This article was downloaded by: [Mount St Vincent University]On: 05 October 2014, At: 20:52Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

American Journal of DistanceEducationPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hajd20

Contemporary Perspectives inE-Learning ResearchBill Anderson aa Massey University ,Published online: 21 May 2008.

To cite this article: Bill Anderson (2008) Contemporary Perspectives in E-Learning Research, American Journal of Distance Education, 22:2, 123-125, DOI:10.1080/08923640701595399

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08923640701595399

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt S

t Vin

cent

Uni

vers

ity]

at 2

0:52

05

Oct

ober

201

4

The Amer. Jrnl. of Distance Education, 22: 123–125, 2008Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN 0892-3647 print / 1538-9286 onlineDOI: 10.1080/08923640701595399

HAJD0892-36471538-9286The American Journal of Distance Education, Vol. 21, No. 4, January 2008: pp. 0–0The Amer. Jrnl. of Distance Education Book Review

BOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWThe increasing volume of new titles on distance education topics is encourag-ing, but to this book review editor, it seems that there is an overabundance of“how to” handbooks being published. Although these are certainly useful tothe growing number of instructors now engaged in online teaching, the profes-sion still suffers from a paucity of solid research-based publications. This isdisconcerting, especially when we note the sudden emergence of so many new“experts” in online education who, though now enthusiastically engaged indistance teaching, may have never read a single published piece that providesany research-focused foundation for their new role. We feature, in this issue,an edited volume whose varied authors present an obvious research emphasisthat hopefully reminds us how critical it is that we remain current with recentwork in this genre and reinforces the need for us to also contribute to the bodyof research that informs our practice.

Michael BeaudoinBook Review Editor

Contemporary Perspectives in E-Learning Research. Gráinne Conole andMartin Oliver, Eds. New York: Routledge, 2007, 288 pp., $150.00 (hardcover),$46.95 (softcover). ISBN-10: 0-415-39393-0 (hardcover), 0-415-39394-9 (soft-cover).

In the United Kingdom, the body known as the Joint Information SystemsCommittee (JISC) is charged with supporting education and research throughits leadership in developing the innovative use of information and communi-cations technologies. One of the eight core themes of JISC’s work is that of“e-learning,” in which several programs of research are being pursued withinvolvement by a number of the contributors to the book being reviewed here.Perhaps unintentionally, the book provides readers with a summary of muchof that very useful body of work and goes further to provide, in an accessiblemanner, a sense of the dialogue and debate that surrounds current develop-ments in e-learning research and theory.

Although the term might seem to suggest otherwise, e-learning encompassesan extremely broad range of educational and technological development andpractice. This book embraces that range and in doing so provides an effectiveoverview of the many areas of research that impact on the field of e-learning.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt S

t Vin

cent

Uni

vers

ity]

at 2

0:52

05

Oct

ober

201

4

124 BOOK REVIEW

The editors have structured the book helpfully. The first part comprises six ofthe fifteen chapters and lays down the foundations from which the more detailedanalysis of the second part will spring. These early chapters deal with the relationbetween e-learning and areas of policy formation and implementation, organiza-tional structures and roles, learning theory, technologies for learning, and the epis-temological and methodological alternatives open to researchers.

This list of broad areas indirectly points to the multidisciplinary nature ofthe project we might call “e-learning research.” But that suggests the possibil-ity of a fragmented approach—bounded research areas discussed with littlecross-fertilization. Such an approach is negated through the attempt, mostlysuccessful, to frame discussion using six themes that thread their way throughthe chapters, tying them together. The themes crafted for this purpose areinterdisciplinarity, access and inclusion, change, commodification, interactiv-ity and social interaction, and political aspects. These themes signal thought-ful recognition of the political and contested nature of e-learning research andpractice. They also ensure that the book’s emphasis is not guided by any senseof a technological imperative.

The second part of the book focuses more specifically on particular or, asthe editors describe them, “micro” aspects of e-learning. Chapters in thissection range through the areas of curriculum design (chapter 7), design andmanagement of digital resources (chapters 8 and 9), assessment in e-learning(chapter 10), academic literacy (chapter 11), collaboration (chapter 12), affec-tive issues (chapter 13), and evaluation (chapter 14). Noting the multiple layersof curriculum planning, the authors of chapter 7 set out to describe a range oftools and resources that are available for practitioners to support informed deci-sions about learning design and the creation of learning activities. In doing so,they discuss the work that has gone into developing vocabularies to assist in thearticulation of the design process—an important first stage if (electronic)resources are to be found and shared. Reusability is one of the threads runningthrough discussion of the chapters on digital resources. The difficulties of reus-ability—both technical and pedagogical—are highlighted, along with discus-sion of the significant progress made to date. In discussing relationshipsbetween the designer, the learner, and the resource itself, the significant point ismade that resources are not neutral objects. Digital learning resources necessar-ily impart designers’ beliefs about what constitutes effective learning, and asthe authors note on page 133, “Many of the tensions around the use and re-useof digital learning resources may be a consequence of the extent to whichdesigners’ investment is denied or ignored.”

Although the initial chapters in the second part also address technical issuesthrough reference to debate about standards and protocols, authors of the laterchapters (chapter 11 on) focus on theoretical and pedagogical issues. The issueof literacy addressed in chapter 11 highlights the turn toward a wider view ofliteracy and heralds the recognition of a multimodal approach that includes non-print literacies (e.g., Jewitt 2006). Chapter 12 provides a very useful discussion

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt S

t Vin

cent

Uni

vers

ity]

at 2

0:52

05

Oct

ober

201

4

BOOK REVIEW 125

of what is meant by collaboration and why collaboration might, or might not,have educational value, and the following chapter on affective and social issuesdraws attention to the issue of engagement in learning. There is increasingawareness of the importance of affective issues in education, with questions ofengagement being an important area of investigation (Coates 2006). In thischapter, the authors bring this discussion to bear on the areas of informal learn-ing and play, suggesting that in order to harness the impact of technology use forlearning, we should attempt to understand how and why it is used so enthusiasti-cally outside learning. The penultimate chapter in Part 2 underlines the politicalnature of evaluation of the use of learning technologies and the need for practi-tioners to be clear about their assumptions and commitments, and the conclud-ing chapter returns to the six crosscutting themes, summarizing the ways inwhich they are reflected throughout the book and then pointing towards thoseissues for current research that spring from consideration of these themes.

The book is clearly designed for an audience with current involvement in e-learning research. It is not an introduction to research in the area. Rather itassumes a reasonable knowledge of e-learning development and practice,current educational—indeed social science—research issues, and researchmethodology. It sets out to provide an overview of developments in the area ofe-learning research but does not claim to provide the authoritative view, remain-ing content to expose the divergence of opinion that exists within the field. Itachieves both aims extremely well, implicitly highlighting exactly how contex-tual and political e-learning research must be in that aspects of the text, espe-cially in Part 2, are influenced by the work and directions of JISC.

There were times, when reading some chapters, that I wished for greatercohesion—a sense of structure that would let me more easily link the ideas of thechapters to the wider themes of the book. Despite this occasional frustration, how-ever, the book will be an excellent resource for researchers in the field of e-learn-ing, providing, as the title indicates, a valuable contemporary perspective of thefield and, most likely, additional insights into the future of e-learning research.

Bill AndersonMassey University

REFERENCES

Coates, H. 2006. Student engagement in campus-based and online education:University connections. New York: Routledge.

Jewitt, C. 2006. Technology, literacy and learning: A multimodal approach.New York: Routledge.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Mou

nt S

t Vin

cent

Uni

vers

ity]

at 2

0:52

05

Oct

ober

201

4