This is how my husband began a sentence the other night when I was telling him about this cats-pyjamas post. Being someone who will avoid getting in the car, driving, parking, and anything to do with crowds or standing in line, I totally get the “imposition” part. So when I heard “the trouble with eLearning is…” I couldn’t believe my ears.
He had begun with “elearning will catch on some day and is the future and yadiya…” but that “the trouble with elearning is taking the time to actually work through it”. He went on to say that he had downloaded some Harvard physics lectures (just videos, not even eLearning!) from iTunes and hadn’t viewed them, either.
“Well…”, I positioned my response. “The trouble is you”. OK, I should’ve said “the trouble is life”, but…he’s used to hearing that it’s his fault so he didn’t even notice. While eLearning can be a stand-alone, work at your own pace physics lecture, it can also be a highly interactive experience with students and teachers in a virtual “campus” setting. It can be anything in between.
I pointed out that I had just read a book, Words Fail Me, that I had ordered from Amazon six years ago. Along with others in that same delivery, that book had sat on the shelf, untouched, all that time. Just like his physics lectures. Just like the eLearning courses I’ve enrolled people in who said they wanted to learn about the topic; but they never logged in. This is not “the trouble with eLearning”. This is the trouble with life getting in the way of learning.
If I had been taking a campus course in writing, if Words Fail Me had been required reading in that course, and if I had to stand up in front of the class and recite my thoughts on chapter 13, I would’ve read it sooner. The same is true if I’d been taking an eLearning course in writing and had an assignment due next week. I would’ve read at least chapter 13! If I had seen in the help forum that another student was having trouble with misplaced modifiers, I would’ve replied, referencing the appropriate section in the book. The difference is that in the eLearning course, I would have had time to read the book because I wouldn’t have to drive, find a parking space, find a seat…and my fellow students might be from far away places, enriching my experience even further.
No, the trouble with eLearning is not…
Moodle e-Learning: Questions and Simple Answers about Online Training, 2011. 
What Do I Need to Get Online With Moodle? 