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The purpose of this paper is to offer the proposition that by marrying service‐learning and eLearning pedagogies, educators can devise innovative pedagogical approaches that respond to the personal characteristics and educational preferences of today's “millennial” learners.

The paper explores the complementary pedagogical theories of service‐learning and eLearning in the context of preparing millennial learners for an increasingly “unscripted” future.

Research suggests that learners today must be equipped to make knowledge applicable in any setting, to gain the dispositions needed to effectively communicate globally, and to operate within advanced technological systems. Technology is not only a part of what shapes and defines learners' unscripted future; it is likewise essential to education within the context of that unscripted future. When considered in light of the unscripted future faced by millennial learners, service‐learning can gain greater relevance when merged with eLearning pedagogy.

The paper presents an integrative pedagogy of service‐eLearning, offering a discussion of both the theoretical frameworks and practical considerations undergirding this approach.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional format which emphasizes collaborative and contextual learning and hence has favored face-to-face course design. However, with the plentitude of online tools which technology offers nowadays, PBL courses can also be effectively offered to students who cannot physically be present at the campus. The change process from offline to hybrid, blended, or online PBL courses need to be carefully managed and the right combination of technology and learning activities selected from the ever increasing available set. Hybrid, blended, or online courses differ in the amount of integration between offline and online activities. A mixed-method design was used to elaborate on how the different (hybrid, blended, or online) PBL courses can be effectively build and taught to create learner engagement. Twelve people (change agent, instructor, and participants) were interviewed and 82 students filled out a course evaluation form. The data was used to describe how a hybrid, blended, or online course was created and how the instructor and students perceived it. Instructional and change management implications for implementation are presented. Instructional implications deal with the needs of the learner, the role of the instructor, and the importance of sound technology integration in the course. Change management implication highlights the need to foster intra-institutional collaboration.

The chapters in this book focus on using an array of different Web 2.0 technologies and web-enabled learning platforms to create technology-rich learning environments. These types of social learning technologies can be used to build flexible and agile learning environments and foster collaborative learning activities for students. Whereas Web 1.0 is considered a content-centric paradigm, Web 2.0 is considered a social-centric paradigm. In other words, at the heart of Web 2.0 is social networking, social media, and a vast array of participatory applications and tools. This book examines the possibilities of Web 2.0 technologies in general and social technologies in particular, including blended (hybrid) learning technologies and applications. At least four factors have driven the rapid changes we have experienced in the way we teach and learn with these technologies: (1) these technologies are digital, making them highly versatile and integrative, (2) these technologies are globally ubiquitous, making them accessible to anyone and anywhere there is an Internet connection, (3) these technologies are generally low cost or free, making them accessible to anyone with a computer or mobile device, and (4) the development of more sophisticated learning theories, greatly increasing our understanding of how to best apply these technologies in an academic setting.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a context for the compilation of papers and commentaries included in this International Journal of Organizational Analysis special issue on “Scripting the next wave of exigent issues for service‐learning in our unscripted future: when technology, globalism, and community engagement collide.”

The authors of this paper are the Guest Editors for the special issue. As such, in this paper, they provide a brief history of why the special issue was created and how it serves as an extension to the first special issue (Vol. 17 No. 1, 2009).

There are five papers and six commentary pieces included in this special issue. Each raises a charge, or challenge, to the reader in terms of moving forward with service‐learning in the uncertain, complex, and highly unscripted environments.

The practical implications of this paper are those that relate to future research and practice in the service‐learning domain. This is contextualized as part of the collective challenge as the author move forward in a world where local, regional, national, and international connectedness intersects with social, economic, and technological pressures.

As the introduction, this paper is unique in that it provides an overview of the contents for the entire special issue.

Catherine Althaus, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor at the University of Victoria in Canada. Her present research interests focus on public policy and public administration as well as bioethics, leadership in the public service, and the interface between politics and religion. She teaches online courses in the Master of Public Administration and Master of Arts in Community Development programs.