Terry:
I agree it is important to include both practitioners and academics in any e-learning research agenda. In the practitioner category I would include all those educators who do not have research as part of their core responsibilities, e.g., most college & institute instructors. Trying to generate research activity in non-research institutions is a huge challenge and is more than just a funding issue. It is a structural problem that has to do with collective agreements, faculty training, incentives, institutional mandate etc. At my institution (BCIT), most faculty were not hired for research expertise and their teaching load is such that conducting research is very difficult. We do need to find a way to engage these practitioners in research because these are the institutions that give priority to teaching and, I would argue, this is where the research would have the most impact.
Mark.