Can e-learning today really deliver what it promises? Eight learning experts discuss this question at the Oxford Union. Jutta Mackwell reports.
‘This house believes that the e-learning of today is essential for the important skills of tomorrow’. This was the motion put to eight e-learning experts for a debate at the prestigious Oxford Union, organised by e-learning company Epic.
E-learning has become one of the buzz words in training and learning and development. It has been praised for its flexibility, cost-efficiency and its ‘greenness’. But does it really do what it promises, and does it help to impart the essential skills of tomorrow? Or is it simply ‘computers instead of books’ (as Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC’s Technology Correspondent who chaired the debate, learned from his taxi driver) or ‘what employers do when they don’t want to pay for proper training’?
According to Professor Diana Laurillard, who holds the chair of learning with digital technologies in the faculty of culture and pedagogy at the University of London, ‘no sane person can say that e-learning is not essential.’...
An e-Learning environment will provide a framework and a set of tools, however, by themselves they are not more likely to facilitate your teaching and the students' learning than the filing cabinet in which you keep your lecture notes.
With the trend of booming growth and popularity of e-learning, universities are required to streamline their activities to create a sustainable e-learning ecosystem. E-learning or electronic learning in simple terms is provision of educati...
“This E-learning courseware provides an opportunity for professional degree holders like me interested in life-long learning to engage in critical reflections and analysis of contemporary practices, issues and challenges which impinge upon leadership and educational goals.”
Workplace learning refers to learning or training undertaken in the workplace (Craig 1996). The field of workplace learning is also known as Training and Development, Human Resource Development, Corporate Training and Work and Learning (Craig, 1996; Piskurich at al., 2000; Driscoll et al., 2005; Smith et al., 2006). The traditional context of learning is experiencing a radical change. Teaching and learning are no longer restricted to classrooms (Wang, Wang, & Shee, 2007). The term e-learning refers to the use of electronic devices for learning, including the delivery of content via electronic media such as Internet, audio or video, interactive TV, etcetera. For the purpose of this study, we define “e-learning” as teaching and learning that
Wheeler, S (2010). Lifelong Learning in a Digital Age. Joint Learning and Teaching Conference. Portsmouth: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/. last accessed on 28th March 2014.
Curriculum reflects educational philosophy and variety of approaches to teaching responding to the different needs of learners and employers, and reflect upon the needs of society and policy changes. The programme need to be an integral part of institution-wide initiatives transforming its strategy and policy, culture and practice. For example, computer technology change world radically. Presenting pragmatic approach, E-learning headlines benefits of using technology in the programme designing curriculum to be shared online to support se...
However, studies reveal that “e-learning courses which provide interactivity can boost the overall knowledge retention rate to anywhere from 50% to 90%.”
The combination of knowledge management and electronic learning is a response to this challenge. The use of information and communication technologies as teaching and learning tools is now rapidly expanding into education and e-learning is one of the most popular learning environments in the information age.
Physical presence was must & any other sort of learning was questionable. Then came the Computer evolution which actually changed the learning landscape. In simple words, e-learning is a computer based education tool or a type of system that enables to learn at any time anywhere. Nowadays, e-learning is delivered though the internet, although in the past e-learning was delivered using a blend of Computer-based methods like CD-ROM. Technology has advance a lot now,
First generation e-Learning started in the early 1990s and developed in the late 1990s. During that period, e-Learning depended on professional technical staff having advanced technological knowledge and skills to develop e-Learning platforms and courses. Teachers and trainers only provide course contents used in the classroom to technical staff to upload in the course website. It formed a one-way transmission e-Learning mode dominated by technology. The first generation of e-learning 1.0 is related to the delivery and experience of online training courses of 60 and more minutes.
In today’s age and society, technology is becoming a huge part of everything we do, from online clubs and societies, to entertainment, social networking, and even online education. Some say we rely too much on technology, and some believe that this is where we need to be going; imagine a totally virtual world. Where everything including school can be don from the comfort of your own home. E-learning is not just the school of tomorrow; it is the school of now. Anne McGrath has written that “technology can lift classroom teaching to new heights,” and I believe this is true. A whole world of resources is available at your fingertips. Save money, work at your own pace, it’s accessible, convenient and can help foster good habits, how does an online school not sound like a good idea.
To begin with, the advantages of access to digital technologies in the classroom should be fully explored. Digital technologies are “ electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store, or process data. These include social media, online games and applications, multimedia, productivity applications, cloud computing, interoperable systems and mobile devices” Victoria Education Department 2015) The first advantage of introducing digital technologies to learners is that students become experienced in those technologies. By the end of year 12, students who have been in a class which integrated digital technologies should be extremely proficient in their skills. “ At this stage, it would be hoped that the students are digitally proficient, that they also have an aptitude that will help them when they encounter new and emerging technologies in the future.” ( Howell 2013 , pp 191) What this means is that students with access to a classroom which allowed them to develop their skills in
Before going further we should know exactly what digital learning is. A company called Alliance for Excellent Education has the best definition. “Digital learning is any instructional practice that is effectively using technology to strengthen the student learning experience. Di...
there are necessary technologies that must be on ground in order to sustain e-learning, these
With the advent of modern technology, a forceful impact of this technology has been observed in nearly all walks of modern day life. With the increasing access to these facilities, the lives of modern-day human beings have changed so dramatically that in many cases a reversal towards the old ways of life seems apparently impossible. Similar is the case with the process of education. In general the concept of e-learning has modified learning modes and behaviors to a much greater extent. It has...