Quote/excerpt from Sims (2008) paper entitled, “Rethinking (e)learning: A manifesto for connected generations”:
Advances in theories of human memory parallel, and perhaps depend on, advances in technology… The information processing approach has been an important source of models and ideas, but the fate of its predecessors should serve to keep us humble concerning its eventual success… Unless today’s technology has somehow reached its ultimate development, and we can be certain it has not, then we have not reached the ultimate metaphor for the human mind either. (Roediger, 1980, p. 244 as cited in Sims, 2008)
Roediger’s remarks remind us that, not only are we in a constant state of change and development, but also that there are inherent risks in arguing that we know what there is to know about teaching, learning, and e-learning. Therefore, without undermining the importance of understanding the dynamics of human learning, this article adopts the position that it is untimely to let the e of e-learning disappear, because without that e we might lose sight of the value digital technology provides, especially through social networks, to emergent forms of learning and knowledge construction.
Emergent forms of learning cannot easily be addressed by current instructional design methodologies (Kays & Francis, 2004), which are often teacher-centered. New models and strategies embracing the roles and skills of the teacher, the learner, and the design team are required to address such developments (Sims & Koszalka, 2008). Recent reports by Oblinger (2004), Irlbeck, Kays, Jones, and Sims (2006), and Siemens (2007) posit that these emergent technologies and interactions have opened doorways to new ways of learning and that these deserve new models of thinking about the very essence of the teaching and learning dynamic. While this article accepts that e is becoming more mainstream and part of the infrastructure of developed nations, the real question is whether the models we use to create learning environments and measure outcomes retain their relevance in a generation in which technology is the medium of communication for many.
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Sims, R. (2008). Rethinking (e)learning: a manifesto for connected generations. Distance Education (29) 2. August 2008, 153–164.