Crealanta Magazine

What is e-Learning?

Oct 12, 2023

There's a lot of talk about someone who is training modules online, and chances are you've already taken an online class or two by yourself in the past! Utilizing digital programs and tools is only going increase in popularity. The benefits of using technology to help accelerate and enhance learning objectives.

But not all tools and applications are created equal. This article we'll go over what "e-learning" actually means, and then look into some of the common ways to apply it to school classrooms or corporate training programs!

Skip ahead:

What exactly is the term "e-learning?

eLearning is known by many different words, like digital learning, virtual learning, and remote education. They all are the same which is that students are getting some part of their education via an electronic or digital channel. However, there are some differences in the key concepts of eLearning:

eLearning term Definition of the e-Learning term
eLearning The way in which the student is able to access an aspect of their education through a digital or electronic channel, regardless of the distance between the educational institution with the students.
Learning through electronic means The same definition is used for eLearning. However, this was the first term that was used prior to eLearning grew in popularity.
Virtual learning Instruction that is offered to students almost exclusively by means of digital platforms.
Remote education Learning that is offered to a student from another location, which may leverage the use of physical or digital tools in order to aid the learning process. Sometimes referred to as distance-learning.

Advantages of E-Learning

  • Accessibility: Anyone with an Internet connection can access and review the information provided by the tools. They also offer a range of formats that allow for the interpretation of the new information sources.
  • Cost-efficiency is generally a factor in determining whether the expense for setting up one or more E-Learning tools remains more affordable than hiring additional employees. This is true especially as digital learning tools can help automate administrative, repetitive, and time-consuming chores.
  • The ability to track progress that could be necessary for reporting on compliance as well as student performance reports. It's fast to generate reports that are automatically created through the program and, since they're online, they are easily shareable to colleagues or educational facilitators as well.

Additional important eLearning terms to know

For help in understanding the vast subject of e-learning, you can reference this simple chart with the definitions of some other discussed words!

Term Definition
Instructor-led An approach to teaching where there is at least one teacher (the instructor) who is the instructor of the class. The instructor could be present with the class or connecting with students online.
Self-sufficient The method of teaching is one in which students are required to track their own development. The course content is presented in a system and students have to access this information and complete assignments without being instructed by the instructor.
Synchronous learning If students learn at the same time that teachers are instructing. This is the kind of learning which takes place during class time.
The synchronous process of learning When students learn the content in a different way than when the teacher instructs it. This type of learning that takes place in the case of students who need to study an article prior to class, for example.

The latest rise of electronic learning

Although it certainly has been around for a long period of time, it hasn't always been as popular in the same way it is today. Prior to the advent of eLearning, it was common to see remote learning styles, especially in rural areas. Communities who were not able to host a wider variety of educational programs or to provide support for students who are delayed could rely on online learning to help fill in those needs. However, in 2012, 21.4% of higher education students were already registered in at minimum one online course.

The year 2020 witnessed a record increase in learning online because the pandemic had forced most students to take online courses instead of in person classes. The availability of tools like Zoom allowed learners and educators to connect online, and 60% of higher education students were using online courses regularly. The market for investing in new tools then increased 6X when comparing 2017 to 2021 and is already projected to hit US$166.60bn in 2023.

Fundamental eLearning principles

There are a few important principles on which the vast majority of software for learning and teaching rely upon. These fundamentals are crucial since they constitute the core of creating an excellent software or tool that will make eLearning much more accessible and useful.

Interactivity

In physical classrooms, students can have questions answered, receive practical experience using various labs or experiments, and get immediate feedback from their peers or educators. The most effective eLearning software should attempt to offer some level of this interactivity to the student. If there is no interaction the students will disengage, lose interest in the content of the class or struggle to grasp the fundamental ideas.

Learner-centered

Engagement

In order to keep students engaged in the long run is a huge problem that teachers have to confront. To overcome this problem, a study actually proved that students would like teachers to employ a range of methods for teaching as a means to hold their attention in class. The use of e-learning tools could in promoting greater engagement by identifying innovative ways to keep students' interest, improve lesson retention and encourage creativity by assisting in any other way the performance of students within the classroom.

