1. E-learning Research methodological issues Gráinne Conole University of Southampton Email: g.c.conole@soton.ac.uk ELRC workshop, Manchester, 3 rd May 2005

2. Impact of e-learning Organisational level Tutor skills & changing roles Virtual learning environments Interactive & engaging materials Unintended consequences

3. Increasing impact of ICT ICT as mission critical Drivers National initiatives ICT catalysts - VLEs Funding drivers Organisational structures Roles, skills and practice Teaching, learning and assessment Impact

4. The holy grail of e-learning New forms of learning Pedagogical re-engineering A global connected society Learning anywhere anytime Rich multimedia representation Smart, adaptable, personalised To what extent is this true? What is the link between the pedagogy and the technology?

5. Negative aspects Patch use of communication tools Stilted collaborations VLEs for admin and as content repositories Information overload Not pedagogically informed -ve

6. Positive aspects Critical mass of mediating tools and resources Shift from individual to socially situated Learning in context or through problem solving New innovative uses of e-learning +ve

7. Pros and cons Access to wealth of resources Information overload , quality issues New forms of dialogue Literacy skills issues New forms of community Learner identity and confusion Speed of access, immediacy Lack of permanency, surface Virtual representations Lack of reality, real is fake

8. Research philosophy & impact Research consolidating Professional practice informing Practice improving Resources developing Theory enhancing Learning shaping Policy guiding Strategy building Networks

14. Impact on research Bibliographic tools Endnote New discourses Chat, Wikis, access grid Data collection Online, multiple sites Data analysis New powerful tools Publishing JIME, e-Prints

15. Research opportunities Communication Email, discussion forums, Chat, video conferencing Interactivity Wikis, Web logs Collaboration Grid-technologies, sharing tools Data analysis SPSS, NVIVO Data mining Portals, databases

18. Theoretical frameworks Communities of Practice Activity theory Dialogue Systems thinking, modelling, metaphor Distributed cognition

19. Wenger’s Community of Practice Learning Community Practice Identity Meaning Learning as experiences Learning as doing Learning as becoming Learning as belonging Social theory of learning Learning as social participation Legitimate participation Rarification

20. Activity theory Mediating artefacts Literature Subject Me Object Central issues of activity theory Outcome Text Focus on individuals negates social aspects Idea of ‘activity’ as an object-orientated and culture formation that has its own structure Mediation by tools and signs

21. Mediating artefacts Relevant literature Conference material Subject Group of academics Object Central issues of activity theory Rules Conventions of conference Community Academics interested in activity theory Division of labour Compartments based on disciplines etc Outcome New intellectual tools and patterns of collaboration

22. Other theoretical perspectives Distributed cognition and Person-Plus (Salomon, Pea, Perkins) Intelligence distributed between mind and surroundings ‘ Effects with’ and ‘effects of’ technology Dialogue (Vygotsky, Mercer, Laurillard ) Language as a tool, Joint construction of knowledge “ Inter-thinking”, Conversational framework Systems thinking, metaphors modelling (Senge, Beer, Morgan) Capturing organisational and cultural aspects Offer different perspectives

31. E-learning Research methodological issues Gráinne Conole University of Southampton Email: g.c.conole@soton.ac.uk ELRC workshop, Manchester, 3 rd May 2005