Reusing Online Resources: A Sustainable Approach to eLearning

JIME Special Issue on Reusing Online Resources
Commentary and Debate on:

Reusing Online Resources: A Sustainable Approach to eLearning

Edited by Allison Littlejohn, Kogan Page, London. ISBN: 0749439491 [www.reusing.info]

Welcome to the Journal of Interactive Media in Education, and this Special Issue of JIME, which is 'reusing' the Reusing Online Resources book as the point of departure for online discussion. [Enter Special Issue]. It is interesting to consider how much activity has grown since JIME's Special Issue on Educational Authoring Tools and the Educational Object Economy in 1998. There is clearly a broader consensus on standards emerging, but what progress has there been on the fundamental ideas and infrastructure? This book and special issue are therefore a timely milestone to reflect. You will find expert contributions, grounded in technical and pedagogical experience, critiquing and refining the assumptions behind the idea of reusable learning resources.

The issue is organised as follows:

• the book's opening chapter by the editor, introducing seven key issues for reusable resources;
• invited introductions to the book's four sections - theory, design, resource and strategy perspectives - by leading educational technologists;
• an invited commentary on each chapter written for this Special Issue to open critical discussion...
• ...which can continue in the discussion area for each chapter, where authors, commentators and the wider community are invited to post their own views on the book and commentaries. Click on the Comment Bubble by each chapter heading to view all comments on it, or add your own.

We hope that you find this a valuable companion to the book, and welcome your participation in advancing the debate in this field, one which is seeing much activity, but also provoking strong reactions.

Allison Littlejohn & Simon Buckingham Shum

Special Issue Editors