E-learning and e-learners, as ALA Learning colleague Mary Beth Faccioli noted in her own article late last week, are taking a variety of interesting directions.
We are seeing new models explored by those providing as well as engaging in what is variously referred to as e-learning, distance learning, online learning, computer-based learning, and other variations that could probably create a blog-length list. When we drill down a bit into specific variations on the theme, we’re also seeing forms of online learning for almost every letter of the alphabet: m-learning (learning via mobile devices) as well as what are only half-jokingly being referred to as t-learning (learning delivered via Twitter) and s-learning (learning delivered via Skype), for example.
The more we explore best practices and innovations in e-learning, the more we realize how much we still have to learn and absorb. And yet there is something basic that connects all of these various and varied options: delivery of learning at the moment of need combined with learners’ willingness to drive the learning process. Through synchronous and asynchronous offerings. In the form of blog pieces—like those published here at ALA Learning and imbedded with enough links to provide the equivalent of an entire well-planned lesson. Through online bibliographies which in themselves lead learners to a variety of resources on e-learning itself so they can explore those resources when they are ready to explore, not when someone else tells them they should. Through the formal online courses and workshops such as those provided through ALA TechSource and many other ecourse publishers and providers, as well as through podcasts such as Maurice Coleman’s continuing T is for Training series—the sort of offerings that can be enjoyed when they are first offered or revisited by individuals and groups accessing those lessons through online archives.
I’m not among those who believes e-learning will or even should replace face-to-face learning; I’m far more sympathetic to the many great trainer-teacher-learners who insist that e-learning is simply part of the much larger field in which we play—learning—and that the sort of either-or options foisted upon us by those who insist that any one sort of learning will replace all others are creating rather than removing barriers to our ability to offer and engage in effective learning options.
Much has been written about Personal Learning Environments—we’ve seen great pieces here on ALA Learning, and I still return to Michele Martin’s pieces on The Bamboo Project blog when I’m in need of a refresher course on the topic—and I believe the recognition of the importance of these personal learning environments is an important part of our e-learning toolkit.
For those who are trying to wrap their hands and minds around the entire concept, there’s a lot of comfort in the idea that e-learning is an expansive and fairly flexible learning medium. And it’s even more comforting to discover that through our colleagues, the postings at ALA Learning, and the numerous other resources we and our colleagues discover and share on an almost daily basis, we will never be short of resources. As long as we are willing to explore.
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