E-Service-Learning

Strait offers a practical primer on pairing online and hybrid teaching methods with experiential learning and civic engagement. Service-learning has not kept up with the spread of e-learning, leaving a growing number of online students without access to this approach.

Eservice-learning, or electronic service-learning, combines service-learning with online study so that instruction, service, or both can happen entirely or partly over the internet. Students who cannot attend a traditional program, whether because of distance, disability, job schedules, or other barriers, can still take part. Online courses gain a strong tool for engaging learners. Reflection shifts into discussion boards, journals, wikis, and blogs, and service can reach communities around the world as well as those nearby.

The book describes four emerging types of eservice-learning. Extreme eservice-learning (XE-SL) delivers all instruction and all service online. The three hybrid models differ in where each component happens: service may be delivered online while instruction is on site, instruction may be online while service is on site, or both may be split across the two. The authors examine how mobile devices such as phones, tablets, and e-readers can support teaching, and they discuss obstacles including technical problems, keeping communication working among instructor, community partner, and students, and added workload.

The book includes research on effectiveness and examples from practice. These cover a student drafting grants for a community partner, an information technology class building online communities for an autism group, and an online education course in which students from across the country mentor at-risk students in New Orleans.