Critical issues for e-learning delivery

The article I read was Critical issues for e-learning delivery: what may seem obvious is not always put into practice from the October 2008 issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.

The web address for the abstract is www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120121864/abstract

 

This research deals with finding the Critical Success Factors (CSF's) for e-learning in higher education. The five fundamental aspects of e-learning are organizational, technological, curriculum design, instructional design, and course delivery. (McPherson and Nunest, 2008, p.434) This paper focus was on the delivery system. They considered many methods for data collections, but finally decided on focus group interviews.

 

The researchers wanted to get opinions from a diverse group of individuals including researchers, administrators, and technologists from various institutions so they may avoid biases. They used the neutral setting of conferences focused on e-learning where they gathered data from 75 participants. All four conferences were in 2002, and one was the E-Learn conference that I reported on earlier.

 

They supplied each participant with a diagram titled the Framework for the study of e-learning. The five main areas were delivery, instructional systems design, curriculum development, technological infrastructure, and organizational setting. (p.435) Each participant was then asked to record their own top five preferred CSF's in each of the five categories.

 

The end result was four main areas considered to be CSF's to aide in the delivery of e-learning. The first was staffing issues. The data showed that specific staff attributes and experience were critical to the success of e-learning.(p.438) Besides the staff attributes, availability of staff including tutors, and the preparedness of the students were considered as important factors for success.

 

The second CSF was delivery models. Three areas were addressed. The faculty needed to adopt an appropriate pedagogical model, an interactive online environment, and an appropriate evalution approach. (p.440)

 

The third CSF was training issues. Five areas were listed. It was apparent that training was needed for all levels of staff and support was important for the students. Then technical issues were important such as the main infrastructure along with the software and communication tools. The last thing considered was to customize instruction to the learner's aptitude.

 

The last CSF was leadership issues. Six items became important considerations. It was crucial to include the staff in the changing processes in education, also it was necessary to recognize the staff commitment to the new learning strategies. It was also important to appreciate the motivation of learners. The last three factors were the backbone of e-learning success within the leadership domain; sufficient resources, funding, and the absolute confidence that e-learning will work. (p.442)

 

This was an interesting article yet I felt that the research data was outdated since it was from 2002. The paper was published in 2008 so I think the data should have been current. I have never did research like this, so maybe I am not familiar with the time it takes to compile and report on the findings. One thing that was apparent in the article was that e-learning is here to stay and we need to adjust and pursue the new style of learning.

 

McPherson, M.A, Nunest, J.M. (2008). Critical issues for e-learning delivery: what mey seem obvious is not always put into practice. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 24, 433-445.