Abstract
This special issue is being published at a significant point in time in relation tosimultaneous changes in higher education, in technology and in the field of learningtechnology itself. As the 2011 ALT C conference themes clearly state, learningtechnology needs to learn to thrive in a colder and more challenging climate. In thisdifficult political and economic environment technological trends continue todevelop in terms of mobility, cloud computing, ubiquity and the emergence of whathas been called big data. E-learning has become mainstream and the field of learningtechnology itself is beginning to stabilise as a profession. Profession here isunderstood as a knowledge-based occupation and a form of cultural work where thetasks addressed are human problems amenable to expert advice and distinguishablefrom other kinds of work by the fact that it is underpinned by abstract knowledge(Macdonald, 1995).10.1080/21567069.2011.632491
Highlights
Abstract knowledge is the focus of this special issue, in the form of theory
The need for theory development in learning technology echoes arguments made in educational research more broadly, where for example Ashwin (2009) has argued that research in higher education has been about exemplification rather than about theory development
The case for theory and for theory development is unsurprisingly one that weaves through all the papers in this special issue
Summary
Abstract knowledge is the focus of this special issue, in the form of theory. The hallmarks of a profession include both a codified body of practices (embodied knowledge including competence) and abstract knowledge in the form of theory which is expressed in a codified body of principles; in conceptual knowledge (Denning 20011). Because of the emergent nature of the field and the particular nature of learning technology in terms of practice, several related issues pertaining to theory and its role arise.
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