Using a VLE for adult distance learning : the participant experience

Abstract

In relation to education provision e-learning in all its guises could be described as capturing the Zeitgeist of the moment. Home computer ownership, internet connectivity and online use have increased exponentially (Central Statistics Office, 2007). Arguably, much of the debate surrounding e-learning has focussed on the increasing technological capabilities available to society in general and educational providers in particular - in effect we are told that we have entered the ‘Information Age’ and effectively have become a ‘Knowledge Society’. However, one needs to adopt a critical stance and interrogate such claims, particularly from the learner’s perspective to see if the reality matches the rhetoric. In exploring the use of e-learning a number of research strands are clearly identifiable.