I got a bit interested in this as I was researching for my first assignment. As I was reading the policy documents for e-learning in the tertiary sector, it struck me that they sounded all fine and dandy, but I wasn't sure how they were translated into practice. It seemed like there was a huge amount of work and thinking that needed to be done between the rhetoric and what was happening at the IWB-face. I am interested in the fact that despite a large number of government initiatives and a huge amount of dollars spent by schools, that there is still a relatively limited approach by classroom teachers to the use of e-learning. It was with great interest that I then read the article by Selwyn (2008). The links he makes between e-learning policy and economic imperatives is clear even when reading the latest government offering Digital strategy 2.0 (2008). The Minister for Communications and Information Technology notes " This Strategy goes beyond looking at the factors that enable digital development. Our vision of the future is that New Zealanders should be leaders in the digital world and use digital technologies, skills and opportunities to contribute to a prosperous, sustainable and vibrant society. No country has more to gain from the ‘death of distance’ than New Zealand. Digital Strategy 2.0 maps out the steps towards this vision." It is notable that the document is sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development. It all sounds a lot like the initiatives that have gone before and with the same flawed rationale.
Selwyn contends that there are 3 options for making grass-roots action reflect policy - the development of "directive, disruptive and even punitive e-learning policies"; changing the goals of e-learning policy from economic considerations to educational ones (now there's a thought!); allow the development of policy to come from the grass-roots rather than top-down. It is clear that while educational policy comes so heavily laden with political and economic agendas no real progress will be made in educational terms.
Selwyn, D. (2008). Business as usual? Exploring the continuing (in)significance of e-learning policy drive. Computers in New Zealand Schools, 20(3), 22-34
Ministry of Economic Development. (2008). Digital strategy 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.digitalstrategy.govt.nz/upload/Documents/Digital%20Strategy%202.0%20FINAL.pdf
Selwyn contends that there are 3 options for making grass-roots action reflect policy - the development of "directive, disruptive and even punitive e-learning policies"; changing the goals of e-learning policy from economic considerations to educational ones (now there's a thought!); allow the development of policy to come from the grass-roots rather than top-down. It is clear that while educational policy comes so heavily laden with political and economic agendas no real progress will be made in educational terms.
Selwyn, D. (2008). Business as usual? Exploring the continuing (in)significance of e-learning policy drive. Computers in New Zealand Schools, 20(3), 22-34
Ministry of Economic Development. (2008). Digital strategy 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.digitalstrategy.govt.nz/upload/Documents/Digital%20Strategy%202.0%20FINAL.pdf
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