Author: Dilshad Pajnigara -Marketing Manager.
Financepeer.
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E-learning has been around for over a decade, but only in recent years, it has started to get more and more popular. These days online learning is the preferred education channel for all learners: from school-aged children who require special schedules to adult workers who want to study a new profession. E-learning is a constantly developing and changing the industry with its pros and cons, and here is a more detailed look at both.
Pros of E-Learning:
It’s safe to say that the invention and development of e-learning have been one of the most revolutionary things that have ever happened to education. Most importantly, online learning has given us the following benefits.
1. Affordability:
One of the biggest reasons why online learning really took off since the 2008 recession is that it’s a cost-effective learning channel that can be afforded by nearly every learner. It’s a low-cost education solution for both parties. Schools and training companies don’t need to spend money paying the instructors, preparing visual materials, renting out classrooms, and dozens of other expenses. For this reason, companies with thousands of members of staff who all need to undergo the newest training, consider online learning to be their holy grail in terms of the budget.
Students can study from their own home using online resources, which eliminates the expenses on transportation, textbooks, writing materials, and even food and drink expenses during the studying process. All that you have to pay for is a stable internet connection and a device compatible with the software used during the lessons — and then you are good to go.
2. Work & Learn :
There are several learning solutions for students who work full-time jobs, but none of them is as effective and convenient as e-learning. There are evening classes and community colleges, but all of them require you to be in the same place at the same time several days a week. With e-learning, where you are free to choose your own time to study and set your own schedule, this problem is absolutely nonexistent. You can work night shifts and study in the afternoon or work a regular 9-to-5 job and begin your studies immediately after work.
3. Location
Those who have never tried e-learning are often surprised to find out that there is nothing limiting your choice of locations for learning. As long as you have a stable internet connection and a laptop/tablet/smartphone, you can study from anywhere. Is there a 30-minute break at work? Use it to listen to another lecture! Are you spending a weekend at your grandma’s house? There is more than enough time to do some online learning! Are you going on vacation with your family? Make sure to pack up your laptop and you’ll be able to learn as much as you would do at home. This is one of the major benefits of online learning for students of all ages!
4. Better understanding:
While learning in a regular class gives the student a number of advantages, such as the chance to consult a teacher, get an instant explanation of a particularly complex topic or ask for more clarification, studies show that students can actually get by without these benefits. If you often have trouble comprehending difficult concepts, you will find online learning much better suited for your learning needs.
When you’re studying online, you can rewind the necessary fragment and listen to it again and again as many times as it takes for you to fully understand the issue. Plus, most online learning courses provide various tools for collaboration between you, the instructor, and other learners. Together you will find the answer even to the most complex questions! Whether you are an e-learner or a regular student struggling with an assignment, a professional essay writing service is exactly what will help you get closer to your academic goals.
Cons of E-Learning:
While it’s hard to argue with the fact that e-learning has positively transformed the education industry in the past few years, there are also major drawbacks to this type of learning.
1. Lack of Motivation:
One of the biggest advantages of regular education over e-learning is the fact that in a real classroom you are constantly being motivated and organized by your teacher. It’s true that some students can successfully organize their own learning process and motivate themselves to study regularly, but most young people today don’t have enough self-organizational skills. They require constant guidance from the teacher, clear deadlines, patterns of tackling particular tasks, etc., which influences their motivation greatly. In online learning, you are on your own, and if you don’t have the skill of managing your educational process to the smallest detail, you are almost guaranteed to struggle to finish the work on time.
2. Technology:
There are usually very specific requirements for the use of technology in online learning. Most e-learning programs are designed for high-speed internet and modern computers or portable devices. If you are still using an internet connection that is not stable and doesn’t have any advanced devices, starting your online course may become quite a challenge.
3. Assessment and feedback:
Feedback is one of the most crucial instruments at all stages of learning. Without feedback from your instructor, it’s difficult to know whether you are on the right track without feedback from your instructor.
Proper feedback from a person you trust is a key element of success and the most effective way to guide a student through the learning process. Unfortunately, with online learning, feedback is less informative than in the classroom setting. You will have to ask your instructor for feedback, but even then, you may not get what you expect.
4. Security:
While security isn’t as big of a concern for online learning as it is for banking and social media, it is still a subject of many debates among fans and critics of e-learning. As long as you don’t share your most sensitive data through e-learning chats, you shouldn’t worry about security too much. However, you should also remember to be careful at all times and maintain the discipline required.
While e-learning has a long way to go in terms of convenience and fair assessment, it is still the most modern way of studying that will most likely become the primary learning solution in the future. It’s the most suitable or even the only way to study for millions of people around the world, and we believe everyone will benefit from the development of online learning.