E-Learning—The New Age Way Of Acquiring Education

E-learning includes all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching

Wikipedia

E-Learning has come as a boon to people seeking to acquire different skills—basic or advanced.

E-Learning cuts across barriers like distance and time, the banes of modern living. E-Learning does not cost much and learning can be self-paced, instructor driven, and interactive. You can be part of a group or receive instruction on your own. You can learn from anyone in any part of the world and be exposed to a global world view.

Benefits of E- Learning

• E-Learning can put up different learning styles and make possibility of learning through a variety of activities.
• Develops knowledge of Internet and computers skills that build self- knowledge and self –confidence throughout their lives and career.
• E-Learning makes easy for employees to formulate learning a continuous part of their job.
• Reduce travel time and travel cost for off campus students and also learning materials allows student study in their own place 

Education actually means acquiring knowledge and skills and is not age, community or gender specific. However, education imparted through classroom training over generations---be it in the form of Gurukuls or schools or colleges has corrupted knowledge seeking, introducing boundaries and petty biases. In India, it was class specific—only people from certain castes got educated.

Skills were restricted to families. A barber’s son remained a barber with no way of getting educated in the lettered word. In the western world churches and religious organizations controlled education and later on, only the moneyed class made it to schools.

Even today, in a far more democratic world, schools and universities are run as money-making industries, restricting admission to a select few. Some religious institutions restrict the entry of women. The middle aged and elderly, have very little scope of starting afresh in a new course or syllabus, since they also have to take care of their jobs, families and health issues.

 A person living in a small suburb or a village may never get to go to a good school.Also, if you are of frail health or disabled, chances are that you may not be able to travel to school.

E-learning content can include:

1. Text
2. Audio 
3. Images
4. Video

 Ways of delivering and accessing e-learning content include:

1. Internet
2. CD
3. USB
4. DVD
5. Mobile phone
6. Personal computer
7. Tablet computer

E-learning transgresses distance. You can study from within your home. You can take classes after working hours. Or…for the busy mother—after your babies are asleep or at school.E-Learning promotes self paced learning. You can start getting educated later in life. You can be forty and join an online university at that age. You can learn from a coach who lives in another country. Even if you are educated enough, you can enhance your knowledge through the many refresher courses available online.

You can later become a coach or a trainer yourself. An online trainer has the advantage of training at flexible hours. You can make your teaching interactive and multi-dimensional using the immense amount of online training tools available in the market today. You can learn and train through your TV and smart phones and tablets very effectively. Knowledge and education is literally at your finger-tips.

With newer and more advanced innovations in technology available every day, the dream for educationists should be that no individual, in any part of the world, should be left uneducated.