Pipeline Column

Due Oct. 16, 2011

Internet @ Schools Jan. / Feb. 2012 Issue

Critical Questions about e-Learning and Libraries

by Stephen Abram

There are huge opportunities to improve the learning experience with e-learning. We’re learning more and more as these learning management systems improve and evolve about how to implement these environments at all levels of education from K-12 through vocational, college and university and into workplace learning. At this time the it appears that a hybrid model succeeds best for an immersion education environment but that 100 per cent e-learning models can succeed exceptionally well in corporate, distance and geographically dispersed groups of learners. Lifelong learning skills and the learning environment are no longer the purview of schools but, truth be told, schools and educators are laying down the foundations for a learning economy where everyone must continually learn and adapt to ever faster changes driven by society, regulation, research, technology and the economy. Indeed the need to make learning scalable on a society-wide basis as well as achieving economies of scale for dissemination is one of the challenges facing nations as they seek to achieve competitive and national advantage and success. So, clearly it’s a big deal and we play a huge role in the emergence of these e-driven / e-supported learning ecologies.

That said there are some critical questions that librarians need to ask about our role in the e-learning space. Here are a few that I think are essential to be concerned about:

  1. Are the e-learning systems as device and technology neutral as possible?

I recall in the early days of online that some vendors required you to use a specific terminal that they required you to purchase from them. I believe that in those times that this was the only way to assure that your technological environment met the necessary standards. It also tied you to their system as a customer and made it impossible or difficult to change vendors. Are we seeing the emergence of this model again? Are some e-books that can only be read or used on a certain vendor’s device in their proprietary format a move to tie you and your institution to their economic future? So, you need to ask the question in a few ways. Will your system and content work on the majority of devices that your learners are using? Mac and PC? iPad, Kindle, Kobo, Fire, etc.? Desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile device? Obviously you can’t predict the future but it is useful to note that your learners will be bringing a plethora of devices literally to the table and at home. How seamless and frictionless will the experience be? Are you in danger of serving your learners up to a single vendor as a market?

  1. Is the access to content as agnostic as possible?

We have gotten very used to content being available seamlessly and easily through our web browsers. I am old enough to remember the debates in the early days of the browser where this was not the case. Ultimately there were international standards and our browser experience works for most of us with an environment where we can easily add plug-ins and use a multitude of browsers. Will this be the case for mobile learning content on phones and tablets? Will certain devices reject content for commercial reasons so that your learners are excluded? Currently the Amazon Kindle accepts a proprietary version of its e-books which gives Amazon a (hopefully) temporary market advantage and walled garden. Similarly the Apple iPad does not support any Adobe Flash content in order to restrict access and give Apple a (hopefully) temporary competitive advantage. There will always be fanboys telling you why this is OK and why you shouldn’t worry. Worry whenever anyone tells you that you don’t need choice. So look at your e-learning choices and ask if the content will work agnostically on the widest range of devices and use the current international standards. Don’t get locked into a walled garden.

  1. What are the policies with regard to advertising and in-application purchasing and commerce?

This isn’t just about young learners. It concerns all applications but is especially concerning with markets involving minors. This affects anything from computer games to websites to e-books and e-textbooks. We are quite used to seeing ads in magazines. What about books? Books have traditionally avoided ads due to their nature not being timely enough or targeted enough to meet advertiser needs in the way periodicals, websites, search engines and newspapers do. That barrier disappears with e-books and knowledge of the reader’s profile. Are there rules about what can be advertised to a minor in an e-book? Should they be able to make purchases seamlessly in the e-learning environment (much like virtual goods purchases in gaming environments)? Can they buy things in the college bookstore there, pay fines? How about being tied to only buying things in the Apple iStore and sharing revenue with Apple (as is the rule for in-app purchasing for Apple devices). Steve Jobs biography tells us that his next projects included conquering the textbook space. There are a ton of issues here and we haven’t got the philosophies, principles, rules, regulations and standards of practice built yet to protect and enable learners.

  1. What are the issues and policies with regard to learner and teacher privacy?

Who should get to see a student’s performance and marks? What about the whole class’s marks? Is it limited to the teacher? Administrator? Board staff? Parents? Public? Different people would draw the line in different places. With some e-learning systems you can compare student performance across an entire cohort. This is a good thing to have bigger cohorts to evaluate the learner and the learning strategies at a unit level. How about evaluating teachers? Can I compare an individual teacher’s performance to other teachers across many similar classes? What role should this opportunity play in research, evaluation and performance management and improvement strategies? Again, who can look at these data and what may be done with the knowledge?

  1. How do libraries participate for opportunities with assignments as well as for extended learning, discovery, and research?

We know that students with access to librarians and extended resources perform better in school on standardized tests and are better prepared for higher education. How are these key components of a great education embedded into the e-learning environment? Can students get access to additional help with essays and projects inside the application? Can they contact and converse with a teacher/librarian? What about library content? Can they access the school’s OPAC? Can they get to the school’s or board’s website? Can the access key subscription databases, tools, or pathfinders? Can all of these be accommodated at the lesson level and not just on the topmost course homepage? Will the student’s needs for extended learning and homework help be met at the point of need? Can they access this content from home and school on any device at any time?

  1. What access protocols are there for classroom and class cohort involvement with third parties like library staff beyond the teacher and fellow students?

Does the e-learning system support the opportunity for guests in the classroom? Can you talk to and/or see the classroom you’re twinned with in another nation? Can a scientist come into the class as a guest? How about a sea creature from the zoo or aquarium? What about authors? Content comes in many forms. Guests, videos, games, and adventures should all be available in the classroom learning experience.

There are, of course, plenty more questions to ask and answer. But, library folk can play a role in addressing the key issues of learning, content and usability from our perspective of supporting learners and extended learning. At this point it is an exciting time to influence the policy and regulatory frameworks that allow for free access to information, learning, teaching and assistance. This starts with good questions.

Stephen Abram, MLS is Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Markets for Gale Cengage Learning. He is a Past President of SLA, the Ontario Library Association and the Canadian Library Association. He is the author of ALA Edition’s Out Front with Stephen Abram and Stephen’s Lighthouse Blog. Stephen would love to hear from you at .