The take up of e-learning has been stunted by businesses'
lack of understanding about how the technology should be used, an
Oxford University computer specialist has
claimed.
Most organisations think of e-learning as a technology to enable
one person to learn from a screen, but it should be about
collaboration among a group, said Howard Noble, learning
technologist at Oxford University.
"Learning normally happens when groups of individuals collaborate
to complete well-designed learning activities. Technology helps us
do this in two ways: it helps us form and facilitate new types of
collaboration between learners and experts, and it helps us
represent knowledge in new ways," he said.
The growth and development of e-learning will only increase if
public perceptions are changed, Noble said.
"We need to remove the 'e' from e-learning so that use of
technology is seen as part of normal learning experience. We need
to understand the optimal relationship between the human brain and
computer while we are learning," he said.
One reason why e-learning is often misunderstood is because its
benefits are not always immediately tangible, said Noble.
"The goal of an e-learning strategy should be seen as developing
the technological environment and business processes that help
employees share and generate knowledge that contributes to the
success of the business strategy," he said.