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Personalized Online Learning 141 9 Personalized Online Learning: Exploiting New Learning Technologies Gordon Joyes Introduction Computer intelligence has been likened to that of a worm, in that computers are able to respond predictably to stimuli but in rather limited ways. Human intelligence, when it comes to exploiting new learning technologies, has been rather worm-like — responding to the technologies that exist rather than demanding more of them. Little is understood, in fact, about the affordances of different learning technologies (Conole and Dyke 2003), in part due to the failure to exploit their potential. The challenge is to reconceptualize the learner experience, as the context for learning moves from face-to-face (F2F) to online, and to explore the benefits that technologies can bring to this: to ensure it is an attractive and rewarding one. This requires a collaborative approach to design, in that an understanding of the potential of the technologies and of pedagogy is needed. There needs to be a willingness to take an approach to design which allows for a genuine dialogue between technologists and academic writers. What follows is an exploration of some of the affordances offered by new learning technologies, in particular online servers. The context for these developments were the two eChina-UK e-English Language Teacher (eELT) training projects, which involved the University of Nottingham (UoN) working with Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and Beijing Normal University (BNU). The need to be sensitive to both the contexts for learning and for design within these projects, together with the drive to produce innovative e-learning, provided a unique opportunity for some rethinking about key factors that would make e-learning an attractive alternative to F2F learning. The chapter begins by exploring the context for online learning by considering the UK and Chinese contexts and what is a shared goal: to ensure e-learning is a rewarding experience for the learner. A key issue is the need to secure higher student retention for online courses (Gibbs 2003), and the personalization agenda in the UK is considered as a means of addressing this. Research findings that explore learner and tutor needs within online ELT contexts for learning in China are also considered. 142 Gordon Joyes This is followed by a description of the context for design within the projects. An understanding of the nature of the learning environments in use both in the UK and in China, in particular within these projects, together with the approaches used to develop online materials provide an important background to the origins of the learning materials and tools that have been developed within the projects. One of the learning objects developed, as well as one of the learning tools, the Workspace, are then described in relation to the affordances and constraints they offer (Gibson 1979; Greeno 1998), an approach that has proved useful in analysing and evaluating new learning technologies (Kennewell 2001; Laurillard et al. 2000). Affordances are the attributes of the setting which provide potential for action; constraints are the conditions and relationships among attributes which provide structure and guidance for the course of actions. The e-Learning Context The Chinese government has made computer literacy a necessary skill for both teachers and learners, in recognition of the increasing importance of new learning technologies and the Internet in learning and teaching. It is also recognized that e-learning has a role to play in meeting the growing demand for higher education (HE) in China and elsewhere, and the Chinese government has approved e-learning pilots within 68 HE institutions in order to meet these needs (see Kang and Song this volume, pp. 11–32). However, there is a deeply embedded perception within China that e-learning is somehow ‘third rate’ (Gu 2003), below that of campus-based and F2F courses offered by institutions at regional study centres, and is mainly limited to continuing and adult education (Huang and Zhou 2006). e-Learning in HE has been promoted for a variety of reasons: for playing a key role in providing cost-effective and efficient HE (Daniel 1996); for providing effective collaborative learning environments (Joyes and Fritze 2006; McConnell 2000; Redfern and Naughton 2002); for providing flexibility of access to HE for part-time and workbased learners (O’Donoghue and Singh 2001); for developing competence in using the technologies themselves to support lifelong learning and to contribute to society (DfES 2005a). However, it is important to be sceptical about claims of the value of e-learning, as the quality of research evidence...

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