Predictions for 2004: e-learning visionaries look to the future

Reviewer: Symeon D. Retalis

The difficult question of how to predict the directions of e-learning in 2004 is addressed in this paper. Short answers to this question are presented by well-known people from industry and academia. This alone makes the paper worth reading. The paper is also aligned with the general current trend of creating research and development roadmaps for e-learning. For example, a recent EU funded project, called Time2Learn (http://www.time2learn.org), sought to bring together the key actors and stakeholders in e-learning research and professional training to draw up a research and development roadmap for European professional e-training. The key axes of the roadmap were enabling infrastructure; methodological approaches (e -learning applications: authoring, delivery, management, and so on); and business models and process (content providers, technology providers, service providers, and learner communities). This paper contains brief comments about the topics on which research and development groups will focus. These topics can be categorized into three groups: infrastructure, learning content, and organizational structures and policies. For infrastructure, a new paradigm will emerge for handhelds and personal digital assistants (PDAs) in education, and network-supported collaborative learning tools should become more powerful. In terms of learning content, there is a lot of hype about learning objects and reusability, and the term "learning resources" seems to be more appropriate. Other important focuses in this area are the instructional design process and authoring environments. In the area of organizational structures and policies, e-learning and context of use are important topics. "One metaphor fits all" does not work, and context does matter. Return on investment policies are also important, and policy makers should identify the most appropriate investment policies. In addition, information and communication technologies should enrich the educational paradigm. Quality assurance mechanisms are also important, and the quality of e-learning and how to assure that quality are big issues. It is difficult to disagree with the presented viewpoints with regard to the above topics. On the contrary, the reader could consider other relevant resources on PDAs in education [1], learning content and learning resources [2], quality in e-learning [3], and copyright issues [4]. Online Computing Reviews Service