Engineering E-Learning

Like it or not, the USA has a major lead over the UK in e-learning. To an extent this can be attributed to a greater willingness to invest and innovate and a history of leadership in technology, but that’s not the whole story. For many years now, America has taken the subject of instructional design more seriously than the Brits, and the universities turn out a ready supply of new designers, all looking to make their mark in learning technology. In this chapter, I attempt to explain what instructional design is all about, why it matters and what needs to be done to get things moving on this side of the Atlantic.

It ain’t what you do …

Several years ago, before anyone coined the term ‘e-learning’, Thomas L Russell set about reviewing the 300 or more studies conducted over more than 75 years comparing the virtues of different media for education and training. Was the classroom the best? How about 16mm films (remember them?), correspondence courses or CD-ROM? After all this endeavour, Thomas may have been a little disappointed to note the common finding that emerged from all these studies – that there was really no significant difference in the effectiveness of one medium over another. His survey was conclusively inconclusive.

What the ‘No Significant Difference Phenomenon’, as it is now called, tells us is that the choice of medium in itself does not guarantee effectiveness. What makes the difference is the way that you do it. Some classroom courses are delivered well, some badly. It’s a similar story with e-learning, except here it’s the design that makes the difference.