Metaphorical Interpretation of eLearning in Higher Education Institutions

Metaphors are handy tools to view and thus comprehend a situation. The metaphors like ‘divide & gap or access’, ‘equality’ and ‘bridge’ are used to visually portray current conditions of eLearning, identify its problems and then suggest solutions to resolve those issues which hinder in successful application of eLearning tools in higher education institutions (HEIs). These metaphors are the theories about the situation therefore none of them is either right or wrong rather different views of reality containing some undeniable and other questionable notions about different aspects of eLearning in higher education institutions. Accommodating all of these views, this paper suggests an alternative framework based on ‘Gateway-Metaphor’ to portray the contemporary eLearning environments, particularly in developing countries. The gateway metaphor defines the eLearning, pinpoints its problems, and then proposes a model of taking advantage of all the existing metaphors into a new configuration for successful eLearning theory and practices.