Educational systems worldwide are facing an enormous shift as aresult of sociocultural, political, economic, and technologicalchanges. The technologies and practices that have developed over thelast decade have been heralded as opportunities to transform bothonline and traditional education systems. While proponents of these newideas often postulate that they have the potential to address theeducational problems facing both students and institutions and thatthey could provide an opportunity to rethink the ways that education isorganized and enacted, there is little evidence of emergingtechnologies and practices in use in online education. Becauseresearchers and practitioners interested in these possibilities oftenreside in various disciplines and academic departments the sharing anddissemination of their work across often rigid boundaries is aformidable task.
Contributors to Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learninginclude individuals who are shaping the future of online learning withtheir innovative applications and investigations on the impact ofissues such as openness, analytics, MOOCs, and social media. Buildingon work first published in Emerging Technologies in DistanceEducation, the contributors to this collection harness thedispersed knowledge in online education to provide a one-stop localefor work on emergent approaches in the field. Their conclusions willinfluence the adoption and success of these approaches to education andwill enable researchers and practitioners to conceptualize, critique,and enhance their understanding of the foundations and applications ofnew technologies.
