E-learning: Between augmentation and disruption?

Based on a framework for analysis combining diffusion theory, content layer analysis and sense making, this paper discusses the theme of “e-learning as augmentation or disruption” from the point of view of technological innovation. Two cases of on-campus blended learning at Roskilde University, Denmark, are introduced to illustrate the discussion. They summarize experiences with three courses in Chemistry and Communication Studies, each of which has been taught over a period of three years or more. It is concluded that adoption of information and communication technology in education depends both on systemic factors and factors involving the world view and sense making of the individual. These various factors operate at different speeds, and the difference in time frame is likely to be one of the causes for the current apparently growing disillusionment with e-learning. However, focus on the absence of demonstrable disruptive effects tends to obscure the fact that more or less unobtrusive changes occurring over time do add up to an effect that eventually may well lead beyond simple augmentation of conventional practices.