At the recommendation of a colleague of mine, I’ve been reading this book – and very much enjoying it. I am familiar – and have been for quite a while – with the work of the Center for Research in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh – since I started to work on the Graduate Certificate in Learning Design. I was inspired by their groundbreaking work in the M Sc for eLearning – which has much in common with many learning or instructional design programs around the world. I’ve also had the pleasure of speaking to some of the incredible scholars in the centre, and learned a lot from them during those conversations.
This manifesto emerged (originally in 2006, updated in 2011, and then the most recent version is from 2020) out of their work to envision what teaching and learning online should look like – and could like. It’s a practitioner document – but one that’s closely tied to research into the same field. In many ways, it’s an example of that which often delivers the best results sin academia – where people’s research is tied up in their practice. In this case, in the context of online learning. What I really like about the book is that it is unashamedly online first – it doesn’t try to adapt face to face to online. Instead, it sets out what online learning could and should be.
The manifesto (not a manifesto – the authors are rightly confident about their expertise) takes the form of a list of statements about online teaching – some prosaic, some thought-provoking, and some quite playful. In this book, the manifesto statements are grouped and then explained in more detail, accompanied by snapshots of practice or student work, mostly drawn from the course itself, although there are a few interesting case studies from other universities (including one on OnTask, a tool I know pretty well).
The first thing that I noticed is how commonplace so many of the manifesto statements are. Normally, a manifesto would be bold, and perhaps a little controversial. But the statements in this book are not. But they might well have been earlier in this century. I think the gradual shift towards online learning, and then the sudden rush brought about by COVID has meant that we’ve become much more accustomed to the ideas behind online and hybrid modes of learning, and what was once controversial is less so. The manifesto is also political – small p political – in that it is interested in questions of power and control. I was pleased to see this because I often find a lot of ed tech work is hesitant – or entirely ignorant – of some of these considerations. As a part of that, there is some criticism of the open education movement. Or, more correctly, some of the visible proponents and supporters of the movement. I think it would have been more interesting to engage with the values of open education, rather than the failings of some of those who support it.
I also noted that the question of learning design seemed to be conspicuously absent from the manifesto. There is quite a good section on the importance of teaching (as opposed to facilitation) but I think that section needed to consider whether the vast majority of academics (not including those who are from education backgrounds) consider themselves to be teachers – i.e. teaching first, rather than research first. I realise this is a contested space, but one that is worth considering, if for no other reason than it invites questions around the role of learning designers and third space professionals.
And here’s the terrible AI summary:
The Manifesto for Teaching Online challenges conventional thinking about education in digital spaces. Written by a group of educators from the University of Edinburgh, the book offers a provocative and research-informed vision for online education. It is structured around a series of manifestos—short, punchy statements—that critique dominant narratives about technology in education and propose alternative perspectives.
The authors argue that online teaching is not a second-best alternative to face-to-face learning but a distinct and valuable mode in its own right. They emphasize that digital education is always political and pedagogical, shaped by the choices educators make, the technologies they use, and the institutional systems they operate within.
Key themes include the importance of resisting instrumentalist views of technology, rethinking assessment, fostering critical digital literacies, and embracing the creative and experimental possibilities of online learning. The book critiques the tendency to replicate traditional classroom practices in virtual environments, advocating instead for designing learning experiences that leverage the affordances of the digital.
The manifesto celebrates complexity, collaboration, and openness. It argues against surveillance-driven educational technologies and promotes practices that support student agency, co-creation, and care. It also recognizes the material and embodied dimensions of online learning, highlighting that digital education is not disembodied or placeless—it happens in real, affective, and often unequal contexts.
Ultimately, The Manifesto for Teaching Online invites educators to be bold, critical, and imaginative. It is both a theoretical intervention and a practical call to action, encouraging readers to reimagine what teaching and learning can be in an increasingly digital world.