Interestingly, however, ATARI provided some educational stuff together with the computer: a book, called Atari BASIC: A Self-Teaching Guide (http://www.atariarchives.org/basic/) and... a accompanying cassette called An Invitation to Programming 1: Fundamentals of Programming. And this cassette, in my opinion, was clear-cut e-Learning from start to finish.
This cassette (of which there were 3 later sequels that people could buy) was quite novel. It provided an explanation of programming concepts using a combination of speech (from the cassette) and screen output. Sometimes, it even stopped for some input from the user, for him or her to answer a question being posed. It also asked the user to write simple programs to see whether or not the user was learning. For something released in 1979, it was very remarkable and ahead of its times. And it worked: I learned how to program at the age of 8 by following this cassette and its sequels.
Equally interesting, I haven't seen anything similar to this kind of learning since then, until relatively recently. Why did it take so long for the idea to sink in? Why are people talking so much about e-Learning now, when the technology was already available in the late seventies?
ELearning has been defined in many ways:
ReplyDelete1. e-learning - learning conducted via electronic media, especially via the Internet (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/e-learning)
2. Internet-enabled learning that encompasses training, education, just-in-time information, and communication. (www.eng.wayne.edu/page.php)
3. to take a course online using a modem, wireless, or cable connection to access academic course material from a computer, phone, or handheld device. (www.govst.edu/elearning/default.aspx)
Actually, Alex, the Atari concept you are referring to is not exactly eLearning. It was more of a distance-learning model. It was simply an issue of buying a computer which came with a number of manuals and a number of software applications and games. These early computers also had a number of programming languages developed for them. The programming languages were usually BASIC based but were very practical and, combined with machine-code, used to offer the user the possibility to utilize the computer to its full capabilities. Actually a substantial part of my first degree thesis was writing an assembly language program for the Z80 based Tatung Einstein computer! It was in the interest of the computer companies to give out the programming software to add to the value of their product and sell more of it. In fact it was a standard (BBC had Beebug software and magazine, Tatung had Einstein software and magazine etc etc).
During the same time (early 1980’s) , a lot of British Colleges started to offer correspondence courses for GCE O and A level. These entailed buying all the course notes and tutorials, getting them by post, following them at your own pace and then sending them abroad for correction and feedback. You can imagine the hassle of writing (word-processors and printers) were just being developed and send tutorials abroad. Sending a letter to the UK took 7 days by post to get there and a reply would be received after 3 weeks!
I believe eLearning actually developed with the Internet. The Internet has made the world a smaller place. With the click of a button anyone can communication in real time with someone who is on the other side of this planet, just as if he were in the other room.
Now, Colleges and Universities are tapping on the huge potential of the Internet to reach beyond the boundaries of their campuses and enroll students on a global basis, without actually the need to accommodate them physically except for the computer servers. Now we can say that we have embarked on the eLearning journey.
:)
This is one post that is making me feel old. I remember all of that too and the cassettes that took a 15 eternal minutes to load. Reminiscing...
ReplyDeleteAs for e-learning, it is a concept that evolves over time. Since 1982, e-learning has come a long way and is still evolving as I write this post. The greatest challenge is to remain abreast with the main developments that are taking place. This will help us to be informed lecturers who can use mediums that reach today's students more effectively. Of course, this is not something easy since none of us spend eight hours a day, 365 days a year researching developments that are taking place in society/industry.
While I do agree with you that some ideas might be brushed aside only to be picked up again later, this does not mean that other developments have not taken place in between. While it is good to recognise strong concepts that worked before, we should not limit ourselves to live in the past. Instead, we should be alert to recognise the main changes taking place around us now and possibly thinking about new concepts that will influence the future. As with many things, the best starting point to find such new ideas will always remain the past. This happens in any field and industry - the most inventive people simply draw parallels with another system or process and they apply this understanding to a new concept.
I agree with you Louis on your point that e-Learning started flourishing with the advent of the Internet being accessible for everyone.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not agree with you that e-Learning is always Internet-based. As far as I remember, Vanessa told us in the first face-to-face lecture that e-Learning does not _require_ Internet access. Though, to be fair, since e-Learning is moving more towards collaborative learning rather than individual learning (LMS moving towards VLE), some sort of connectivity between the learners will become a must.
Maybe Vanessa can elucidate this further though, since I might be mistaken here.