ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents some of the complexity of evaluation of the effectiveness of e-learning, by unpacking the e-learning life cycle and the types of evaluation and research that are appropriate at any given part of the life cycle. It explores evaluation of the effectiveness of a designed and constructed e-learning environment, purposefully including one or more artefacts. The book focuses on learning environments involving e-learning artefacts. It shows that e-learning evaluation should focus on holistically evaluating learning environments, rather than just evaluating the technologies which contribute to the environment. The book also focuses on holistically evaluating the way a student learns in a given environment - which may use one or more technological tools - many aspects of our approach could also be applied in a technology-free environment.
