The underlying logic of contemporary on-line learning and teaching environments has been informed by a systems approach [1] to design. Despite the considerable effort devoted to their evolution and the focus of this effort on flexible learning, on-line learning and teaching systems appear to be limited to the task of transmitting information. In her essay on the evolution of ICT-based learning environments, Rosa Maria Bottino describes this orientation as, firstly one that sits in opposition to constructivist theories, and secondly one that fails to sufficiently accommodate social interaction and practice contexts within the learning and teaching environments. Bottino goes on to critique the information transmission model of ICT-based learning and teaching systems, and suggests that approaches that privilege learners as active participants should be pursued:In the current milieu of on-line learning and teaching environments, ICT architects appear to be caught in a bind between a requirement to provide generalised system features and a will to embrace contemporary educational strategies. In the light of a systems approach to design, a compromise appears to have been made that privileges administrative robustness and security over (student) agency and engagement. Baltasar Fernandez-Manjon and Pilar Sancho have further described aspects of this problem as one where "the requirements of a commercial learning environment are too diverse to be provided by a single monolithic system" (Fernandez-Manjon and Sancho 2002). The result is that the ability for students to collaborate and maintain autonomy within such centralised systems has been limited to superficial sharing of data over networks within closed publishing contexts. Without a serious interrogation of the underlying imperatives governing a systems approach to ICT design, learning and teaching within these environments is destined to remain locked in the administrative mode.[1] A process that frames understanding in terms of abstract organisational structures. Bottino, R. M. (2004). The evolution of ICT-based learning environments- which perspectives for the school of the future? British Journal of Educational Technology 35(5): 553-567.Fernandez-Manjon, B. and P. Sancho (2002). Creating cost-effective adaptive educational hypermedia based on markup technologies and e-learning standards. Interactive Educational Multimedia 4 (April 2002): 1-11.

Image: , (). ownership of on-line student journals. , : Luke Fletcher, Rayne Chan, Royston Cheong []

Web: Towards a Socio-Constructivist Approach to Learning and Teaching Within OLT Environments (PDF) (28-09-2005)

Prompt: Eco: The Open Work

Book: Bottino, Rosa Maria. 2004 The evolution of ICT-based learning environments- which perspectives for the school of the future?, , UK: British Journal of Educational Technology.