Taking eService-learning to the next level: models of practice that work

Abstract: The editors and authors will be discussing their contributions to research in the new Book on eService-learning. The chapters in this book provide an excellent story of the growth of e-learning and e-service-learning over the past many years. Strait takes us from the first chapter examining current issues and considerations for eService-Learning, to a second chapter that documents the growth and maturation of a program at Missouri State University, to chapters that introduce “critical” e-service learning with a social justice orientation (Gordon and Jackson-Brown), and chapters that address international experiences (Ong, Tan, et al., and Dietrich and Ekici) that involve e-service-learning in Singapore and long-distance relationships between the US and Afghanistan, to illustrate the multiplicity and diversity of current models of service and learning that occur through electronic means.
The importance of the book and its chapters is that change happens. What was occurring in the early 21st century was altered by situations, such as
the global pandemic of Covid 19, to increase the reliance on e-educational systems and promote the increased use of electronic educational
programs that covered almost all areas of educational systems.

Narrative: We want to address the many ways that eService-learning can happen in today's world adn provide examples from our current book.

All the models add great insight and information about important issues in the field and highlight some of the critical concepts embedded in its development. Strait provides a context for the growth of eService-Learning, the implications COVID 19 had its growth and development, why terminology is so important, and what new challenges and innovations lie ahead. One such possibility is an increasingly popular model created at SUNY of international exchange called COIL (The Collaborative Online International Learning), which takes on the practical limitations of physical mobility and shows the value of virtual exchange. Strait addresses definitive challenges educators should expect to address include using social justice to inform our digital teaching and learning choices, and how climate change crisis will change teaching pedagogy.
In the second model, Strait and Nordyke provide a wonderful model of how to track the impact and development of eService-Learning in an educational institution. The process of institutionalization of the theories and practice of e-service-learning are important processes to track and to understand to make long-lasting impact on the pedagogical practice. Embedding individuals and processes into an institutional educational approach is critical to its development and sustainability. This model provides an important lens into how to discuss and analyze the long-term e-service-learning practice in an institution and organization. It is especially important to be able to document impact on student learning and development, as well as impact of the service being delivered. And since we know e-learning is constantly changing in format and technology, tracking its growth and development is critical to long-term sustainability.
The third model focuses on the steps needed to create an eService-learning course sequence that supports faculty, staff, and administrators in delivering such e-learning programs. Using the model created at Thomas Edison State University, the chapter takes you through the ADDIE course design model, a five-step approach, to create the essential elements that support a well-developed service-learning program.
In the 4th model, we learn of the efforts at Boise State University to connect eService-learning with project-based learning, discovering the philosophical origins and lots of practical examples. It demonstrates how instructional design students can collaborate with faculty and community partners to establish new versions of electronically connected service-learning efforts. Like several other chapters, it models collaborations between old and new program designs that essentially challenge the essential elements of all service-learning models, connecting courses and students with community members and community organizations. Here we learn of old models of project-based learning formulated around the challenges of new e-learning constructs.
The next model has a focus on implementing critical service-learning through an electronic format. The three faculty members at Boise State University describe the development and implementation such programs that address issues of social justice and true community transformation through e-learning. In this case, the programs described are delivered in an asynchronous format. Utilizing a capstone course in the African American studies program, the faculty work with incarcerated youth who have returned to the community to study the issues of race and social justice. It is quite ironic that the program is carried out in the Whitely community of Muncie, Indiana!!
The sixth model is an international example, focusing on the work being done at Ngee Ann Polytechnic University in Singapore. They illustrate how a university system uses the best elements of distance learning and service-learning. They show how to develop a taxonomy of program elements that contribute to the full implementation of an eService-learning program. They place a special focus on the role of reflection in the actual development of program aspects and reinforce the importance of supporting the learning dimensions of the programs to ensure they are true service-learning efforts.
In the seventh model, there is a focus on international connections. In this case, the program is developed between the US and Afghanistan, illustrating the power and potential of e-service-learning to affect people around the world. The model provides the details of a tutoring/language education program where native speaking US students can assist students in Afghanistan in learning a new language. They provide the technical and human support that would be totally impossible without the access and use of e-technology and process to allow for outreach and connection literally across the world. Native speaking American students were able to share their knowledge and expertise with language to assist others in learning a new language, taught from the grounding of native speaking individuals.
In the last model, we learn of the importance of developing partnerships with e-technology experts on campuses to expand and improve the opportunities to do service-learning in new and effective ways with the general community. The authors introduce you to the roles and goals of instructional designers (IDs) and reinforce the fact that the world of e-technology changes quickly, so anyone doing eService-learning needs to be kept current on all the programs and systems that make e-learning work.
The editors and authors in this innovative book hope that the models and processes highlighted in the programs presented inspire others to follow their lead and continue to document and research the continuously changing world of e-learning and e-service-learning to continue to take the field to the next level. It is only though this sharing and demonstration that all of us will be able to continue the incredible journey of the e-service-learning movement and share and demonstrate how things are continuing to change and innovate….and move the field in a positive direction as the world evolves for both technology and educational practice.