This past June I had the priviledge of having work shared with the world alongside so many amazing contributors in the edited book How to use digital learning with confidence and creativity. I’ve been slowly making my way through it, reading it start to finish, even though the design and intent of the book is that you could pick up any chapter you currently need. The chapters themselves are short, but densely packed with examples, suggestions, and give you enough to get going. While the book could be useful for anyone who needs to get started with digital learning, the sense I get so far is that it’s really focused on higher ed and directed at faculty. That’s not to say that no one else would get something from it, it’s just primary vs tertiary audiences. So in my reading of it, I’m coming at it as an instructional designer and educational technologist with over a decade of experience in higher ed, and some experience using digital learning outside of higher ed.

In the first chapter, our editors lay the background of the work and themselves and get at the ‘why now, why this book’ question. As all things in the fields of learning, they recognize there could be different interpretations of digital learning. Here they define it as, “learning that is in some way being supported or experienced in a ‘digitally mediated’ way, or by otherwise making use of digital learning tools and technology” (p. 2). They also draw attention to the breadth of experience of the contributing authors. It was humbling to have work included along side some of the other contributors who are highly recognizable in the field, and it was so cool to see the editors expand the scope to practitioners who might be otherwise overlooked because they don’t have extensive publication records. What an excellent way to recognize expertise. I’m grateful.

In chapter 1, Kerry Pinny gives us an overview of ed-tech in terms of abundance and uncertainty. Both of these terms are so timely (abundance being one I associate with Dave Cormier’s work over the past half decade at least; uncertainty being a concept that permeates a lot of my current work). Pinny lays the groundwork for the chapter in the size of the edtech sector, truly staggering numbers. And difficult ones to pin down. In my experience in edtech, it can really depend on how you look at the sector. For example, when it comes to learning management systems, most folks I would talk to in higher ed might say there’s a half dozen available (limiting to ones typically used for credit courses in PSIs). In North America, Phil Hill’s work kind of aligns with that (the players being BBL, D2L, Instructure, and Moodle). Pinny notes that, “a search for the best learning management system (LMS) provides a list of 26 choices” (p. 10). Once you break away from credit courses then you’ll see some PSIs using LMSs from the private sector for staff or contractor training. From what I recall of Craig Weiss’s work, there are literally hundreds of options once you look outside of the ‘big 4’. This brings us from the abundance to the uncertainty,

Wow, those are some really big questions. What counts as a meaningful choice? What is a judicious one? Pinny highlights that all of these choices can be anxiety-inducing and notes the unsolicited labour required anytime there is a change, both keen insights that are easy to gloss over especially if you’re a technologist. From here, Pinny explores those questions of you might proceed with decision-making, from identifying whether you have a choice or not, a simple mnemonic to use in your considerations, considerations for risks in the decision, and a salient conclusion. Feeling overwhelmed by the choice of edtech available? This is a great starting place.

Do you ever wonder why the heck your IT department acquires a tool, or why they support some and not others? Chapter 2, by Tadhg Leane, provides an accessible guide to some of ways IT departments make these decisions. A helpful chapter for faculty, but in the ed developer/instructional design/educational technologist circles I find myself in, this is a must-read chapter. There have been so many times I’ve been in a room where someone in these circles is befuddled by IT, especially when it comes to asking for specific tools. Remember that note about abundance in chapter 1? Lots of times my peer cohort will want to bring on a new tool and get shut down. The ambiguity of the decision can lead to interdepartmental tensions. Reading this chapter provides the framework and language we can use to build back that communication channel and work together, we’re in the same organization after all, and collectively we are there to support learning just from different pathways. Leane identifies the four main categories of technology that are usually at a PSI: academic, research, student, and administrative. There is a whole lot more technology on campus then we tend to acknowledge in any one of those four circles. Those are purpose driven categories. Leane goes on to explain IT infrastructure – in plain language – as software (platforms), hardware (physical infrastructure), support (people), and policies and procedures (my understanding). Through these two frames, they then walk through some of the decision-making apparatus IT must use to ensure things are secure and work as intended. Overall, the next time one of your colleagues bemoans a decision about technology on campus, this chapter is a great share.

