What is eLearning? Short for electronic learning, eLearning is a knowledge acquisition process that utilizes electronic technologies for its execution.
Also referred to as digital learning or online learning, eLearning is conducted on the internet and users access it through their electronic devices, including personal computers, smartphones, or tablets. This type of learning can be produced in different forms, including online programs, courses, training, or degrees.
ELearning can be utilized by different organizations and personalized to fit their needs. Schools and universities can provide their students with lessons through electronic learning, and companies can educate their employees, customers, and partners as well. The reasons for using this educational method instead of in-person learning may differ, including physical inability of the participants to be in the same location, health restrictions, or the wish of an organization to use modern technology to present its content to learners.
Lessons through eLearning can be conducted either through live meetings, using technologies for video meetings or streaming, or through recordings of the lessons, which can be either sent directly to all students or uploaded to a single platform in order for all students to access the material. The eLearning process may have varying durations, depending on the type of content it is presenting.
In order to be able to present the learning material through electronic methods, organizations need to adapt it to the specific requirements of technological broadcasting. Various eLearning tools have been produced to facilitate this transition and to help organizations create educational processes that are as efficient as learning in person and have additional benefits as well.
For conducting learning activities in person, it is enough to have a teacher or some kind of educator in the same room with his or her students. The lecturer can present whatever material they need and in whatever methods they prefer. With eLearning, which is conducted through electronic devices, organizations need to utilize different technologies and adapt the presented content in order to be able to efficiently teach students, taking into consideration the way people communicate online and how different it is to present material through electronic devices compared to in a physical classroom, as well as other factors.
For this reason, many different eLearning tools exist. Their purpose is to make this innovative educational approach easier for teachers as well as for students, regardless of what the topic of the lessons is about. Among the different types of tools for electronic learning are learning management systems (LSM), systems for online training, digital learning software, and instructional design, as well as tools for design, learning experience platforms (LXP), and content authoring tools. The many types of eLearning tools can be separated into categories according to what they are used for, including platforms on which the education is conducted, tools for content design and authoring, tools for analyzing the performance of the students and of the learning program, different types of management tools for for eLearning, as well as additional tools like quizzes and assessment programs, gamification, and others.
These eLearning tools are created to help educators to present effective learning programs even if they don’t have vast technical literacy. Through eLearning tools, any teacher, lecturer, or instructor in any field can prepare and present content, manage its performance, evaluate the effort of learners, reward them, and follow the data about anything related to the educational process.
If an organization uses some of the many different eLearning tools that are available, including for animation, storyboarding and collaboration, image and video creation and editing, and interactive content creation, they can ensure they will deliver educational resources that are adapted to the electronic methods of communication and that benefit the students in the most efficient ways.
Based on the way eLearning is conducted, including what technologies are being utilized and how long each session lasts, among other factors, there are different types of eLearning. The most common ones include:
The process of eLearning, alongside the technologies and methods it uses, has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. They include the following:
Advantages of eLearning:
Disadvantages of eLearning:
