We have issues

What is the most important issue in e-learning? That was the question I asked this morning when I first logged on to Twitter. There are, it seems quite a lot of issues, judging from the responses I received. The majority seem to be generic and seem to affect most sectors of education. Here's a brief summary of the responses:

There were some technical and design issues: Jedd Bartlett in New Zealand, says that the most important issue is to ensure availability of real broadband in the home. Alex Hardman who is in Liverpool, UK says that integrating e-learning into the mainstream (and perhaps losing the 'e' that distinguishes it) is important, a sentiment echoed by Cath Ellis (Sheffield, UK) and Robin Cox (Edinburgh, UK) who thinks that we should be designing e-learning to be as interactive as f2f learning. Pat Parslow (Reading, UK) had a lot of suggestions including: 'Reliable computer services, high SLAs. Student acceptance. Open standards. Assessment...' but thinks that it is vital to nurture students to develop their personal learning networks. Clive Shepherd (e-learning consultant in Brighton, UK) thinks that the 'important issue in e-learning is how to free itself from its dull CBT heritage.'

Teaching and learning issues were cited by several: Bjarne Slipsager (Berlin, Germany) wants to know how we can get teachers to use new technologies and experiment with them, a comment echoed by Dorothy Burt, (Auckland, New Zealand) who thinks that teacher skills are generally lacking, whilst Meredith James in Sydney, Australia, makes a simple plea: We need clean, concise e-learning materials to make it work. More words on skills from Sarah Stewart who is a health professional in Dunedin, New Zealand. She thinks that we need to address the level of computing/internet skills for all.

Mel Phillips (Leicester, UK) thinks that teachers need to understand the pedagogical changes associated with move from f2f to online, so that they can adjust their methods appropriately. Dave Sugden (Huddersfield, UK) Asher Jacobsberg (London) and Rose Heaney, (London, UK) all agree, pleading for pedagogy over technology. Dave also argues that 'e-Learning isn't necessarily online learning'. He calls for a 'common understanding of terms.' Julian Prior (Swindon, UK) made an incisive comment I'm sure many of us would agree with: We need to wrest control of e-learning from the technocrats and hand the control over to the teachers and learners. Catherine Emmett (Cardiff, UK) thinks we need to ensure that educational technologists and teachers need to work more closely together to ensure that e-learning is more learning focused.

Some general issues were also raised: Thomas Curtis in Essex, UK, thinks the main issue is a fundamental one: He wants to make e-learning relevant, 'not just a box of tricks that is thrown at education with the expectation to solve everything'. The Digital Maverick over in Rickmansworth, UK, sees e-learning changing working practices and wants to see new pay structures. Adam Read (Plymouth, UK) and Pete Whitfield (Manchester, UK) both think that institutions need to better support e-learning initiatives and there is already some discussion on Twitter that the institutional VLE and e-learning are not synonymous, although many universities and colleges work as though they are. Shelly Terrell, in Stuttgart, Germany, underlines this by arguing that e-learning tools need to go beyond simply pushing information to students, and begin to support problem solving and critical thinking. Cristina Costa (Salford, UK) made one of the most searching comments, when she suggested we should promote the idea of learning as an active process, and then ensure that e-learning provides the basis to empower the learner in that process. And Sarah Horrigan (Leicestershire, UK) thinks 'one of the most important issues in e-learning is the gap between innovators & lack of real engagement by the majority'. Sarah is supported by Natalie Lafferty (a medical educator in Iran) who also argues for better staff development to make it happen.

If you have any more comments on what you consider are the key issues in e-learning, please post them below as comments. Many thanks to all who have contributed to this important discussion.

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