In the run up to a session on e-learning that I participated in at the recent UnTech10 event, someone planning to attend the session asked about the state of “collaborative learning” in the world of e-learning. As this person put it, collaborative learning
…should be a particular strength of e-learning from the perspective of technological capabilities. Yet I feel we are still in the early stages of discovering how to move from “broadcasting” knowledge to collaborating in learning. Where are the collaborative learning successes in e-learning? What can we do to accelerate this shift?
I have tended to share the feeling that we are still in early stages in the association world, where I do most of my work. I am less tuned in to the worlds of corporate training and academic e-learning, but my general sense is that there is a good bit more hat than cattle in both of those arenas when it comes to discussions of collaborative learning or efforts to blend social media into traditional e-learning.
But then, before traveling too far down the road of feelings, I think it is important to step back and ask as pointedly as possible: What is e-learning? [click to continue…]
