Learning Styles: A Focus upon E-Learning Practices and their Implications for Successful Instructional Design

Introduction

A great deal of literature begins with statements related to the proliferation of technology in education.
Certainly the deluge of technology and its impact upon the field of education is very real. One of these impacts
has been the development of web-based delivery of education, often called online learning, e-learning, and
distributed learning (among others). This medium of delivery has grown steadily with improved connectivity,
feasibility of access and, of course, the production and availability of educational content. However, until
recently there has been a less than adequate concern regarding the quality of content delivered through web based
systems and the implications as it pertains to individual student learning styles. As supported by Muir
(2001), online courses “need to develop learning activities which address different learning styles” (p. 5). This
is consistent with more recent findings by Garland and Martin (2005), who concluded that “when designing
online courses the learning style… of all students must be considered” (p. 1).