International On-Line Learning ~ Cultural Issues for Educators... and by no means "don't Lego" my eLearning

Jyrki Pulkkinen & Maerja Ruotsalainen couldn't have stated it any clearer than in their opening quote of Chapter Six in TECHNOLOGY IN ITS PLACE, when they wrote, "A cooperative on-line learning environment that simultaneously served diverse cultures and supported multiple approaches to study in several countries both provided benefits and posed difficulties." No doubt, pedagogical functions flow from activities and methods in the learning environment that make learning possible. Despite the many problems that the facilitators and students encountered in the Lego/Logo study most felt that independent, open , and flexible distance learning made sense in principle. And consideration must be made to ensure that participants in extended learning are not disconnected from the real lives of their constituents, the curriculum and organization should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate integration with other aspects of the students' study or work.
I found this article informative but, I also was intrigued that the article was over ten years old. The cited research was also dated in my opinion. The technology of ten years ago ( more like twelve years) and the everyday exposure to technology had to be less effective than what is available today in 2007. I was also disappointed when I went searching for updates on this article. I did not immediately find re-investigations from the Finnish team. I did eventually find an article from 2001 (again six years is a long time in this age of computer technology) and I will summarize Pulkkinen's final comment on eLearning, he believes that research is needed urgently but it should focus also on the broader educational and social developments in a global context.