27 Concept of e-learning

DR. Geeta R Thakur

Module Structure:

26.0 Learning outcomes

26.1 Introduction

26.2 Concept of e-learning

26.3 Characteristics of e-learning

26.4 Need of e-learning

26.5 Advantages of e-learning

26.6 Limitations of e-learning

26.7 Let us sum up

26.0 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After going through this module you will be able to:

• Explain the concept of e-learning
• Describe the history of e-learning
• State the characteristics of e-learning
• Explain the advantages of e-learning
• Explain the limitations of e-learning

26.1 INTRODUCTION

In today’s techno era, we have new challenges and expectations in the classroomswhere students expect a higher level of classroom interactionwith the inclusion of multimedia in it.. This can be made possible through e-learning.

26.2 CONCEPT OF E-LEARNING

Definitions of e-learning:

“E-learning refers to the delivery of learning, training or education program by electronic means.”

“E-learning refers to electronic applications and processes to learn”.

“E-learning is a type of education where the medium of instruction is computer technology.”

E–learning is also called as ‘Distributed learning’ ‘Distance learning’, ‘technology enabled learning’.

E-learning can be defined as an instructional content or learning experiences delivered or enabled by electronic technology; it is a structured, interactive approach to educating and informing the students, employees, etc.

E-learning is also called as ‘Distributed learning’ ‘Distance learning’, ‘technology enabled learning’and it refers to the use of Internet, Intranets or Extranets to deliver a broad array of solutions that enhance knowledge and performance.

E-learning refers to ‘technology driven learning’ enabled by Internet. Click here to watch video on concept of e-learning

26.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF E-LEARNING

• Delivery of digital content: Computer technology has minimized the load of books and note books asthe learning material is well stored in the form of digital contentwhich can be used at anytime, anywhere .
• E-learning: It makes use of wide range of electronic devices and instructional materials like CD-ROM, DVD, Internet, intranet and other web based facilities .
• Distance learning: Modern day cutting edge information and communication technologies provide opportunities for anytime-anywhere learning, where learners as well as instructors can interact beyond any geographic boundaries and collaborate to get the maximum benefit of the global network called internet and other computer and information technologies. E-learning is especially meant for distance learning andit goes beyond traditional learning system.
• Faster response time: There can be real time interactions between the learner and instructor which is beneficial to the learner as both the learner as well as the instructor can respond at their convenience and the learning can take place easily.
• Quick and easy updating of course content: The instructor can easily update the information with the latest version of the material which is immediately available to the learners.
• Interaction with an expert: The students can incorporate threaded discussion to discuss their coursework not only with their peers but also develop a messaging system for asking questions to the subject expert.
• Customized course content: In e-learning instructional material can be tailored to meet the particular needs of syllabus and students.

26.4NEED OF E-LEARNING

Academic and professional organizations agree that using e-learning environments can offer sound pedagogical benefits.

•  To enhance communication: Web-based education tools provide many ways to increase and improvise the quality of communication between class members and faculty, including discussion boards, chats, and e –mails thereby enhancing student-to-student and faculty-to-student communication. Researchers have found that adding these elements to a course increases a student’s motivation and participation in class discussions and projects. Students are more willing to participate which serves as a motivator. Learner feel empoweredpeople feel more empowered.
• To maintain equal opportunities:E-learning enabled to give students equal opportunities. Due to e-learning, it is possible to provide Quality learning material to all over the world. Student can get opportunities to interact with experts from any corner of the world. Each individual has the same opportunity to share their knowledge, opinion. They can do this by posting messages without any typical distractions such as seating arrangements, volume of student voices, and gender biases. Therefore even shy and anxious students feel more comfortable expressing ideas and backing up facts when posting online instead of speaking in a class room. Research prove that online discussions provoke more confrontational and direct communication amongst students.
• To learn with different learning styles: An instructor can present these materials in a variety of formats to accommodate different types of learners. For example: if an instructor puts both lecture notes and slides online, both visual and auditory learners will benefit. Students who prefers to learn by watching and listening. They need not to worry about missing lectures. On the other hand they can focus on understanding the material and concepts as they are presented. Students with attention difficulties benefit, as materials provided not only show how the instructor has grouped and prepared materials in the handouts, but also indicate what items are most important.
• Provides additional learning and reflective experiences: When students participate in online discussions, they are exposed to an extra time of information rehearsal. Typically, students rehearse information when they study for exams or complete assignmentsas well as when formulating thoughts into sentences and typing those thoughts on the computer. When instructors post discussion questions or short essay assignments in the online portion of a course, students must attend to and reflect on the subject matter before responding. This results in reflection and articulation of content, as the very process of reporting and writing about what they have learned and engages the students in an active learning experience. It also reduces reliance on physical attendance.

