Posted 1:07 PM by George Siemens
Really good article:Masters or Slaves to the Technology
Quote:
"In the rush to put courses online, the key role of the online teacher or trainer is sometimes forgotten. This role is gradually evolving from one of ensuring the accurate transmission of known information to one of enabling exploration..."

The author of the article has a website with some interesting essays :Dr. Salmon

MIT Report on Collaboration
Quote:
"An interdisciplinary MIT team has identified key factors for successful virtual collaborations among members of globally dispersed teams, and continues work to make virtual meetings more effective. Underway for the last three years, the research integrates both organizational and technological challenges."


Random Ramblings...
I was reading an interesting article today about the broad use of "elearning" to refer to a wide variety of functions. For example, "training" a sales force on a new product is often defined as elearning, yet this process is very different from the formal instruction that happens in a classroom, or on the Internet (yet these experiences are also called "elearning"). The author made a distinction between three forms of elearning:

1. Information Sharing (education a sales staff about new product, but using the Internet/technology as the manner of communicating

2. Instruction...this is the formal process used in higher education institutions, distance learning programs etc.

3. Performance Support...this is information that is information that people need to perform a task that is not often performed...for example, how to shut down a machine that is only shut down once a month...a person may not remember how it was done last time, and performance support provides just in time (JIT) assistance...

Interesting...