What is e-learning, the benefits of e-learning and what are some of the online courses available?
E-learning means ‘electronic learning’. It combines the convenience of being anywhere in the world on your computer or mobile device and using the internet as an educational platform. It enables flexible and adaptable learning suited to your lifestyle desires.
We live in a digital information age where the masses are preferring to consume information electronically. For example, the number of physical books sold on Amazon.com, the number online retailer, are on a demise since the occurrence of digital e-books. An instant download at the click of a button as opposed to physically going into purchasing a book at a store has allowed education and information to be delivered to us at our fingertips.
It is becoming more apparent that our general culture has developed an “instant gratification” mentality where we no longer have as much patience; we are becoming more selective about how we allocate our time and want to preserve our personal time as much as possible. E-learning has revolutionalised the way in which we learn and it has given us a wealth of options and opportunities to access digital courses and programmes to further enhance our knowledge.
What are the benefits of e-learning?
- Easy accessibility
Physical distance is no longer an obstacle to gaining access to quality information and education. Anyone can access an abundance of information with an internet connection anywhere in the world. Unlike traditional courses where physical attendance and travelling and time is required, learning can be conducted in the comfort of your own home if you wish to. In addition to personal benefits, many companies have now incorporated e-learning as their primary training method where an online platform allows staff to access and learn new material to enhance their productivity quickly and with ease.
- Effective learning
Educational content can be retrieved in the form of videos, downloadable audiobooks, e-books and transcriptions which help to adapt to one’s preferred means of information consumption. Many people maintain concentration and retain information better this way as e-learning is more interactive and easier to navigate than traditionally using physical books for example. E-learning provides overall a better user experience and engagement. Progress of learning can now easily be recorded as many online progress trackers can be used to assess your learning. Unlike in a classroom setting, e-learning courses are often designed to cater for all learning styles.
- Saves time and money
Information can easily be shared and revisited by simply typing in “keywords” as opposed to manually searching between pages in a book and writing on a piece of paper. E-learning is often free, or at least fairly inexpensive in comparison to enrolling in a course in a classroom setting. Being able to learn on the go by listening to an audible whilst multitasking with other personal activities allows is something that was once not very practical. As many companies are now using e-learning courses to train their staff, it has become a very cost and time effective way to minimise the time and money expended on manually training staff. They are now able to leverage their information better using minimal resources and maximising on their return on investment.
- Learn at your own pace
E-learning allows us to learn at a pace that suits you best. The ability to record and rewatch videos, pause and rewind or even speed up if necessary means you can have more control over the way lessons are delivered to you. Often in a traditional group learning environment, there may be some students within the group who work at different speeds; those who work slower may feel left behind and those who have more of an advanced learning ability may prefer to maximise their time more efficiently and move on as quickly as possible. E-learning allows individuals to learn at a pace that is well suited to them; the “personal” learning experience is appealing, especially to those that prefer to work alone. The adaptability, flexibility and practicality factor also allows individuals to fully integrate their education according to their lifestyle desires.
Where can I find some online courses?
Itunes U
ITunes U offers an enormous range of content created by top Universities across the world. For example, there is a talk conducted by UCLA about ‘Mindful Meditations’ which gives an introduction into meditating and understanding what ‘mindfulness’ is and how to use it in your day-to-day life; something which is not particularly taught in schools or a course in which you would particularly enrol in but can provide a lot of value to your personal life.
YouTube
Thousands of educational videos can easily be found on YouTube simply by typing keywords such as “How to solve simultaneous equations”. Here’s a link to one we created: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzm0873UQVY
Traditionally, when you are enrolled in a course, you are unlikely to have the luxury of choosing the teacher that delivers the course and the teaching style delivered may not be best suited to your desires or needs. E-learning not only encourages us to become more independent learners and self-sufficient in digital navigation, we are often able to choose to learn from different people online or different styles in which content is being delivered to us. For example on YouTube,
Digital Apps
If you have a smartphone then you can download educational apps on your phone. Simply typing in your subject of interest will supply you a list of interactive learning resources. You can even download apps on your iPad, computer or mobile device from websites such as http://www.educationalappstore.com/ which provides a whole host of educational resources including one called “Maths Tutor”.
ClickBank
ClickBank is a trusted online digital marketplace where you can access thousands of digital courses in a variety of niches including academic education, health and fitness, languages to name a few. Clickbank offers 30 money-back-guarantee on digital products. Although their education category is predominantly aimed at students from the US education system, there are some universal educational resources such as teaching how to teach your child how to learn to read: http://www.clickbank.com/products/education/teach-children-to-read-38-original-family-word-rhymes/
Just performing a Google search by typing in “e-learning + your subject” provides a list of thousands of potential online courses. Some “virtual colleges” even offer fully accredited courses which will enable you to achieve a qualification at the comfort of learning in your own home if you wish to. Distance learning has even allowed users to fully enrol into an Online Masters degree if you wish to.
Online tutoring
Online tuition is becoming more popular and accessible in the digital age we are living in. Telios Tutors offer students the ability to learn from anywhere in the world with our tutors on a virtual basis. For example, if you are an adult learner and would like to learn English as a second language, we have fully qualified ESL and EFL teachers ready to deliver interactive lessons on a one to one basis specific to your individual needs. You can gain access to our tutor directory by sending us over an email at info@teliostutors.com telling us which subject(s) you would like to learn and any specific requirements or preferences you may have. Take a look at some of our tutors’ videos here: https://teliostutors.com/tutors/.
Have you had any experience with e-learning? Are there any online courses that you may be interested in but not sure which one to go with? Leave us a comment below and tell us how we can help.