Musings: E-learning as an economic entity

Often over sighted as a clear rationale to employ technology is the perceived benefits that accrue once an effective e-learning implementation has taken place, this implies a consequential ‘reduction’ of overheads that in turn should allow for greater investment in infrastructure that in turn will engender accessibility to a wider cohort and thus create a return on investments as the economies of scale model takes hold. This wonderful myth is not only rife but far too frequently used as a justification for expenditure on administrative systems that often over shadow true academic needs. Indeed nothing can be quite further from the truth, the very implementation of any technological solution, by its very nature, requires a commitment in time and development that unless clearly managed falls to the wayside within a 12 month cycle. Industry commitments mean that software and hardware solutions are constantly upgraded within this period, indeed a recent study (XX) showed that the technological life-cycle of a mere PC is expected to be no more than 36-48 months. Any technological strategic plan, by its very nature, needs to be adaptive, evolving with the latest developments and needs of its end users. Add to this melting pot the unenviable diseconomies of scale (as espoused by Gaible with regard to repository initiatives (Gaible, 2004) – such as the diminishing discoverability and retrieval of data and materials, the need for increased maintenance across multiple platforms and one quickly realises that any investment is a long term commitment. Suffice to say it is more sensible and appropriate to treat such an investment in e-learning and technology as part of the fundamental running costs, and not as a nominal project over a finite life-span.