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The Social
Shaping of a Virtual Learning Environment: The Case of a University-wide
Course Management System
William H. Dutton, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford,
UK,
william.dutton@oii.ox.ac.uk and
Pauline Hope Cheong and Namkee Park, University of Southern
California, USA,
pcheong@usc.edu,
npark@usc.edu |
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ABSTRACT
Expectations
surrounding the role of e-learning need to be tempered by an awareness of
the variety of technical, institutional, social and economic constraints
on the innovation process. This paper reports on a case study of the
introduction into a university of one of the most central e-learning
initiatives in higher education, an enterprise-wide virtual learning
environment. Findings identify constraints on innovation and highlight
changes likely to evolve from the diffusion of such environments, which
can be amplified by interrelated technical changes underway in
universities.
Keywords:
courseware, course management system, virtual learning environment, VLE,
e-learning, information and communication technologies, institutional
change, social shaping of technology, online learning |
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