Bates (2014) contested a colleague who believed that experiential learning cannot be done online that “experiential learning is [indeed] like most design models: it is independent of the mode of delivery. What matters is how well it is done.” Bates points out that there is a range of teaching design models that embed real world contexts into learning, namely problem-based learning, case-based learning, project-based learning, inquiry-based learning, cooperative (work- or community-based) education, and apprenticeships. §34 of the ‘Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework’ further states that “The selection of appropriate forms of work-integrated learning depends on the nature and purpose of the qualification type programme objectives and outcomes, the NQF level at which the WIL component is pegged, institutional capacity to provide WIL opportunities, and the structures and systems that are in place within professional settings and sites of practice to support student learning” (South African Government, 2014: 17).
Bates (2014) acknowledges, “Advocates of experiential learning are often highly critical of online learning”, but argues, “online learning can be used very effectively to support or develop experiential learning”. In blended or flipped learning, for example, students can gather information by accessing online resources; students can further collaborate online, critique and evaluate each other’s work. Bates adds “experiential learning can be applied fully online, through a combination of synchronous tools such as a web conference, asynchronous tools such as discussion forums and/or social media for group work, and e-portfolios and multimedia for reporting”. Bates (2014) concedes, “Indeed, there are circumstances where it is impractical, too dangerous, or too expensive to use real world experiential learning.” However, real conditions could be simulated online to reduce the time to master a skill, says Bates.
Dadze-Arthur and Raine (2016: 146) explain that “e-learning, also referred to as distance learning or online education, can be understood as learning that involves students doing all their classroom activities outside the traditional classroom, at a distance from their school or college, and supported by technology-based tools”. However, Beard, Wilson and McCarter (2007: 4) remark that a limited number of underpinning theories exist with regard to e-learning, which is often “technology-led rather than theory-led”. They coined the expression E2-learning with regard to the fusion between experiential learning and e-learning. Experiential-electronic learning (EE-Learning), the notion of ‘experiential learning in a distance-learning environment’, is generally to be understood as a combination of experiential learning and e-learning with the goal to create a strong, interactive learning community (Dadze-Arthur & Raine, 2016: 146). According to Baasanjav (2013: 576) the term “refers to the possibility of bringing together everyday experience and communication technologies”. Dadze-Arthur and Raine (2016: 146) simply uses experiential-electronic learning (EE-Learning), qualified as the notion of ‘experiential learning in a distance-learning environment’, which is generally to be understood as a combination of experiential learning and e-learning with the goal to create a strong, interactive learning community.
Knud Illeris (2016: 201), inducted in 2006 to the ‘International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame’ (2018) in the fields of continuing education and adult learning, remarks that ‘workplace learning’ and work-based learning’ taking place directly in the workplace “became popular slogans in the context of vocationally orientated education”. He indicates the paradoxical nature of this popularity in the light of historical trend that the bulk of curriculums were transferred from workplaces to formalised education. Illeris (2016: 202) points out “this has been absolutely clear: more and more schooling and less and less educational training at the workplaces”. Enterprises furthermore want education to be financed by the state. Karina de Bruin, a counselling psychologist and managing director of the JvR Academy, quoted by Hesse (2018) “Many jobs change dramatically over relatively short periods. Workers need to constantly update their existing skills and knowledge and acquire new skills and knowledge to ensure career success”. Whereas Illeris (2016) emphasise the need for lifelong learning during work life, with the view of continuously ‘upgrading’ the base qualifications of employees; de Bruin (in Hesse 2018) advocates self-directed learning and agility in order to survive and to keep aligned with the rapidly changing environment.
Many aspects evolved since the beginning of the twentieth century, when cooperative education systems and sandwich education programmes were introduced in Northern America and Europe respectively, and subsequently spread internationally. Among the many changes, there had been an explosion of e-learning, say Arthur and Raine (2016), who indicates two main reasons. First is technological advances associated with the Internet that resulted in substantial affordable educational resources, networked learning, new ways in which knowledge is imparted, etc. The second reason is the importance of knowledge for economic growth. “At a time of budget constraints …” say Arthur and Raine (2016: 144) “… efficiency drives and a continuous emphasis on optimising value-for-money, the contemporary and emerging technologies offer unique opportunities for the education sector.” The emphasis on e-learning and diminishing opportunities for workplace learning as part of the curriculum, prompt the pursuance of simulations and educational alternatives to real-life experience, in order for graduates to gain competence.
Baasanjav, U. (2013). Incorporating the experiential learning cycle into online classes. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(4), 575—589.
Bates, T. (2014). Can you do experiential learning online? Assessing design models for experiential learning. Electronically accessible from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/12/01/can-you-do-experiential-learning-online-assessing-design-models-for-experiential-learning/
Beard, C.; Wilson, J.P. & McCarter, R. (2007). Towards a Theory of e-Learning: Experiential e-Learning. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 6(2), 3-15. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/95b4/bf51ed82edf9bb529574d65df250fb595df7.pdf
Dadze-Arthur, A. & Raine, J.W. (2016) Experiential Learning and Teaching at a Distance: How Distinctive an Experience? In Developing Public Managers for a Changing World. Published online: 19 Dec 2016; 141-159. Permanent link to this document: https://doi.org/10.1108/S2045-794420160000005008
Hesse, M. (2018). e-Learning your key to unlocking earnings. Published online in Personal Finance, 12 June 2018, https://www.iol.co.za/personal-finance/e-learning-your-key-to-unlocking-earnings-15441631?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
Illeris, K. (2016). Working and learning, chapter 18, 201-216. In Learning, Development and Education, from learning theory to education and practice—the selected works of Knud Illeris. New York: Routledge.
South African Government (2014), Department of Higher Education and Training, Government Notice No 819. Higher Education Qualifications Sub-Framework. Government Gazette No. 38116, 17 October 2014 — §34 and §35, p. 17. Electronically accessible from http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/38116_gon819.pdf
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