Rethinking the Reuse of Electronic Resources: Contexts, Power and Information Literacy. Commentary by Martin Oliver on Littlejohn, A. (2003) Reusing Online Resources, Chapter 18: An Incremental Approach to Staff Development in the Reuse of Learning Resources, by Allison Littlejohn

Abstract: This paper is a response to Chapter 16 by McNaught (2003) and Chapter 18 by Littlejohn (2003a), from 'Reusing Online Resources: a sustainable approach to e-learning' (Littlejohn, 2003b). These two chapters are briefly summarised, and the points that each makes are examined and challenged. Following on from this, the proposals within these two chapters are re-framed in terms of issues of information literacy and the exercise of power. This analysis suggests that, whilst these chapters may make an important contribution to understanding the process of reuse, they neglect issues relating to scholarship, wisdom and personal development; they also hide the ways in which reuse may serve to strengthen the position of learning technologists whilst marginalising academics. This paper is intended to raise issues and questions in relation to two chapters from the book, Reusing Online Resources: a sustainable approach to e-learning (Littlejohn, 2003b). These chapters examine the complex contextual factors that influence reuse and the ways in which staff development can be used to encourage such practices (McNaught, 2003; Littlejohn, 2003a). Editors: Allison Littlejohn and Simon Buckingham Shum