Global Perspectives on E-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality

"The committee felt that Global Perspectives on E-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality was a remarkable commentary on the disconnect between the rhetoric of online learning (anywhere-anytime, open access, democratization, increasing economic opportunity) and the realities in regions as disparate as North America and sub-Saharan Africa (education as a "consumer good," increasing economic and social distances within populations, education for global consumerism rather than civic participation)." --DISTANCE LEARNING COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE "Global Perspectives on E-Learning offers an authoritative compendium of online teaching and learning in a cross-section of nations around the world. This is a state-of-the-art review of promising online programs by authors who have participated in the movement. Rarely do we find such current and authoritative information about educational technology developments in more than a dozen countries in six continents." —Don Ely, Syracuse University   "We need more critical and reflective texts on distance education and its evolution within a global framework. The authors provide the reader a social and political context for thinking about global education." —Roberto Muffoletto, Appalachian State University "Global Perspectives on E-Learning is a fascinating expedition on the road to democratizing online/distance learning through the dichotomy of rhetoric and social realities in countries around the world." —Paul Gathercoal, California Lutheran University "I think this is an excellent text. It provides the reader with a broad international perspective of distance education, something that is in short supply." —Chris Zirkle, College of Education, Ohio State University E-learning is growing around the world, with applications from schools to non-profits to business and industry and, of course, higher education. It has been heralded as the next democratizing force in education for offering access regardless of physical limitations, job status, geography, etc. It has also been challenged as representative of the myth of meritocracy for exacerbating the view that education alone rectifies failures to meet social needs. Further, the financial incentive to privatize education leads many to question its democratic merits. Global Perspectives on E-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality presents several cases of international online education and the rhetoric that surrounds this form of teaching and learning. Editor Alison A. Carr-Chellman examines the impact of online distance education throughout the world in an effort to understand more deeply the merits of such initiatives. Written from a critical perspective, the book sheds light on some of the problems faced by international distance educators. It particularly focuses on who benefits, and who does not, by the advance of international e-learning and how we can respond to the needs of the disenfranchised. This book is intended to supplement what has to this point been largely a positive, how-to literature in distance education. It offers a balanced perspective on the problems and possibilities of distance education worldwide. Global Perspectives on E-Learning is perfectly suited as a supplemental text for a variety of graduate-level education courses. Professional educators, policy makers, and anyone interested in international online education should consider this a vital addition to their libraries. Key Features International case studies and discussions that show how initiatives interface with the international e-learning movement Focus questions at the start of each chapter help readers construct an advanced schema Numerous unique viewpoints from around the world provide a sophisticated and comprehensive overview Coverage from a number of countries: China, Taiwan, India, Namibia, Turkey, Ireland, the U.K., New Zealand, Australia, and the United States A matrix of case studies that groups the cases by focus and theme, allowing students and instructors to customize their use of the book

Table of Contents:
Introduction - Alison A. Carr-Chellman Online Education in Asia: An Analysis of China, Taiwan, and India - Alison A. Carr-Chellman China′s Online Education: Rhetoric and Realities - Ke Zhang The Gap Between E-Learning Availability and E-Learning Industry Development in Taiwan - Jiang Jia qi The Distance in Education and Online Technologies in India - Priya Sharma Online Education in Europe: An Analysis of Ireland, UK, Turkey and International Study Circles - Alison A. Carr-Chellman Online Learning and Differential Participation in a Democratic Society: Ireland as a Case Study - Sarah Fitzpatrick & Paul Conway E-Learning Democracy and Social Exclusion-Issues of Access and Retention in the UK - Ormond Simpson International Study Circles - Ben Salt A Critical Look at Distance Education in Turkey - Husra Gursoy Online Education in North America: An Analysis of the U.S. and Canadian Contributions - Alison A. Carr-Chellman Canada′s SchoolNet: Wiring Up Schools? - Leslie R. Shade & Diane Y. Dechief The New Frontier: Web-Based Education in US Culture - Alison A. Carr-Chellman Online Education Down Under: An Analysis of Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia - Alison A. Carr-Chellman New Zealand: Is Online Education a Highway to the Future? - Bill Anderson Towards Borderless Virtual Learning in Higher Education - Colin Latchem Online Education in Africa: An Analysis of Namibia and Sub-Saharan Africa - Alison A. Carr-Chellman Development and Democracy in Namibia: The Contribution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) - R. Kavena Shalyef & Hilda Nakakuwa Can You Lead From Behind? Critical Reflections on the Rhetoric of E-Learning, Open Distance Learning and ICTs for Development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) - Wayne Mackintosh Stalled: E-Learning as Thwarted Innovation - Robert Zemsky & William F. Massy Conclusion - Alison A. Carr-Chellman

About the Author :
Alison A. Carr-Chellman is an Associate Professor of Education, currently serving as the Professor in charge of the Instructional Systems program in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems. She earned her doctorate at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she studied Instructional Systems Technology with an emphasis in Educational Systems Design. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she received an undergraduate degree and a masters in Education. She taught elementary school and worked in business and industry prior to taking on her current position. Her research interests include critiques of distance education and e-learning, systems theory and thinking, educational systems design, critical systems, and user-design. She resides outside of State College with her three children ages two, two, and one, her husband and in-laws on a family farm.

Review :
Global Perspectives on E-Learning offers an authoritative compendium of online teaching and learning in a cross-section of nations around the World. This is a state-of-the-art review of promising online programs by authors who have participated in the movement. Rarely do we find such current and authoritative information about educational technology developments in more than a dozen countries in six continents. We need more critical and reflective texts on distance education and its evolution within a global framework. The authors provide the reader a social and political context for thinking about global education. Global Perspectives on E-Learning is a fascinating expedition on the road to democratizing online/distance learning through the dichotomy of rhetoric and social realities in countries around the world. I think this is an excellent text. It provides the reader with a broad international perspective of distance education, something that is in short supply. "A must-read for policy framers and curriculum shapers." "The book is well written and well organized. It adds significantly  to the literature that addresses global perspectives on e-learning,  and is of particular interest to those seeking additional information  about international programs. Cases represent different examples from  five continents. Therefore the book is particularly useful for instructional  designers, and policy makers who work for the disseminating online  distance learning." "This is indeed a disturbing, informative, and readable book.  I commend it warmly to those who may wish to find out about developments in e-learning around the world; to those who have consciences which will be disturbed by much of what is highlighted and summarized here; to those willing to re-examine their optimism about the potential and implications of e-learning; and to those similarly willing to reconsider their pessimism.  Buy it, read it, re-read it, question-and keep seeking answers." "This volume brings together a number of reports on the global phenomenon of online distance education (referred to as e-learning) in several countries in Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and Africa. Editor Carr-Chellman and the respective chapter authors adopt a critical perspective of ‘international capitalist e-learning.’. . . . This book is for policy makers, practitioners, and the general public interested in gaining a more balanced perspective on how closely the rhetoric matched the reality of online distance learning." "Global Perspectives on E-Learning: Rhetoric and Reality will be useful to students and research of distance learning, as well as those interested in global education, policy, and the cultural and political context of learning. The book is successful in presenting a critical, if perhaps unpopular, analysis of the current international applications of e-learning, but it is certainly not a negation of the usefulness of e-learning itself."