e-Learning?!

"What is it you do?" You organise e-learning conferences?? So that's like.. people learning at home... with computers or something?"

"Well, no it's rather Technology and Learning, or technology-enhanced learning; think Web 2.0, open educational resources, digital natives versus digital immigrants - although forget that one, that's old. It's more like - there's a digital comfortzone and you are either inside it or outside."

"A digital comfort zone?" Next thing you'll tell me is you want me to be some sort of Cyberella?"

" Well, first of all Cyberella is the EU-term for girls in the field of technology - although if you Google it, most Cyberella sites have nothing in common with the EU but everything with sexy cyberchicks. Secondly, as long as you think that Twitter is only for birds and the Web for spiders, you can stay in the suburbs of the digicomfortzone and ask your children to keep you informed...."

Usually something like that is the end of the discussion, at which point I still haven't managed to explain what e-learning is. So it's official; I dislike the term e-learning. It's too broad, too generic, too vague and I will try not to use it anymore. Instead let's call it TE-learning for Technology Enhanced, or New Learning - why not? It's a warning to all those reluctant teachers out there; New Learning involves new technology - even if new is not so new at all - but let the kids explain that to the teachers :-)