The role of e-learning research in informing practice

Elearning is transforming education. It provides opportunities for learning anytime, anywhere. It provides access to a wealth of resources and new forms of communication and virtual communities. Sounds familiar? These are the sound bites that pepper research journals, conferences and the media. But the reality is that elearning is still marginal in the lives of most academics, with technology being used for little more than content repository and administration. Think carefully, how many really innovative examples of the use of technology have you seen? So why the mismatch and are these claims ever likely to be realised? Technologies do have great potential benefit to offer education, however this is a complex multifaceted area; we needed rigorous research if we are going to unpick the hype and gain a genuine understanding how technologies can be used effectively