In traditional education, students working on group projects must co–ordinate with their schedules. In distance learning environments, this may not even be possible, forcing participants to work independently. When e-learning collaborative tools are available, co-ordination is no longer an issue. Providing a project team with asynchronous discussions and file uploads, students can work in groups without any problem.

• Continuous evaluation: Learner assessments are essential in education. Tests and surveys inform the instructor whether teaching methods and course structures are successful providing just-in-time methods to assess and evaluate student’s progress..These assessments also determine if student’s progress is satisfactory. Online assessment tools provide the instructors with many ways to build, distribute, and compile information quickly and easily.
• To provide continuous reinforcement: Frequent assessment provides concept reinforcement and increases motivation. Instructors can post practice exams and end-of-chapter reviews without worrying about finding the time and resources to analyze the results. Students can access these assessments at any time, privately in the comfort of their homes. Since grading is computerized, students receive immediate feedback. This may also help students who suffer from test anxiety relax and minimize embarrassment for those whoperform poorly.

26.5 ADVANTAGES OF E-LEARNING

• Less expensive: Initial investment is high in case of e-learning as E-learning makes use of authoring software to produce asynchronous learning content. Once the complete learning content is ready, costs virtually reduce to zero. Synchronous programs have continued costs associated, with instructor managing the class, but these costs are still lower than the traditional courses.

As we aren’t using a trainer’s time or any infrastructure or equipment, e-learning is much cheaper. Classroom training involves a lot of expenses; those from teaching to traveling, learning materials and others. Tele-education would, in comparison, cut cost on an average of 30-50% as it does not require the learner to travel. In addition, you don’t need to budget neither for an instructor to deliver each session,nor for a venue, or other miscellaneous costs such as refreshments and renting special equipment like overhead projectors.

• Self-paced learning: E-learning provides the benefit of self -paced learning.Different kinds of learners learn at varying speeds, and an in-person, group session is a good solution. But E-learning gives the learner complete control over their rate of learning, and lets them spend time according to their need. E-learningis both more efficient and effective, and it also prevents gifted learners from becoming bored simultaneously supporting the slow learners.

The course material is available online anywhere in the world. So learners can control their time to access their course content and study. It also provides the opportunity for learners to flexibly choose individual course modules that suit their own time availability and learning pace.

• Faster Learning: e-learning courses progress faster than traditional courses. This is partly because the individualized approach allows learners to skip material they already know and understand and move onto the issues they need to learn.
• Reliability and consistency of study material: In regular class-room teaching environment, there is hardly any consistency in study material being distributed to learners. This is because of the fact that each instructor has its own individualized way of imparting knowledge to learners, which leads to inconsistencies between the lectures and content being delivered by different instructors at different times.

Each time an instructor conducts an in-person learning, it’s going to be slightly different. Whether the instructor misses out some information, spends extra time on a certain subject, or is simply more enthusiastic and motivated on a particular day, no instructor can guarantee a completely consistent experience whereas e-learning is always consistent. Since you can revise your content to the fullest , you can be confident that you’re delivering the best possible version of your course, every time. Hence it is more reliable to deliver content in e-learning environment

• Anywhere-Anytime Learning: E-learners can attend learning sessions from anywhere and any time. It make learning possible for people who would never have been able to work it into their schedules because of their busy schedule.

As E-learning does not force students to rely on school hours/college hours andhas the ability to submit enquiries through e-mail at any time, they hey can watch archive sessions at their convenience.

