Abstract: This paper considers the increasing impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the associated rise in e-learning as a recognised and respected research area. The paper provides a summary of some of the current research areas under investigation and provides a list of characteristics of the area. The paper goes on to consider the professional identities of researchers in the area and the tensions which have resulted in terms of aligning with this new emergent group of professionals within existing institutional structures.

Introduction: E-Learning is transforming education. It provides opportunities for learning anytime, anywhere. It provides access to a wealth of resources and new forms of communication and virtual communities. Sounds familiar? These are the sound bites that pepper research journals, conferences and the media. But the reality is that e-learning is still marginal in the lives of most academics, with technology being used for little more than acting as content repository or for administrative purposes. Think carefully, how many really innovative examples of the use of technology have you seen? So why the mismatch and are the claims about e-learning ever likely to be realised? Technologies do have great potential benefit to offer education, however this is a complex multifaceted area; we needed rigorous research if we are going to unpick the hype and gain a genuine understanding how technologies can be used effectively.

It is a fact that there is now a wealth of digital resources and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to support learning and teaching. In the last decade we have seen a shift from a focus on information to an emphasis on communication and a realisation that the development of content alone does not lead to more effective learning, but we are still at the beginning of harnessing their potential (see for example Ravenscroft, 2003). The fundamental question is how can technologies be used to enhance learning?

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By Grainne Conole

Article source: Journal of Interactive Media in Education