Linda Harasin has been completely absent from my view of the world of online learning. But she must have been active somewhere because she has just come out with a new book about online learning theory. I'd read it, but the open-access version on her website is broken. She writes (as quoted by Tony Bates) "Educators who restrict their use of the Internet and the Web to making traditional didactic teaching easier or more efficient are missing opportunities to introduce better, different or more advanced ways of learning," and "There are few theory-based or research-based guidelines to assist educators to develop more effective pedagogies for online learning environments." So there must be a whole world out there of educators using online learning in only this restricted way, and in which there are no alternative theories of online learning. Bates says, "This book is essential reading for anyone teaching online, especially those with no background in educational theory." I don't see it. Sure, it's "a new theory of learning that focuses on collaborative learning, knowledge building, and Internet use as a means to reshape formal, non-formal and informal education for the Knowledge Age." But is it grounded in any real world experience at all? "It should be noted that there is no discussion of other theories of networked learning, such as connectivism, which is a pity." A pity indeed.
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