While the editors note that the book could be read in any order, once we get to the third chapter, you can see how well all the chapters connect to one another. Chapter 3, by Autumm Caines (of liminal space fame), gives an overview of the procurement of technology on campuses (particularly from the situated perspective of USA based PSIs). You can almost hear the echo of ‘why would they get this tool!?’ from where we just arrived from after chapter 2. Specifically for the teaching and learning portfolio, Caines seeks to answer the question, “how is it that a student comes to use a particular technology in a classroom, and what are the implications of that” (p. 26)? While this question focuses on students and in the classroom, the chapter answers a broader set of technology used for learning at a PSI. Caines walks through scenarios such as the individual decisions of instructors to use technology for a class to university selected and supported tools. What underpins, but isn’t called out by name, this chapter is the principal-agent problem. I first encountered this problem in relation to textbooks. That version of the problem boils down to, faculty select a textbook which likely has a high cost, but the faculty aren’t buying the book, the students are. The students don’t get to make the choice of the book, of which cost may be an influencing factor. In the case of learning technology we have a similar problem, but in the context of this capter it presents as two cases. The first case is similar to the textbook problem, for a class, a faculty may choose a homework system (for example) students have to pay to access. The other principal-agent problem is when admin, IT, or other group purchases an enterprise license for a platform for faculty and students to use. Depending on the process, Caines outlines some options, the end users may or may not be involved. Now Caines also mentioned at the top what about the implications? They go over some of the big ones such as continual review processes, lock-in, and doesn’t name it but touches on enshittification. Of course you can’t fit everything into a chapter of any length. A couple of additions that came to mind while reading were around my experience with the gaps in technologies we use on campus (usually identified in specific use cases), the overlap of adopted technologies (sometimes just by departments not talking to each other, or by tool feature creep – see Norman’s Law of eLearning Tool Convergence), and self-hosted solutions. With regard to the last, how might an edtech or faculty pursue self-hosting a technology, such as Mahara (coming up) or Pressbooks. Regardless, by the end, readers have a better idea of what’s involved and perhaps how to get included in decision-making and to recognize the importance of those decisions from a variety of lenses.

Speaking of, may the most commonly, procured technology, Tom Farrelly tackles the Learning Management System in chapter 4. They mention Martin Weller’s oft cited “the LMS is dead” statement, and notes that it instead enjoys ubiquity. There is an excellent tie back to Caines here regarding technology that becomes entrenched in our PSIs. Interestingly they also note that in the early 2000s there was concern about paying for expensive single solutions when the “requisite elements could be unbundled” (p. 34). This ultimately came to a head in the mid 2010s when all the rage was the NGDLE (next generation digital learning environment). That dream ultimately failed and it seems that Norman’s Law holds. Anyway, in this chapter we get a high level overview of the LMS, its uses and issues. I appreciate the balanced approach. LMSs are so easy to complain about. Farrelly quotes some critics, one in particular that uses the metaphor of a classroom where chairs and desks are bolted to the floor (as if there aren’t plenty of those spaces in place in PSIs and that perhaps an LMS would actually bring flexibility in such cases). Martin Weller wrote a book about metaphors in educational technology and one this he mentioned early on is that while metaphors are useful they have their limitations. This particular critique is a great example of that. The argument is presented as if a classroom where chairs and tables on casters would not be restrictive to teaching and learning approaches. I also doubt such a critic would throw all the furniture into the hallway. I mentioned Farrelly balanced this discussion, which is done by mentioning, rightly that many teaching staff do not have the requisite skills or time to develop bespoke technology. Let’s got back to the metaphor in that critique. Would that critic ask instructors to make their own furniture from scratch for the classroom for a completely customized student experience? I sincerely hope not. This makes me think back to when a Ted Talk where the presenter made a toaster from scratch. Turns out in our current systems, it’s extremely difficult (but also what makes the anime Dr. Stone so fun). In true fashion of the “a practical introduction” as in the title of the book, Farrelly concludes with solid advice for have to proceed and practice using an LMS for your teaching and learning needs.

