JISC

Date: Tuesday 1 November 2011

Time: 10.00 - 16.30

Venue: Open University

City: Milton Keynes

Financial challenges, market opportunities and technical innovation will drive greater use of e-learning. Some see cost-cutting as the primary driver, and fear that it will diminish the quality of the educational experience through reduced face-to-face contact. Others argue that e-learning creates new learning possibilities, and can strengthen educational quality, e.g. by enabling more rather than less learning contact with fellow students. The sustainability of e-learning is also contentious. Do virtual technologies have a lighter or heavier environmental footprint than traditional methods? And does e-learning create greater social inclusion, both globally and nationally, or will it lead to a ‘second class’ educational system with face-to-face methods reserved for an elite?

Given these controversies, how do both educators and learners decide which blend or variety of e-learning is most effective for them? Can we develop criteria for ‘best practice’ e-learning which recognise the validity of different approaches as opposed to current threshold standards?  These criteria could have many uses: directing attention to key issues during course design; helping providers (especially those new to the market) to reassure students that they can enjoy a quality educational experience; and helping learners to choose between providers. 

These questions will be addressed in this exploratory workshop, which blends face-to-face and virtual elements. 

To book a place at this workshop

Draft programme