Kids nowadays are most fortunate to have access to a wealth of information via the net. They have tools I never had to work with and aid us through our educational trek. I remember not even being allowed to carry a calculator to school! To top it all, now we have choices. There’s the traditional way of learning of course, where there’s a personal teacher-student relationship and interaction. And then, there’s E Learning. Let’s recap from last time.

E-Learning lessons are generally designed to guide students through information or to help students perform in specific tasks. Information based e-Learning content communicates information to the student, just like content that distributes the history or facts related to a service, company, or product.
In information-based content, there is no specific skill to be learned. In performance-based content, the lessons build off of a procedural skill in which the student is expected to increase proficiency. Here are some more types of E Learning systems.

Web-based training – (WBT) is a kind Web-based training (WBT) is a type of training that is similar to Computer-based training (CBT); however, it is delivered over the Internet making use of a web browser. Web-based training frequently includes interactive methods, such as BBS (electronic bulletin boards), chat rooms, and instant messaging (such as Yahoo, MSN, ICQ and more recently SKYPE) videoconferencing and discussion threads. WBT is usually a self-paced learning medium though some systems allow for online testing and evaluation at specific times.

Communication Technology – this is generally categorized as asynchronous or synchronous. Asynchronous activities use technologies such as what’s common nowadays like blogs, wikis and forums or discussion boards. The idea here is that participants may engage in the exchange of ideas or information without the dependency of other participant’s involvement at the same time.

Electronic mail (Email) is also asynchronous in such a way that mail can be sent or received without having both the participants’ involvement at the same time. To differentiate this from Synchronous activities which involve the exchange of ideas and information with one or more participants during the same period of time.

An online interview, or a face to face conversation or discussion is an example of synchronous communications. Synchronous activities occur with all participants joining in at once, as with an online chat session or a virtual classroom or meeting. Virtual classrooms and meetings can often use a mix of communication technologies.

A recent survey has revealed that European lecturers believe that e-learning can significantly strengthen teaching and learning within higher education today. 85% of lecturers questioned stated that online learning improves both teaching creativity and student learning success.

The study questioned over 150 lecturers, teaching courses ranging from bioscience, to history, to music, across leading higher education institutions in Europe.

From the findings, it was clear that lecturers strongly believe that a blend of online learning and classroom-based teaching is vital if the education system is going to meet the demands of students today. Majority of the lecturers (94%) stated that classroom-based teaching and online learning is more effective than classroom-based teaching alone.

I think if it isn’t already in the pipeline of prioritized projects and highly considered by our government, upgrading of our educational system should be one of the top choices on their list. If this is the case then trying to maintain a higher if not first-class teaching standard and improving accessibility to learning, should be taken very seriously. More schools have incorporated computer lessons in their curriculum, as early as Grade One.

I think this is a good thing, but then again, as I’ve said time and time again, “personal and physical” interaction with others such as in studying in groups, playing with actual people as opposed to just sitting in front of a PC and simulating the aforementioned activities still cuts it! Sure, online learning has the potential to bring new opportunities to higher education.

In fact, more and more students are now studying part-time, or are unable to attend every lecture because of conflicting demands on their time. It is no longer sufficient to offer only face-to-face teaching and assessment, and without online facilities, the problems of student retention and decreasing success rates would be exacerbated.

Additionally, with appropriate support from instructional technologists and with awareness, e-learning can offer lecturers a complementary teaching tool that offers greater creativity for their course content and I don’t think this is a short-lived phenomenon. In fact, its success is already evident in most countries.

There has been such a positive response from students and staff to the introduction of online learning. Why not when convenience is right at your fingertips? Sure, not everyone here has access to a computer but hey, there’s libraries, net cafes and with the help of our administration this may be facilitated. I just hope that sooner than later the heads of our beloved country will discover the importance and usefulness of E Learning and integrate it into their vision for it to have any chance of success.