Next up, it’s me and Terry Green, in chapter 5, talking about authoring tools. What can I say about this chapter? Well, I think there are a lot of ways you could write such a chapter, but as I stated at the book launch, I think we wanted to provide considerations for readers if they were thinking about using an authoring tool instead of just providing a list of tools and what they can do. I think there is enough of the latter online. The considerations are especially important for IDs and edtechs who might reflexively reach for their favourite tool for any project. This is a common occurrence in my experience. Which brings me to one of my favourite quotes,

It might seem obvious but not obvious enough it would seem. Recently a very prominent authoring tool introduced an AI feature and the first example in one of their demos was using the AI to generate learning objectives for an elearning course. If you haven’t thought about the objectives and already have that tool open and are building, close your laptop, take a walk, and do some reflecting. To that end, we tried to provide considerations for readers who are considering using an authoring tool, provide some examples of what readers could make using the tools, and note some of the upcoming advancements in the area. I think we do a good job of acknowledging that these tools have a place in learning, but that they are a part of the bigger digital learning, and learning in general, picture.

Speaking of different arrangements of technology enabled learning or not, following us Shane Cronin discusses technologies for hybrid learning in chapter 6. Education is definitely a sector whose terminology can be confused, even for those of us who have extensive experience in the area. Cronin points this out with regard to hybrid, blended, and hyflex learning. While it is extremely difficult to get consensus on what these terms mean, Cronin provides succinct definitions for different arrangements which I think would be helpful to begin any project or meeting with to get everyone on the same page. Debating about the terms can be an interesting intellectual exercise, but unproductive toward the goal of the project or meeting, and what Cronin provides is very practical for faculty, IDs, edtechs, committees, etc. to use. The only notable omission, to me, is multi-access learning (given the way the other terms were defined). They outline components required to create these different arrangements, not just focusing on SaaS products but an effective blend of hardware/software components. For example, lecture capture isn’t just the software but has real hardware requirements as well. They note that AV equipment, “play key roles in transmitting audio and video content” (p. 51). I would really like to emphasize this one, because somehow in 2024 we are still ill-equipped here. I recall many years ago a program I worked with had distributed sites for their live sessions and there were actual microphones (portable) placed on each table so we could better hear participant contributions. I’ve also been in situations where there is a hybrid meeting where this isn’t used and it makes it extremely difficult for participants at a distance to hear the in room contributions. My general rule is that you should prioritize audio before video. Cronin highlights the benefits and challenges before moving onto typical patterns in hybrid learning and practical considerations. This chapter provides suggestions that both new and experienced ed devs, IDs, and edtechs could find value in.

