Is E-learning really effective?

The turn into the technological age has seen even education adapting more dynamic and radical changes.

E-learning has allowed for easy accessibility to education and academic resources for students all over the world; and we can now “sit through” classes taught from across countries. This globalization of education enables us to be exposed to different forms of teaching and quality sources which would not have been available to us if we had not physically travelled to the particular location. In addition, the usage of certain digital technology enhances our learning experience.

Nowadays, more than one out of four college and university students take at least one course online. At the University of Buffalo SIM, I have taken numerous online modules in finance, management and economics and so far the experience has been positive. Lectures carried out in the UB campus in Buffalo can be downloaded and watched, thus students who might have missed out certain points can watch those lectures again. Eg: We can also stop a lecture in between and open a new window to search for some terms which we might have not have understood during the lecture; a behaviour which would have been unacceptable in a classroom condition(though you can argue that we can stop the lecturer in midsentence and querify with him/her).

Some might claim that E-learning is a completely different experience from being in the classroom face-to-face and some students might not be able to adapt to the new conditions. Evidence supports that students with certain learning styles (e.g., visual) or behavioral types (e.g., independent) do learn better in the Web environment and thus others are disadvantaged. However, most lecturers do recognize this and find means to make up for those students, through designing their e-learning content and the web environment such that it is conducive for all. Lecturers often create forums for students to participate in discussions and ask questions should they be in doubt, and that is one of the ways they make up for the reduced communication due to physical constraints. Moreover, institutions train their lecturers such that they are equipped with the necessary skills to make online courses effective and comprehensible to all students. It has been found that only 19 percent of institutions with online offerings report that they have no training or mentoring programs for their teaching faculty.

One other benefit found from implementing E-learning is that students who work online are found to improve their writing skills. Wegerif's (1998) study found that the ALN model improved writing skills by having students write more and more often, as well as by increasing the public visibility of student writing. (It is there for others - especially their peers - to see and, presumably, critique.)

Source: http://www.sloanconsortium.org

The video below is a debate regarding the effectiveness of E-learning.

I personally believe that E-learning is a beneficial and novel idea that is here to stay and we should strive to adjust and adapt ourselves to it as many aspects of our lives become more integrated with technology.I will leave you with Katie Salen and Henry Jenkins, who will tell you more about the potential of E-learning and why we should embrace it instead of frown upon it.