e-Learning. Is it teaching’s ‘magic bullet’?

Millions of pounds of government money have been spent on e-learning – technology used in learning and teaching – in the same way that money is spent on drugs and surgery to improve medicine. Drugs and surgery are often seen as “magic bullets” – an effective and quick way to ‘fix’ medical problems. This view of the role of technology in teaching and learning is wrong for two reasons. First, the evidence for the effectiveness of e-learning is weak. Second, it is based on a mistaken view of learning. Learning has more to do with motivation, inspiration, persuasion and explication that it has to do with quick technological fixes.