Associate Professor Som Naidu
The University of Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Dr. Naidu is Associate Professor in Educational Technology at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and Adjunct Associate
Professor in the Graduate School of Management & Technology, University of Maryland University College, USA. Dr. Naidu
possesses undergraduate qualifications in Education from New Zealand and graduate qualifications in Educational Technology
from Montreal, Canada.

His career in the field of educational technology dates back to the early 1980s during which period he has worked in various roles
in the fields of educational technology, e-learning and also distance education in Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and the USA.
More recently, he has been working on several educational development projects for both governmental and non-governmental organizations in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. Dr. Naidu's research interest is on learning experience design in online educational environments. His publications in this area include several books, book chapters, journal articles and conference papers.

Dr. Naidu has been Executive Editor (since 1997) of the international peer-reviewed journal “Distance Education” [http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/carfax/01587919.html], the journal of the Open and Distance Learning Association of Australia which is published by the Taylor & Francis Group. He is Co-series Editor of the RoutledgeFalmer book series on “Open
and Flexible Learning” also published by the Taylor and Francis Group [http://www.routledge.com/education].

Session Overview
What does the “e” in e-learning refer to? What are its key affordances for learning and teaching? How can the “e” in e-learning improve educational practice? Are we making optimal use of the key affordances of the e-learning technologies in designing our learning and teaching environments?

In unpacking the “e” in e-learning, this presentation will focus our attention on the key affordances of e-learning technologies.
These are the ability of these technologies to promote effective, efficient, engaging, collaborative, contextual, and connected
learning opportunities. We will examine what these attributes mean, what is the focus of current thinking and literature on these
key affordances, and where is the focus of current research activity on the key affordances of e-learning technologies?

In order to do this, we will present case studies of the design of effective, efficient, engaging, collaborative, contextual, and
connected learning through models such as Scenario-Based Learning and Adventure Learning.

Key Outcomes
- Identify key affordances of e-learning technology
- Define critical attributes of these key affordances of technology
- Review current literature on these key affordances of technology
- Demonstrate how these key affordances can be operationalized to promote learning

Key Competencies
- Design learning that adds value
- Create passionate learners
- Deliver strategic learning outcomes
- Master soft-skills of technology-enhanced learning
- Master face to face training delivery