What is E-Learning?
E-learning is a form of education disseminated via electronic media, including CDs, DVDs, Youtube videos and now more popular - online courses on the internet. It is a new approach to learning which is tailored around all types of users. With the advent of the technology era, education has become more accessible and affordable now, thanks to pioneers of e-learning. Anyone with an internet connection can access thousands of courses, on a range of topics, with absolutely no pre - requisite knowledge, and in some cases, at absolutely no cost. Now, isn't that a giant leap for mankind?
History of E-Learning
Although the term 'e-learning' has been in use only since 1999, the concept of e-learning has been around for quite a long time. It all began in the 60's, when PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations), was developed for the students at the University of Illinois. PLATO was a Computer Based Training (CBT) network, the first online community and also featured the earliest versions of e-mails, instant messaging, etc. Eventually, from being a library of educational resources designed specifically for students at the University of Illinois, it developed into a huge social computing environment, spanning across several other schools and universities around the world.
The 70's saw open universities in the UK adopt e-learning as a means of distance learning, while in the 80's institutions like Pearsons introduced 'SuccessMaker', a supplementary curriculum for students. It was in the 90's when e-learning was accepted as a concept with immense potential for development. Companies like Blackboard and Desire2Learn designed virtual learning environments where students were provided with a virtual classroom and allowed to have a one to one conversation with the teacher through threads and other chat options.
Today, e-learning has opened up numerous opportunities for not only students, who can surf the net for courses on any topic of their choice, but also teachers, who can make use of their practical knowledge and deliver it on the online platform, thereby enabling them to establish connections with their overseas students as well.
Advantages of E-Learning
The biggest advantage e-learning can provide is choice. It is for the student to decide which course he is interested in, and which e-learning platform he chooses to use, unlike in the real world, where marks and grades decide the career. Listed below are some major advantages of the concept of e-learning :
1. The pace at which you learn can be controlled. This means that it is the user who decides at what speed will he learn or progress in the class. For instance, in a traditional environment, once you have missed a class, it becomes very difficult to get updated further. While with e-learning, you can revisit the same concepts again, there is no limit on how many times you watch a video tutorial for better understanding, and you can also skip those classes which you find easy or you already know, to quicken up your pace.
2. In comparison to traditional classrooms, e-learning websites are much more interactive, and encourage student participation to a great extent. It is more difficult for a student to concentrate in a classroom with 40-60 students and one teacher. Monotony is a major problem in a drab classroom scenario, and this is dispelled in e-learning platforms, with interactive tools and features that further develop the interest of students. It is a known fact that visual aids help a great deal in enhancing memory and grasping difficult concepts, and hence these e-learning websites with videos, charts, graphs, images and other such forms of illustrations have a great advantage over the dictation in classrooms.
3. E-Learning provides students with an opportunity to connect with different kinds of people, with different age groups, religions, countries, ethnicity etc. Not only does it help in personality development, but it also improves the quality of education that one receives after being exposed to so many different perspectives from people with distinct backgrounds.
4. You don't need to travel all those miles from your home or seek accommodation in cheap hostels anymore. Your destination is in fact, just a few clicks away. You can access all the educational resources from anywhere in the world, be it from the comforts of your home, or while on your way to work , on any device, laptop, desktop, smart phone, tablet etc., provided you have a network connection.
Disadvantages of E-Learning
Though E-learning is touted as the next big thing and the future of education, it too has several downfalls. Let us take a look at some of the disadvantages of e-learning.
1. A major problem faced by the e-learning industry is that it has not been successful in replacing the face to face interaction with teachers and peers, which one observes in a real world scenario. Although there are threads and forums for all discussions, it can in no way compare to the direct approach of asking doubts and getting immediate feedback witnessed in classrooms.
2. While millions of students register for online education courses, not many of them are able to complete these courses, and a majority of them leave mid - way. Though the reasons for the huge dropout rate in online courses as compared to school or college courses are not yet clear, it is evident that there has been no paradigm shift in learning and education as such. It can well be said that e-learning lacks discipline - there are no deadlines, one can revisit the course anytime in the future, and so the users are free to attend a course and leave it in the middle if they are not interested.
3. E-Learning is reliant on technology. A well established internet connection is required at all times, and of course a proper functioning device. Needless to say, there are bound to be several technical glitches affecting almost every component of the e-learning platform. A bug might create havoc with your grades, server issues may lead to shutdown of the entire session, and of course there may be a network problem, like slow internet.
4. The grading system in e-learning courses are not foolproof. A student might hire a proxy for doing the assignments and tests, and there might be so many fake accounts using the content for commercial purposes.
The success of e-learning hugely depends on the amount of effort put in by the developers to design more suitable and personalized features for students, establishing standards and regulations to be followed by all the e-learning websites, and ensuring effective student participation. It is evident that a considerable number of people have lapped up the concept of e-learning, and a significant few of them have actually benefited from these courses. Whether online education is able to evolve into a professional industry like its offline counterpart, can only be told by time.
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