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It happens every time - a word becomes part of the popular lexicon and it becomes so generalized or over-used that its very definition becomes unclear. I am no Historian of Words nor am I a Linguist, but let me at least share with you how I think about "e-Learning"...

The intent of the "e" in e-Learning was to describe a learning experience that is mediated by some form of ICT (information & communication technology), usually in a setting that is NOT a traditional classroom. The "e", I believe, was referring to "electronic" - not "existential" or "excellent". To some it implies the use of any technology that is electronic, distinguishing the experience from learning that uses "non-electronic" technologies, such as books, chalk, paper, pencils, slide rules...

Now that just about everything is mediated by electrically powered (batteries or otherwise) gizmos, the word "e-Learning" is becoming a bit too broad, almost to the point of being unhelpful. If we expect clear and meaningful dialog about how to design exemplary e-Learning experiences for students, I think we need to clarify what is meant by "e-Learning" and what has now become its many variants.

There are many types of e-Learning experiences that are being tried. Some of them are powerful and exciting, finally addressing the needs of a large number of students for whom large, lecture-style classrooms are not effective. One-size-fits-all instructional design is not working, so some of the permutations in eLearning bring welcome innovation. Unfortunately, other forms of e-Learning are (trying to be polite) "modest" in their effectiveness - dreadfully so, I'm afraid. The worst offender is the "self paced corporate training module" that you click through while reading your email.

So whenever I'm involved in a discussion about "e-Learning", I always ask, "What type of learning experience are you referring to?" Usually the discussion is about online learning of some sort, so let me share with you my current online learning taxonomy (if that's really the right way to describe my list below):

Asynchronous Online Learning - oLearning(a)

These are the types of online experiences that don't depend on "being there" at any particular time. Unlike "showing up for class at 9am", you can login and participate 24/7. Conversations are usually in the form of threaded discussion "bulletin boards", or now rising in popularity, micro-video or audio postings.

One of the interesting characteristics about oLearning(a) experiences with groups of learners is that the conversations are often much more reflective & meaningful - if the instructional design and facilitation of the experience are both wisely done.

Synchronous Online Learning - oLearning(s)

These experiences bring together people at the same moment in time, just like a face-to-face classroom that meets at a specific moment, an oLearning(s) experience requires that you show up at the same time.

There are many versions of this, such as webinars where the audio comes through the phone or VoIP, and the visuals are delivered to your web browser; video chat through a webcam; high-resolution rooms that create face-to-face experiences so realistic that you forget the other half of the room is across the world, (e.g. HP HALO rooms); Second Life "avatar-to-avatar" experiences; and many more.

oLearning Design Dimensions

But "synchronous" vs. "asynchronous" is still inadequate in capturing the details we need in order to consider what type of experience design is best for the learning objectives being addressed. So, here's my checklist of "design dimensions" for your consideration:

• PACE: is the learning scheduled, self-paced, or ad-hoc (on-demand)?
• HELP: who/what provides the scaffolding that guides students through from novice to expert? Is the experience led by a PERSON (instructor, content-expert, facilitator, mentor) or by a MACHING (artificial intelligence, cognitive tutor, etc)
• COHORT: are the learners alone, or in a structured cohort, or in an informal community?
• FORMALITY: is this a "formal" learning experience for credit, or an informal learning experience that fills another need?

So here is how I describe the learning experience of the students in the online course I designed and deliver for Montana State University: The course is a conceptual physics course on the Science of Sound, designed specifically for teachers of students in grades 5 through 8. The learning is entirely online, asynchronous, scheduled (there are assignments due each week), instructor led, with a cohort of students who are earning 1 unit of semester credit (see www.scienceteacher.org for more info!).

I'm sure my taxonomy, as it were, is incomplete, so I welcome your comments. There are many wonderful resources for online learning design. Let me suggest two:

• Seven Steps to Better E-Learning by Clark Quinn (via a Twitter post from Steven Anderson, @web20classroom)
• Facilitating Online Learning  by Collison, Elbaum, Haavind, and Tinker - a wonderful book to read if you are teaching online or designing an online, human-mediated experience

What I really hope this does is help us all have more precise discussions about what's working and what does not work, so that more students are successful the pursuit of their dreams...

Jim Vanides, B.S.M.E, M.Ed.
Worldwide Education Programs
HP Global Social Investment
Hewlett-Packard
Twitter @jgvanides

For information about the HP Global Social Investments, visit www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants