According to ELearningNC, e-Learning can be best described as learning utilizing electronic technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a traditional classroom. In most cases, it refers to a course, program or degree delivered completely online. Over the course of twenty years we have commonly referred to this type of learning to describe how we learn whether it be delivered online, via the internet, ranging from Distance Education, to computerized electronic learning, online learning, internet learning and many others.
It is important to note that e-Learning is mostly interactive in that you typically communicate with your teachers, professors or other students in your class and that sometimes it is delivered live, where you can “electronically” raise your hand dialogue with others in real time. In some cases, this looks like it is a lecture that has been prerecorded as well and in other cases a teacher or professor interacting and/or communicating with you and grading your participation, your assignments and your tests. For me, e-Learning is a very effective and efficient way for non-traditional students and those with inflexible schedules obtain learning when a daily face to face class is not feasible.
In the early 2000s, many saw e-learning enter the corporate world becoming a popular form used to train new employees or those seeking to grow while continuing to work. As of 2010, e-learning had become more inspired by social media such as YouTube, Twitter, iTunes, Skype and other platforms. In the past ten years e-learning has become even more creative for the development of more online learning and adding many interesting and useful features to it. To date, a variety of new terms has developed in order to represent the fast progressing online educational world such as mobile learning, gamification, localization and social e-learning are just a few to name.
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If there is one trend that has undoubtedly emerged in the eLearning world, it’s the way that learners are engaged in training today. The definition of what “training” means has also rapidly changed over the past 15 years and continues to advance. Over the last decade or so, innovation research in human psychology and technology has created a number of newer innovations on how people learn. One to note in particular is microlearning. In this process learners obtain content in chunks that are considered “on-demand” and through smaller content. Rather than sit through hours-long online courses, the mobile uprising has made more learners turn to microlearning as their learning approach of choice. This has also become increasingly popular with young, novice teachers seeking ways to grow faster in their skill set and capacity to teach as testing demands grow.
Alongside microlearning is another approach called adaptive learning. Technological breakthroughs over the past five years or so have also helped eLearning move away from Instructor Lead Training (ILT), and to adapt to a distinctively learner-driven model where adaptive learning helps transform training content and experiences based on each student’s responses and exchanges with the training tools they use. As a huge fan of adaptive learning, I best describe it as someone such as a trainer or teacher being able to give every learner their own modified and personalized course, made specifically for their strengths, limitations, goals, and learning patterns. Can you envision a course that adjusted in real-time to one’s activity and adjusted moment by moment to their performance and interest level? This is much of what happens in adaptive learning.
There’s no definite way to tell what tomorrow will bring, however, you can get a good hint of what’s to come by taking a closer look at the past and present of e-Learning. An example of this would be the commonly used concept of augmented reality. Ten years ago the thought of walking in a virtual world seemed like something out of a sci-fi movie or maybe in a comic book. Today, it is a reality thanks to Oculus Rift, Google Glass and other Virtual Reality headsets that fall in the category of e-Learning and gaming. In 2026, augmented and amplified reality may be one of the new e-Learning movements with all online training experiences taking place in virtual environments that resemble the workplace.
Employees could possibly be able to build their skills and master countless tasks without having to worry about real world threats in security. Virtual reality will most likely even allow people to network with tools that they would find on the job, such as sales terminals, machinery, and safety equipment. This would make it a valuable asset for onboarding and performance management as well. Augmented reality may be out of reach for many smaller companies today because of its very expensive set up. However, ten years from now people will most likely be going into a wide range of e-Learning programs and tools that are offered on a diverse range of virtual reality platforms.
Another facet of e-Learning that comes to mind includes the flipped classroom which has been a major sensation in K-12 education for the last few years. This can best be described as a model of teaching in which recorded lectures are viewed outside of the classroom. This also is where classroom time is spent conversing rather than presenting the day’s lesson. In traditional learning, students typically acquire knowledge in a classroom context and are then sent away to create, analyze and estimate after the class. In the flipped classroom, students attain knowledge before the class and use classroom time to practice and apply impressions and ideas through collaboration with peers and teachers. After the class, students reflect upon the feedback they have received and use this to advance their learning.
The final example of an emerging form of eLearning would be Elucidat which is an eLearning project toolkit that functions as a central hub of information for digital learning producers. The toolkit uses branching to direct each user to the content they need at a particular moment in time. It’s an example of curated eLearning, but instead of providing an overwhelming number of resources the toolkit directs the learner only to what will be most useful to them. In other words, it acts as a map directing the user to the most significant and useful tips and tools. As a result, the content is kept concise, which makes it easily consumable for the learner and able to fit into their busy lifestyle.