Next up is a topic near and dear to me. Lisa Donaldson treats us to a discussion of ePortfolios in chapter 8. A quick side note in case someone is reading this from outside of education, eportfolio is a sector specific term that arose in the 1990s (hence the “e”) and somehow we’ve never really dropped or updated the terminology like we did with other terms.  ePortfolios were a chapter in Weller’s 25 years of edtech book, but notably absent from the Things I was Wrong About series. It would certainly be an entry in my own Things I was Wrong About series. Donalson leads in with an acknowledgement that adoption has been slow but that there is a persistent needs in higher ed for digital learning environments and in particular assessment. My own experience with portfolio interest in that its quite sinoidal. The way Donaldson speaks about them makes me wonder if they’ve gained more traction in Europe than they did over here. They describe them as both a process and a platform and provide a clear snapshot of concrete items that may examples of eportfolios in various contexts. This reminds me of a paper I saw many years ago related to a TEL project that described a taxonomy of portfolios in educational contexts, and I’ve never been able to find it again! They provide a list of commonly used platforms, noting open source vs commercial products. Two observations here are that WordPress was not highlighted as open source, which I would find curious if not for the current climate around it at the moment. The other thing that came to mind as I saw them was a distinction between purpose or paradigms of the tools listed. Examples of platforms with LMS integrations (think Mahara) was juxtaposed to more general web tools (think WordPress). This actually provides a clear line between the “eportfolio” world (as in tightly knit to education) and general purpose “portfolio” professionals would use. For example, Mahara is pretty common in education settings and has these more developmental, social constructivist, learning and formal education features and design to it (mini LMS vibes). Something like Behance (not mentioned in the chapter) but extremely popular for graphic, web, and UX designers to host their portfolios of work is a very different product. This is something I’ve noticed before but it was interesting to see it clearly laid out in a table, even if that’s not the explicit point the author made. Donalson continues with an overview of course or program level considerations for implementing eportfolios for learning, giving concrete examples of the types of artifacts that could be captured (including multiple means of action). They provide practical advice for implementing portfolios, and the only addition I would make to this excellent overview is a note about how to decide the level of privacy you might consider for implementing them in your learning context. Should they be fully public? Just the class? Just between the instructor and student? These are also questions to consider in implementing this approach. I always had so much hope for eportfolios in PSIs, and this often leads me to a trough of disillusionment. After reading this chapter, Donaldson has inspired me to try again, and I think readers will also be inspired to take up this powerful learning tool and approach.

Lee O’Farrell takes on a practical introduction to learning analytics in chapter 8. Learning analytics is both an area that we could go super deep, and also one where I’ve seen my colleagues’ eyes glaze over. This introduction however hits a great spot of just enough to get going without getting into the weeds. Analytics is a central piece to so many operations, but they note, “strangely though, despite the centrality of disciplines such as mathematics, statistics and information technology, higher education has been a relatively late arrival at the data party” (p. 68). I’d say L&D broadly also fits that observation. Reflecting back on previous chapters in this book we could pull the thread through on themes such as a bit of a chaotic landscape of tools on campuses combined with entrenched technologies. How often are we still asking for SCORM for example when there are more nuanced ways we could look at user journeys? Is everything locked up in the LMS or can we look across systems to better understand user journeys, needs, and behaviours? O’Farrell discusses some of the newer developments, many tied to the LMS, such as early warning systems, teacher dashboards, and the like. Within that context, they provide some practical sources of information (resource usage, quiz data, log in info, etc) teachers can begin to explore to make use of learning analytics to improve learning; noting clickstream data is only one lens and that you don’t see the whole picture with just these. They also discuss the privacy and ethics of LA. It’s not mentioned in the chapter, but I remember a big blowout with Canvas by Instructure in the mid 2010s over new analytics features they proposed. It was bad enough that some of their usual champions criticized them very publicly. O’Farrell concludes with principles readers can consider prior to launching any LA initiative, with a call to action that stood out to me, “higher educational cannot afford to not use data” (p. 73).

The final chapter in this section is the current elephant in the higher education room. GenAI writing technology. Trust & Maloy introduce the topic, discussing the expansion of associated technologies from very targeted applications (e.g. answering student questions about things found in the syllabus), to more general purpose applications (e.g. writing a whole essay). Refreshingly, they discuss a history of AI and AI writing tools, and there is a connection between the previous AI as related to learning analytics (think adaptive systems that were all the rage in the 2010s) and the current technologies. They discuss potential benefits of the writing tools, and risks including a note that AI detectors shouldn’t be used (even OpenAI gave up trying to make one). The final part of the chapter covers some practical implications for practitioners for how they might proceed in this post-GenAI landscape.

If you’ve stuck around this long, thank you, but go check out the book! If you’ve been reading it, what stood out to you in this first section’s chapters?