Technology-enabled social learning: a review

There is no doubt that e-learning systems have dramatically evolved over the last two decades, due to the large penetration of computers and internet access and the advances in both software and hardware systems. However, e-learning has not yet managed to address the full potential of the 'e' sense. The emergence of Web 2.0 that allows people not only to consume information and knowledge but to be active co-creators of knowledge has changed the way that learning is perceived and shifted the requirements for advanced E-learning 2.0 technologies and systems. The shift from the design of the learning content to how this content is co-created and shared paves the way for a new type of e-learning, referred to as technology-enabled social learning or E-learning 2.0. This paper reviews technology-enabled social learning aspects, features, existing practices and technologies and concludes by contemplating the challenges of such a Web 2.0 shift in e-learning.