Re-Thinking E-Learning Research: Foundations, Methods, and Practices

by Norm Friesen

In the rapidly-changing world of the Internet and the Web, theory and research struggle to keep up with technological, social, and economic developments. In education in particular, a proliferation of novel practices, applications, and forms – from bulletin boards to Webcasts, from online educational games to open educational resources – have come to be addressed under the rubric of «e-learning». In response to these phenomena, Re-thinking E-Learning Research introduces a number of research frameworks and methodologies relevant to e-learning. The book outlines methods for the analysis of content, narrative, genre, discourse, hermeneutic-phenomenological investigation, and critical and historical inquiry. It provides examples of pairings of method and subject matter that include narrative research into the adaptation of blogs in a classroom setting; the discursive-psychological analysis of student conversations with artificially intelligent agents; a genre analysis of an online discussion; and a phenomenological study of online mathematics puzzles. Introducing practical applications and spanning a wide range of the possibilities for e-learning, this book will be useful for students, teachers, and researchers in e-learning.

265 pages, Paperback

First published December 28, 2008

Reviews

[Brent Wilson]

I loved this book. It's a collection of papers relating to e-learning research, from a cultural/critical perspective. Most of the papers were published in journals, but several are new. They all show an alternative to a cognitivist approach to e-learning research - one based on hermaneutics, language, narrative, criticism, experience.

I am looking for a way to require it of my master's students - possibly in my Research class, possibly in a Trends class. Meanwhile, I am assigning individual chapters in both classes.

Top recommendation!