Beatrice Manzoni

(E)Learning and What Else? Looking Back to Move Forwards

In recent years, there has been a growing debate and rise in publications about learning in its multiple forms. This variety has contributed to the richness of existing research but it has also increased, rather than reduced, the need for more clarity to advance further. Through a content analysis performed on the last twenty years of research, we aim at providing clarity about the complex definitions landscape of the most diffused 16 learning terms in the literature. We discuss their use over the years and we depict some trends. We conclude by providing a comprehensive learning model that clarifies interactions and interdependencies among the terms. The framework classifies the terms into models, modes and methodologies.

E-learning Effectiveness from a Students’ Perspective: An Empirical Study

E-learning is pervading higher education, being a convenient training opportunity in a busy and demanding society. Despite being a popular phenomenon both in research and in practice, e-learning is however far from being successfully implemented in any context. This is a matter of both inadequate exploration of the learners’ perspective and insufficient reflection about the implications for the instructors. This paper focuses on the first aspect, surveying 277 university students about their opinion and experience of e-learning. The results are partially unexpected and expected: first, despite recognizing a positive future trend for e-learning, students are still confused with regard to its meaning and have a only limited awareness of its potentialities. Secondly, despite the general familiarity with its use, there is still a high percentage of students who haven’t used e-learning yet and who are uninterested in using it. Thirdly, e-learning seems to present more advantages than disadvantages, yet there are still many areas to work on to make e-learning really works. Based on these findings, we develop some managerial implications for instructors and educational organizations.

Reimagine E-learning: a proposal for a 21st learning framework

In recent years, there has been a growing debate and rise in publications about learning in its multiple forms. This variety has contributed to the richness of existing research but it has also increased, rather than reduced, the need for more clarity to advance further. Through a content analysis performed on the last twenty years of research, we aim at providing clarity about the complex definitions landscape of the most diffused 16 learning terms in the literature. We discuss their use over the years and we depict some trends. We conclude by providing a comprehensive learning framework that clarifies interactions and interdependencies among the terms. The framework classifies the terms into models, modes and methods. Through three exemplary case studies, we also show how instructional designers and instructors can apply this framework.