Online learning and its users : lessons for higher education / C. McAvinia.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

Online Learning and Its Users: Lessons for Higher Education re-examines the impact of learning technologies in higher education. The book focuses particularly on the introduction and mainstreaming of one of the most widely used, the virtual learning environment (VLE) or learning management system (LMS). The book presents an activity theoretic analysis of the VLE's adoption, drawing on research into this process at a range of higher education institutions. Through analysis and discussion of the activities of managers, lecturers, and learners using the VLE, lessons are identified to inform future initiatives including the implementation of massive open online courses (MOOCs). A replicable research design is included and explained to support evaluation and analysis of the use of online learning in other settings. The book questions accepted views of the place of technologies in higher education, arguing that there has been a repeated cycle of hype and disappointment accompanying the development of online learning. While much research has documented this cycle, finding new strategies to break it has proved to be a more difficult challenge. Why has technology not made more impact? Are lecturers going to be left behind by their own students in the use of digital technologies? Why have we seen costly and time-consuming failures? This book argues that we can answer these questions by heeding the lessons from previous experiences with the VLE and early iterations of the MOOC. More importantly, we can begin to ask new and different questions for the future to ensure better outcomes for our institutions and ultimately our learners.

Front Cover; ONLINE LEARNING AND ITS USERS; Series page; ONLINE LEARNING AND ITS USERS: Lessons for Higher Education; Copyright; CONTENTS; LIST OF FIGURES; LIST OF TABLES; ABOUT THE AUTHOR; FOREWORD; ACKNOWLEDGMENT; INTRODUCTION; REASONS FOR WRITING; AIMS AND SCOPE; A NOTE ON THE STUDY; A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY; AN OVERVIEW OF THIS BOOK; REFERENCES; 1 -- Enter the VLE; 1.1 INTRODUCTION; 1.2 THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION; 1.2.1 Global and Local Changes; 1.2.2 The 1980s-1990s: Stand-Alone, to Network, to Internet; 1.2.3 Late 1990s: Centralised Initiatives.

1.2.4 New Roles and Responsibilities1.3 VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS; 1.3.1 Origins and Development of the Virtual Learning Environment; 1.3.2 Do Virtual Learning Environments Have In-built Pedagogies?; 1.4 HOW HAS THE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS BEEN MAINSTREAMED AND SUPPORTED?; 1.4.1 The Growth of Academic Development and e-Learning Support Services; 1.4.2 Central Support Missions and Theories of Learning; 1.4.3 Challenges for Central Supporters; 1.5 CONCLUSION; REFERENCES; 2 -- Challenges and Disappointments; 2.1 INTRODUCTION: THE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AT THE CROSSROADS.

2.2 THE LITERATURE OF DISAPPOINTMENT2.3 A HISTORY OF DISAPPOINTMENT; 2.4 EXPLANATIONS AND PROPOSED SOLUTIONS; 2.4.1 Theoretical Issues; 2.4.2 Organisational Issues; 2.4.3 Methodological Issues; 2.4.4 Proposals for the Future; 2.4.5 Focusing on Activity; 2.5 CRITIQUING DISAPPOINTMENT: THE CASE OF THE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT; 2.6 CONCLUSION; REFERENCES; 3 -- Activity Theory; 3.1 INTRODUCTION; 3.2 WHAT IS ACTIVITY THEORY?; 3.2.1 A Short History of Activity Theory; 3.2.2 Engeström's Extension of the Activity Theory Framework; 3.3 IMPORTANT CONCEPTS IN ACTIVITY THEORY.

3.3.1 Consciousness, Context, Activity Are the Same3.3.2 Internalisation and Externalisation; 3.3.3 Activities Are Object-Oriented and Lead to an Outcome; 3.3.4 Activities Are Mediated and There Are Mediating Artefacts; 3.3.5 Activities Have Rules and a Division of Labour; 3.3.6 Rules; 3.3.7 Division of Labour; 3.3.8 Operations and Actions Contribute to Activities; 3.3.9 Contradictions in Activity Systems; 3.3.10 Activities Are Constantly Changing; 3.3.11 Activity Theory: Limitations and Strengths; 3.3.12 Issues in Modelling Activity Systems; 3.3.13 Individual and Collective Activities.

3.3.14 Limited Scope to Take Account of Cultural Diversity3.3.15 Activity Theory Does Not Have an Explicit Methodology; 3.3.16 Strengths of Activity Theory; 3.4 WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF ACTIVITY THEORY TO E-LEARNING?; 3.4.1 Activity Theory and Technology; 3.4.2 Activity Theory and Educational Change; 3.4.3 Activity Theory and Online Learning: Some Examples From Research; 3.5 OPERATIONALISING AND APPLYING ACTIVITY THEORY; 3.5.1 Rationale for Using Activity Theory; 3.5.2 Operationalising Activity Theory in This Study; 3.5.3 Participation and Resulting Data Set.

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