Coultas, J., Luckin, R. & du Boulay, B. (2004). Is There Compelling Evidence for the Effectiveness of E-Learning in Higher Education?. In J. Nall & R. Robson (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2004 (pp. 1828-1834). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Abstract: Is there evidence for the effectiveness of e-Learning in the Higher Education sector? This paper offers an overview of theories of learning in instructional contexts and then lists some of the varied and diverse definitions of e-Learning. The question of the extent to which a learning philosophy is implicit (or even explicit) within each definition of e-Learning is raised. The development of a search strategy and the issues of inclusion and exclusion criteria in assessing the evidence for the effectiveness of eLearning are briefly described. A modified form of a systematic review is offered as a methodology suitable to locate and evaluate the evidence needed.
Key Questions:
- Is learning in Higher Education different to the learning that occurs in compulsory education?
- Is it useful to revisit theories of learning in instructional contexts?
