied by the OU used a combination of blogging and
other media – Twitter for conferences, humour and references, communication tools
such as Cloudworks, Google Docs and Google Wave for more serious research –
illustrates a key new skill researchers must acquire: digital literacy.
They must be willing to learn about new tools such as Cloudworks (a type of
collaborative blog, with members developing web pages or "clouds" for particular
ideas or issues for discussion), and how best to exploit them.
ii. Social Gaming
Social Gaming is a term for games that are based on social interaction. By
augmenting the game logic with social aspects players have to deal with each other in
various ways to advance throughout the game. While social aspects have been part of
massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft
for quite a while already, the rise of Facebook and Co created the ground for a new
field of games with social interaction as the main focus.

10. iii. Beyond Learning: Performance Support
The more common use of mobile learning is in performance support, in effect
augmenting our brains. The goal is to take the digital support we can have at our
desktops, and make a usable version available wherever and whenever we are. It‘s
about bringing the capabilities our minds don‘t handle well to the problems we face:
rote memory, complex computation, exact context capture, and distant
communication.
Typical examples of mobile performance support include job aids, checklists, and
more on phones (see Figure 4). Individuals can access price lists, product
specifications, and more so that they do not have to memorize them. Moreover, data
in the environment– bar codes, QR codes, and more – can provide additional
information. This goes beyond mobile learning, although context specific tagging can
also augment formal learning.
Hybrid Learning Systems Mobile Performance Support Example
Much of this is not unique to mobile: we have developed computers as the perfect
complement to our brains, but the opportunity now is to untether that support from
the desktop, and let it roam free. Mobile brings the power of digital augmentation,
and more, to us wherever and whenever we are. However, there are ways in which
mobile is unique.

11. This means that while we can use our devices for content viewing for convenience
(I‘ve time on the drive/bus/plane/waiting in line), the just-in-time model is the big
organizational opportunity to affect the performance indicators. Performance support
can also be in terms of the same content/capture/compute/ communicate model that
applies to formal learning.
iv. Web 2.0 and mobile devices
But perhaps the most powerful development in mobile learning (m-learning) is the
possibility of combining it with Web 2.0 learning, because mobile devices can now
be used for social networking and user generated content. This means that m-learning
can be underpinned by the pedagogy of social constructivism.
Cochrane and Bateman (2010) offer a powerful case history of a degree course where
mobile Web 2.0 was integrated into all three years of the course, offering a
progression from a teacher-directed pedagogy to student-generated content around
projects (heutagogy).
In the first year, students were given considerable guidance on how to use the devices
appropriately, but even then they were expected to use them in a fairly advanced way,
i.e. for reflective blogging.
Claiming that mobile Web 2.0 can be used to facilitate "collaborative, authentic
learning within authentic contexts" as well as metacognition and reflection, Cochrane
and Bateman (2010: p. 12) provide the following table showing the affordances of
smartphones mapped to social constructivist activities:
Table I. The affordances of smartphones mapped to social constructivist activities
(Cochrane and Bateman, 2010: p. 12)

12. Mobile technology has proved effective not only for its affordances, but also because
the mobile network can be cheaper and more reliable than that for broadband. This is
why mobile phone usage is revolutionizing some parts of the world, for example
Africa, as it compensates for poor broadband connectivity and electricity shortages.
CONCLUSIONS
Technology is a major force for change. It is a dynamic subject that is continuously
producing new ideas and development. However, the adoption and effective use of
technology in learning operates to a different timeline.
Future Challenges
ICT and e-learning provide a wide range of challenges including:
i. Staff training – the need to ensure the educational workforce has the e-
learning and technical skills to employ technology effectively.
ii. Equality of opportunity – the need for the whole of adult education to be able
to offer access to, support with and effective use of ICT. At the moment there
are major differences across the different sectors that make up adult education.
iii. Learners‘ skills – for individuals to benefit from the potential of technology
they require not only technical but also learning skills and information and
media literacy. These are often not considered in policies or strategic
developments.
iv. Dynamic – the rapid and continuous change means that policy must be
reviewed regularly and programmes sustained. Time limited initiatives are
likely to be insufficient to realise the full benefit of technology.
v. Trends – ICT and e-learning are difficult areas to predict beyond the
immediate future except that change is inevitable and is likely to impact on
where, when and how education is provided.
ICT and e-learning are often described as having the potential to enable learners to
learn at anytime, anywhere and at their own pace. Learners are predicted as being
able to take responsibility for their own learning using online content, learning
networks and communities of practice. However, achieving these results is not simply
about access to technology. It is also about being confident and competent users of
technology, having e-learning skills and being media and information literate. These
are not simple achievements.
Unquestionably, e-learning will continue to grow in our organizations. In anticipation
of this growth, the governments, business companies and professional associations
can start focusing on applications and the effective and efficient implementation of e-
learning. By recognizing that e-learning truly is a methodology, one can experience
the greatest benefits that e-learning has to offer now and in the future.

13. In the end, the fact remains that, with respect to e-learning, poor quality procurement
practices (in all sectors but especially in the public sector) are a barrier to growth and
adoption. So it is necessary to make a thorough evaluation when it comes to choose e-
learning software for education in order to improve the knowledge of learners, the
learning outcomes, the performance outcomes, and the business and policy impact
and in order to value the money spent.
REFERENCES
1. Alan Clarke and Ewa Luger, ICT and E-learning,
2. Ellen D. Wagner, Ph.D., Emerging Technology Trends in e-learning.
3. Luciana Carabaneanu, Romica Trandafir and Ion Mierlus-mazilu, TRENDS IN
E-LEARNING
4. Mark Brown, Bill Anderson and Fiona Murray, e-learning policy issues:
Globaltrends, themes and tensions.
5. Truls Fagerberg, Torstein Rekkedal and John Russell, EU Leonardo Project
“From e-Learning to m-Learning.”
6. WHITE PAPER Education Transformation. The Positive Impact of eLearning
- 2012 UPDATE.