For e.g. A student who is doing any online course can assess session at any time, post his/her queries at any time and even appear for the examination as per his convenient time.

• Course content can be easily updated: Online e-learning provide easy and up -to-date learning material because the updated materials are uploaded to a server, from where that can be accessed by learners.Eg. According to the most recent data published by CertifyMe.net on the state of eLearning in corporate education, 72% of the organizations interviewed believe that eLearning is providing them with the competitive advantage by continuing to keep them on top of changes in their particular market
• Timesaving:E-learning reduces institutional expense for both the cost and time associated with copying, assembling, and distributing these materials. Instructors can also use E -mail to send messages directly to students or the Announcements feature to communicate with the entire class. Not only does this ensure that students receive the materials, but it is also environmentally appealing, as it reduces paper waste.
• Utilizes time efficiently: The time saving elements introduced by web -based education tools apply to both the instructor and the student. Students benefit because they have immediate access to course materials at any location and they do not have to spend time walking across campus to the instructor’s office or searching for a reading in the library. Instructors can minimize time spent in office hours, and address student concerns online instead.
• Eg.IBM, after rolling out an eLearning program for managers, found that participants learned nearly five times more material without increasing time spent training. (Article: eLearning Success- measuring the ROI impact and benefits, May 2013).
• Reduced learning times- Brandon-Hall Study, reported that eLearning typically requires from 40% to 60% less employee time than the same material delivered in a traditional classroom setting.
• Makes students techno savvy:E-learning can have the added bonus of developing the learner’s computer skills, particularly for learners who don’t regularly use computers, or have beginner-level computer skills.As E-learningis through web browser, which relies on computers with hardware and software, learners will become familiar with technology, thus making them receptive to new technology.
• Better retention: E-learning facilitates the inclusion of various audio-visual effects within learning materialthat can be integrated with the course modules which provides better immersive and involving experience to the learners. Also other tools like quizzes, discussion forums and user groups can be used in an e-learning environment which ultimately will help in better retention for the students. Furthermore, it allows the learnersto revisit or replay sections of the learning that might not have been clear the first time.Thus e-learning offers better opportunities to the learners for more effective and fruitful learning experience.
• E.g. The Research Institute of America found that the eLearning experience increases the retention rate by 25-60%. The reason behind this increase is control of students over the learning process. Students were also provided an opportunity to revisit the training as needed.
• Flexible: Whate-learning offers over in-person learning, is that it can be completed at a pace,time and location determined by the learner. This makes e-learning easy to fit around the learner’s schedule, especially since it can be tackled in smaller chunks, and doesn’t force the learner to set aside time for travelling to and from the learning location. This also makes e-learning a very accessible solution for learners who would otherwise struggle to attend in-person learning.
• e-learning’s flexibility means that it can fit easily around the learner’s work activities, so the learning is less likely to interfere with their actual job. This flexibility saves you money, either indirectly by ensuring the learner remains productive and consistent throughout the learning, or more directly by helping you avoid overtime costs, or having to arrange cover for the learner’s work activities.
• Mobile: As e-learning can be done on laptops, tablets and phones – it is very mobile andlearning can be done anywhere anytime thereby saving a lot of time and energy.
• No Travel: As e-learning can be done wherever you have a device capable of doing so, you can fit it in to your schedule and also save money on the costs of travel. As mentioned before on the public scheduled blog, external courses can sometimes only be sourced in locations far away from your company and you then have to pay the costs of travel as well as accommodation. E-learning takes these costs away completely.
• Technological Possibilities: e-learning is fast becoming a more and more popular method and with it, the investment into how to improve it further.
• Learning is made easier with the new technological advancements in the field of computers and different apps are helping to further reinforce the learning whilst forums can be used to greatly increase the amount of interaction amongst learners. This is only going to improve as time passes by..
• Click here to watch video on advantages of e-learning

26.6 LIMITATIONS OF E-LEARNING

Despite everything that e-learning has to offer, there are some disadvantages. Being aware of these disadvantages is essential when you’re deciding whether e-learning is right for you, and also when you’re designing your e-learning, to help you avoid those potential pitfalls.

