The Drawbacks Of E-Learning: The Benefits Of Online Learning

Technological development has brought more opportunities in education, in particular through online. Online learning (e-Learning) can be defined as “learning utilizing electronic technologies to access educational curriculum outside of a traditional classroom” (“What Is ELearning?”). Jeff Seaman, the Co-Director of the Babson Survey Research Group, said, “The rate of growth in online enrollments remains extremely robust, even as overall higher education enrollments have shown a decline” (“Babson Research Study”); this reveals that there are more people choosing online learning. Online learning has more benefits than its drawbacks because it has low cost, enables students to become global citizens, help develop initiative and technical skills, and is more convenient and flexible. Many students started to search for

Another drawback occurs during class; since students are not forced to take notes or concentrate, they may just look at the slides and online notes later on, which will not help them improve (Serlin 8-9). Thirdly, programs that lack accreditation can cause problems (Hickey). Students must check if the program is accredited. If a student earns a degree from an online school with no accreditation, he or she will not be able to attend any established universities. Lastly, learning can be unsuitable for certain types of learners. Students who have visual disabilities may be disadvantaged. Most common problems are for technophobe, “people who fear, dislike, or avoid new technology” (“Technophobe”). These people might not be able to fulfill their general education requirements; thus, they may choose traditional style education than online learning. Unmotivated learners may also fall behind. Online learning requires a high level of self-discipline and self-direction (Serlin 8-9). Students have to plan ahead, causing irritation to these unmotivated