Cybernetics, e-learning and the education system - Oleg Liber [via Seb whose post I link to in the previous posting] Outstanding!
"For those concerned about the constraints of the formal education system, VLEs at first seemed to offer new possibilities for learning. They promised to lift the constraints of time and geography, allowing learners to have access from any location at times suited to them, but while still allowing them to part of a learning community in constant contact, and not isolated distance learners. They offered the possibility of realising a range of pedagogical models embracing active, open, collaborative and learner-centred learning; and indeed, conceptually VLEs have the potential to deliver on these promises.
Unfortunately, the widespread adoption of VLEs by colleges and universities has seen the emergence of market leaders that while certainly providing for new models of access, do not promote pedagogical diversity, instead opting for an online version of the traditional delivery model. They do not provide learners with tools to organise themselves, they do not easily permit group learning, they do not easily support group or problem-based learning, and they do not easily integrate with the wider internet, instead creating a ‘learning ghetto’. On the internet, people are meeting each other in chat rooms, running Weblogs, engaging in various eGroups, answering each others’ questions on ‘Ask’ websites, and sharing resources using peer-to-peer systems: none of these features is typically available in leading VLEs." [Oleg Liber] [[Emphasis mine]]
4:49:24 PM 
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