Weapons of mass instruction? The rhetoric and reality of online learning

Purpose – Explores the development of online learning in UK higher education as a case study to illustrate the difficulties created by an over‐reliance on technology push and a failure to understand and respond to market needs.Design/methodology/approach – Draws on a variety of published secondary sources and the authors' own experience of working with the UK e‐University (UKeU).Findings – Argues that the development of online learning as a substitute for more traditional forms of delivery has been limited. For both e‐learning in general and for the UKeU in particular, the comparatively limited adoption of online learning beyond the campus‐based model is explained by failure to understand the market and a focus on what is technologically possible rather than what customers want.Research limitations/implications – Presents a single case study developed from secondary sources and personal experience.Practical implications – Models of online learning that exclude any face‐to‐face contact may have limited mar...