Season 2 | Episode 4
The Future is Now:
E-Learning
An Interview With
Dr. Robert Luke
Chief Executive Officer
eCampusOntario
This week’s guest is Dr. Robert Luke, Chief Executive Officer at eCampusOntario and "enabler of the innovation economy." He was previously the Vice President of Research and Innovation at OCAD (Ontario College of Art and Design) and at George Brown College.
eCampusOntario is a provincially funded, non-profit organization that leads a consortium of the province’s 48 publicly-funded colleges, universities and indigenous institutions to develop and test online learning tools. Their mission is to promote accessibility, collaboration, and innovation in online and technology-enabled learning that will enhance learner experience, support faculty development, and extend Ontario’s global reach.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE ON YOUR FAVORITE AUDIO PLAYER
Overview:
In this week’s episode, Jon and Dr. Robert Luke discuss the pros and cons of e-learning and by doing so give us some much needed context. What are some things we should keep in mind when feeling exasperated with our new circumstances? How can an individual as a “whole learner” become more focused and involved? What does the future of learning look like?
Many seem to be struggling with the user experience as if online learning were new, but Robert will tell you that there are 30 years of research surrounding its effectiveness. The pandemic forced e-learning to rapidly change. It went from something some people did to something everyone had to do in order to receive an education or keep a job. It is a difficult time because we must “think about where our feet are going tomorrow while also thinking about where the road ahead is taking us.”
Topics Discussed in this Episode:
[00:46] Is e-learning here to stay?
[04:27] Online learning can often be asynchronous and is obviously done by yourself. What can you say about how difficult it may be to stay disciplined and the lack of human connection provided by e-learning working against its success?
[10:05] Is there any advice you can offer both students and educators who are feeling burnt out from the work-from-home experience? Any lessons we should take from this?
[16:29] Give me your thoughts on research into education as we transition into a digitally focused environment. What has changed? What has the research been right and/or wrong about?
[21:00] Do you think we are looking at an increasingly remote workforce?
[26:06] What does eCampusOntario do? And for who? What are some things you’re looking forward to it doing in the future?
Resource Links
eCampusOntario
https://www.ecampusontario.ca/
“7 Missing Pieces: Why Students Prefer In-Person Learning Over Online Classes” by Joanne Ong et al.
Website: https://www.robertluke.ca/