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Frequently asked questions about e-learning:
 What is e-learning? +
How does e-learning work? +
What are the advantages of e-learning? +
What are the challenges? +
How complex is technology related to e-learning? +
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| What is e-learning? |
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e-learning means a new way of learning. It does not imply that it is totally different from how we learn at school, university or during our working life. It means “enriched” since it involves new sources and ways of knowledge acquisition.
The term E-LEARNING can be modern, but the concept has been going around for decades. e-learning is training through a net, usually on the Internet or on a company’s Intranet. It has its origin in the unattractive world of computer-based training, which appeared in the early 1980s and used CD-ROMS to teach mainly technical abilities to technicians.
e-learning has evolved to become a tool widely used in both worlds: corporate and academic.
With present e-learning, the companies can train the Sale Staff to use a new product even if the offices are at different places. In the academic field, e-learning allows people to have on-line lessons on a variety of topics, offered by many universities.
We can say that e-learning has the following characteristics:
 Availability of content at any time, 24 hours a day, the 7 days of the week;
Students’ access to the contents wherever they might be;
An atmosphere focused on the student, personalized and designed to suit the
organizations needs;
Involves some kind of communication technology;
Assisted by a net (the Internet, Local Area Net, or Wide Area Network);
Complete e-learning experience, from the admission to the exam and occasionally
certificates or diplomas.
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| How does e-learning work? |
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e-learning has two categories: synchronous and asynchronous. The synchronous e-learning is similar to classrooms, what means that the lessons are given in real time and it connects instructors and students by means of audio and video tools or through a chat room.
Asynchronous e-learning allows the student the access to a training course previously designed any time he wishes, facilitating a self-paced learning and contacting other students via e-mail. Some companies get specialized in e-learning solutions that are executed on the companies’ servers. Others use a model of application services supplier and are in charge of all the process, from creating a training course to the storage of information.
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| What are the advantages of e-learning? |
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Time and money. Consider how much your company wastes in sending your employees to training courses, transportation, hotel bills, telephone calls to home, etc. e-learning eliminates costs since a specialist in Buenos Aires can train a complete group in Madrid without leaving the office. It also offers the instructor more accessibility and greater flexibility to students.
e-learning counts on:
The best of the solutions from both worlds: effective e-learning which combines the proved traditional teaching method with the rich resources of computer-based education to create an attractive and motivating solution.
On-line flexibility: teaching and retaining the critical information you need, whatever it is and wherever you need it, without having to leave the office or the people who need you.
Interactivity in real world: motivating students to start working in simulation laboratories. This allows them to test their abilities in a perfect simulated environment, increasing the possibilities of recalling what they have learned and putting it into operation later on.
Personalized learning: by a pre-admission test that evaluates knowledge and the level of ability, each learning experience is personalized in order to ensure that only the necessary information is received.
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| What are the challenges? |
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e-learning tends to isolate the student, what can have negative effects on teams formation and sociability. A student who has a special ability to express himself orally can suffer in a virtual room. On the other side, thosewho are too shy to talk in front of a class can feel more comfortable to ask questions in this environment.
Students who feel frustrated with technology can lose faith.
Finally, you can spend that time and money you saved in expensive trips on purchasing and installing the training program your institution needs.
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How complex is technology related to e-learning? |
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Most e-learning packages require just one navigator and a connection to the Internet, some audio and video applications would certainly require broad band. Technology is just a medium, you will need a set of technologies and methodologies to create the most effective program.
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