Finding Balance: The Vices of Our "Versus"

Many debates of effective online practice implicitly assume that those practices exist on one end or the other of a dichotomy. This article argues that this assumption inevitably limits the creation of effective and balanced online learning environments. Drawing upon relevant theory and research on teaching and learning, the article argues that learning goals should drive the creation, selection, and refinement of online learning environments. The article discusses two major areas of debate: information acquisition versus knowledge construction and teacher-centered versus student-centered learning. As an alternative to artificial dichotomies, the article proposes a learning-centered view of online practices where a combination of effective strategies support student progress toward identified learning goals