Week 5 Readings

The Readings for Week 5 included Leadership and Management in e-Learning for Teachers and Trainers, An Introductory Guide by D.E. Gray and A Learner-centered Framework for E-Learning by Barbara L. McCombs and Donna Vakili.

Gray's Guide points out many 'gems' needed to succeed as an e-Learning Manager. One gem that I thought especially important is that "to keep end-users informed it is essential that the added value delivered by e-learning becomes visible to all - as quickly as possible." This seems to be the whole intent behind e-learning - providing content as content develops and providing a venue to comment on the content or a place to discuss issues arriving from the content (or lack of it).
I thought that this Guide is one of the most important articles read so far for my personal development. I will soon be the lead in a project and will refer to the project management aspects of Gray's Guide. Also this will be very useful in my eLearning Leadership Proposal.

The McCombs and Vakili article from the Teachers College Review contains research and concerns on "the key issues in using educational technology to support learner-centered principles and practices" (McCombs, p. 1595).
Using the APA research-validated Learner-Centered psychological Principles (1997), McCombs and Vakili contend that " to produce quality learners, all learners must experience both quality content and processes".
If I were able to ask them a questions, I would want their opinion on social networking tools, especially the use of podcasts and blogs in the classroom during the three years since the article published.