implementing e-learning Core Good Practice Models

Pedagogy

If e-learning is viewed as a mix of interactivity, use of various media and allowing branching by the learners, then the pedagogy (the design and development approach of the teaching and learning) is different to that of more traditional face-to-face approaches.

There is a growing awareness of the need for effective dialogue among practitioners, educational researchers and developers of standards and systems, to ensure that e-learning systems are usable in flexible and appropriate ways that meet the needs of learners and enhance the learning experience. There is a demand from practitioners for effective guidance on good pedagogical practice, particularly in designing activities for virtual learning environments. The pedagogy of e-learning places more emphasis on the individualisation of learning with each learner making their own learning pathways at a speed that is appropriate to them.

e-Learning enables a more active participation than classroom based activities, with learners not having to wait around whilst others catch up or feeling under pressure to complete tasks more quickly than they feel competent to do. Learners work on tasks tailored to their needs.

As e-learning is 24/7, with learners creating their own timetables for some or all of their learning, the role and activities of the tutor change. Also materials, tasks, assessments and communication modes must be made available well in advance of timescales associated with class room settings.

Whether used in purely distance learning or a blended mode, the pedagogy of e-learning needs to be taken into account by tutors and learners.

Any type of learning needs to be meaningful, (for each learner), memorable (otherwise it is pointless) and motivational (the learner has to want to learn, the tutor cannot do this for them). However, e-learning is more demanding due to the surrounding hype and (often) high expectations of the e-learners.

Much experience in this area has been gained over the last few years and the initial phase of the JISC e-Learning and Pedagogy Programme surveyed this experience; summarising the current state as well as attempting to answer the question 'What do practitioners need to help them with e-learning pedagogy?'. Recommendations (for example of e-learning tools requirements) are to be fed into other JISC programmes or tenders for development sought. The second phase of this programme focuses on the learners and their experiences of e-learning. The programme website is kept up-to-date with reports and outputs from the programme with an associated JISC mailbase being used for communication and discussion.

There are many other resources available and in particular an infoKit on using VLEs effectively draws a number of these together.

The e-Learning and Pedagogy Programme is one strand of the JISC e-Learning Programme and is a new initiative that will offer a comprehensive guide to effective practice in e-learning. The Innovation strand deals with pedagogical and technological issues, identifying areas where technologies can be harnessed to support learning.