• Lack of Motivation : Making the learner responsible for their own learning has its advantages, but there are some disadvantages, too. Firstly, e-learning is more reliant on the learner’s motivation and time management than in-person learning, so those who struggle in these areas can fall behind. There are also more distractions and opportunities for procrastination, than in the classroom environment.
• Lack of face-to-face interaction: An important part of traditional classroom, is the opportunity participants have to learn from one another through discussion and debate. When there’s a lack of interaction in e-learning can result in the loss of information transfer, loss of interest in the learner due to isoaltion and finally loss of his/her motivation to learn.Access to technology:E-learning relies on the learner having access to certain technology, whether it’s a reliable internet connection, a particular mobile device, or Flash. You need to make sure all of your learners have the technology required to access and complete your course. It’s also important to take your audience’s level of computer skills into consideration.
• Lack of Control: Learners with low motivation may fall behind when using e-learning as there are no set times to be doing it and they are responsible for the organization themselves. A lack of routine or fixed schedule can mean e-learning becomes complicated with various deadlines often given to different people at different stages of their learning.
• Learning Approach: It doesn’t appeal to all learning styles as some may prefer images, some prefer just reading words and some prefer to talk about or actually do a task in order to learn. It is still a challenge to make e-learning appeal fully to these groups as different people learn better or worse using different styles..
• Isolation: A lot of questions are easily answered when face to face with someone when you can guarantee an immediate answer. e-learning often doesn’t allow that with learners.This leaves them isolated and can often demotivate individuals as they feel they don’t have the support and reassurance that the physical presence of a trainer provides.
• Technology Issues: With heavy reliance on computers in e-learning , comes the potential risks accompanying it. First, you need to ensure that all learners have a device that is able to support the learning modules. Also some e-learning tools require software such as Flash that devices like iPads don’t support. So all requirements need to be set out at the beginning. Poor internet connection and unavoidable general random faults also can interrupt learning and therefore needs to be planned beforehand.. This is especially true if it is a global roll out as Internet connections and power reliability changes dramatically between countries.
• Computer Competency: Some learners might not be very comfortable using computers, especially if their jobs don’t require them to. Therefore even if the software is user friendly, the very idea of using the software can be daunting and demotivating for some. Therefore these learners are likely to learn a lot less than they would from a physical course.

To know about future trends and technologies in the e-learning industry

Click http://elearningindustry.com/future-elearning-trends-and-technologies-in-the-global-elearning-industry

LET US SUM UP

E-learning is the delivery of learning, training or education program through electronic devices. It is mainly useful for distance learning.

E-learning includes delivery of digital content through various electronic devices like CD-ROM, DVD or even through internet. Through e-learning, it is possible to update the content quickly and easily. It is possible to have interaction with expert. e-learning is needed to enhance communication, to provide equal opportunities, to provide additional learning and reflective experiences, continuous evaluation and continuous reinforcement.

e-learning is less expensive, self paced learning, fast learning, anytime-anywhere learning, time saving,flexible and mobile learning . It make students techno savy and helps them to improve retaintion.

e-learning has some limitations also. This type of learning lack motivation, lack face to face interaction, and lack human touch. Teachers and students require proper training, knowledge, skill and appropriate attitude related to computer

but the reality is e-learning is already ensconced in our education system. From e-mail to learning management system, education is going electronic. The e-learning is a treasure trove of rich benefits and exciting advances just waiting to be discovered. But there are also major pitfalls that must be carefully avoided.

REFERENCES

• Thompson J., Bakken J., Fulk B., Karlan G. (2004) ‘Using Technology to improve the Literacy skills of students with disabilities’ retrieved from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/literacy/disability.pdf
• Mangal S.K. &Mangal Uma. Essentials of educational technology. PHI learning Pvt. Ltd. 2010.
• Rajsekar, S. Computer education. Neelkamal publication.2008.
• Singh P.P. & Sharma S. e-learning new trends and innovations. Deep & deep publication Pvt. Ltd. 2005.
• Vanaja, M &Rajasekhar S. Educational Technology Computer Education. Neelkamal publication.2006.