There are significant benefits in businesses, schools and organizations using high quality online training and eLearning methods. One in particular is that an online training system decreases many costs that would ordinarily be related to classroom training, including travel, learning materials, venues, and catering. Using dated training methods, updating and replicating learning materials is costly and time-consuming. Online training platforms allows you the cost effectiveness and time of updating important text packets and lesson plans swiftly and easily. Additionally, since the info remains online, you can save on printing costs.
Using e-Learning means less limitations and restrictions as well. One of the key advantages of e-Learning is that employees have the capability to participate in online courses from anywhere with an internet connection. This removes much of the energy spent coordinating where and when a course will take place. Collecting a whole team of employees together in one place is never easy and it is very inefficient. Therefore, e-Learning gives both administration and employees more flexibility to complete important “just-in-time” training as requirements change.
It is also important to note that employees are able to get immediate, real-time feedback during an online training course. Because everything is connected online, management can also get up-to-date analysis on how courses are performing and they progress monitor more frequently.
The advantages of e-Learning are bountiful but here’s where businesses may be the most interested which is the bottom line. E-Learning helps companies, schools and organizations to create a higher quality and more effective training experiences for employees at more affordable costs. When employees can be more enthusiastic about training, their engagement carries over into the rest of their work and when that engagement is increased across entire departments, the bottom line is impacted.
While e-Learning’s time and place flexibility fascinates and appeals more and more students to online education and employees to online training, many of them encounter serious challenges and obstacles that prevent them from completing their courses successfully. For example, transitioning from traditional classroom and face to face instructor training to computer-based training in a virtual classroom makes the learning experience vastly different for many students. This change does not always allow them to adapt to the online learning environments, whereas it takes time for them to get used to Course Management Systems (CMS) and the methods of computer-based instruction. Students with a “traditional” mindset find it difficult to adapt; however, they need to accept the new learning situations with an open mind.
On the more technical end, many students are not provided with the high bandwidth or the strong internet connection that online courses require, and thus fail to catch up with their virtual classmates. Their often weak monitors make it difficult to follow the Course Management System and their learning experience becomes challenging. Some of them don’t even own computers and seek help in learning resource centers for technical assistance.
Time management is also a cumbersome task for e-Learners as online courses require a lot of time and intensive work. Furthermore, it is mostly adults who prefer web-based learning programs for their place and time flexibility and they infrequently have the time to take the courses due to their various everyday commitments. A regular schedule planner would be a significant help to this population of learners as they could even set reminders for their courses and assignments.
In 2012, more than 6.7 million students took at least one online course, representing an all-time high of 32 percent of higher education students. The Babson Study, which gathered these data, reports that this 9.3 percent year-over-year enrollment growth rate is the lowest in the history of the 10-year series, but it’s still higher than the overall enrollment rate in higher education.
Online courses, e-Learning, and learning management software are all advantageous and efficient. However, they all lack of the human factor and quality face time. e-Learning without doubt boils down to training, leaving mentoring or intellectual background aside. In my opinion, this is exactly why online learning will not replace traditional school in our lifetime or anytime soon. Many would argue that the classroom is the real tangible place to teach and to learn. It is the place where teachers engage students, encourage participation from the entire class and expand on the thoughts and ideas raised by students. These interactions cannot be duplicated in a virtual classroom or in a game.
Additionally, the virtual classroom tries to overcome the lack of teacher-to-student interaction through the execution of live lecturing, video chatting and messaging with multiple students. However, the efforts to create a classroom environment cannot compete with the real thing. Virtual teachers often train in a classroom setting in order to handle interaction with other students through the virtual classroom. Taking away classroom teaching would potentially end classroom training, leaving even virtual teachers at a loss for the tools needed to handle the increase in online teacher-to-student interactions.
My general prediction around eLearning possibly replacing face-to-face learning is quite simple…NO. The classroom is in my opinion and experience the best place to teach and to learn. It is the place where teachers and facilitators engage student’s other learners, encourage participation from the entire class and expand on the thoughts and ideas raised by students. These interactions cannot be mirrored in a 100% virtual classroom. Teacher-to-student interactions, along with student-to-teacher and student-to-student interactions, are all part of the learning experience. Spontaneous and random interactions via questions or stated opinions are necessary in presenting a full scope of the subject being taught. In the virtual classroom, the teacher is usually able to interact with only one student at a time and it is from behind a computer screen. Raising questions and listening to other students’ opinions typically takes place through group message boards, as opposed to real-time, face-to-face communication.