Accessibility

Students need to be able access and understand the material in a course so that they learn successfully. The software used in eLearning must be flexible to meet different needs of learning. There are even a ton of accessibility rules that apply to online learning platforms which are beneficial for instructors and users to keep in mind.

The most common types of tools for eLearning

eLearning is an expansive word that encompasses all kinds of digital tools or device that helps students to study more efficiently. There are a lot of devices available, we're covering a few key categories to learn about:

Learning management systems (LMS)

  Examples of LMS tools:  

Virtual engagement tools

Tools for virtual engagement are excellent to help students engage with each other and their learning content. There are various ways to accomplish this, including facilitating group projects, taking questions in class, taking polls gathering feedback, encouraging visual collaboration, or gamifying your students' accomplishment of assignments.

  Examples of tools for virtual engagement:  

Student progress tracking software

Although some LMS platforms permit you to keep track of student progress, you might opt for a platform to do this independently if you do not want to utilize eLearning software in the majority of your curriculum. Being able to monitor the progress of your students and grades digitally lets you easily share performance reports with parents or supervisors.

  Progression tracking examples software for eLearning:  

3 typical challenges and solutions for digital tools to learn

  Challenge 1: Accessing e-Learning in locations with low to no Internet connection  

The digital divide is a common challenge for integrating eLearning tools at size. It's more common in rural or underdeveloped countries not to have access the Internet, which makes it difficult for students in the areas that are not connected to take part in online classes.

Solution: The educators in these areas can employ a mix of eLearning and traditional methods. The eLearning methods used should be less reliant on Internet connections and should still be focused on the core eLearning principle of learner-centricity, as well as improving engagement or accessibility.

An example of an eLearning instrument for regions with limited Internet access is an e-reader. They will let students browse a wide selection of different books on the same device, monitor how they read, alter the screen for ease of use, and even view challenging words in a built-in dictionary.

  Challenge 2: Onboarding students to the e-learning tools  

It can be a challenge to learn how to read and write, create documents, or communicate virtually. This is especially true when you're working with younger team members or those who do not have a lot of technological skills.

Solution: Find out if your eLearning software provider has any learning materials that can be shared to your class. Try to design these materials available in a format that is easy for your students to comprehend for example, printing a hard copy of an instruction manual.

Furthermore, make sure that you have an easy-to-follow training plan for your classes to learn using educational tools. It's important to explain the benefits that the eLearning tools will provide to your students, in order for them to understand the benefits of getting adopt the latest technologies. During this process, ensure that you are available and ready to answer any questions that students may ask about the program you select and to be patient as they take time to adjust to the new technology.

  Challenge 3. Aligning your eLearning tools with your tech stack  

The most frequently overlooked aspect of using eLearning software is that they'll have to work with other software or hardware that is being used.

Solution: Speak with the vendor you're buying from to make sure of that the technology is compatible before you commit to the sale. You can often check directly on the site of the vendor or by contacting a sales representative.

If you have the technical abilities to write custom code and integrate with your platform, you may be able create your own integration. Also, talk to your supplier about available APIs or open-source components for the platform, which will enable the user to have their tech stack aligned.

How do I use eLearning within schools

eLearning is most widely known for its use in the schools. It has unique use cases specifically for middle school, high school, and university-level students. You can also opt to make use of more or less online learning tools, contingent on the kind of course and the level of involvement the content requires.

Connecting with guardians and parents

When it comes to elementary schools Parents and guardians are heavily involved in their child's learning. E-Learning software can generate and distribute reports automatically which saves time for teachers having to create those messages themselves. A few tools are also able to collect feedback or notes from parents to further aid in the development of your child.

When schools or academic advisors are required to look over the progress of a student through time, you could make use of eLearning tools for a historical report. The report will include the topics the student has studied, their performance, and any concerns or issues they have shown. It's much more reliable as opposed to relying on memories or notes written in handwriting that could lack the full context for the specific situation.

Helping to make assignments easier

Anywhere in the education system Teachers must make sure that content is accessible for a diverse array of learning abilities. Many eLearning platforms offer customization options that allow students to turn down the volume of audio or review material multiple times, modify color or size, and even conduct text-to-speech. Specific tools may also be able to automatically translate to, delineate, or spell out content which can assist students who do not get immediate access to an instructor for that type of support.

If you're teaching a class then you're likely to be in charge of overseeing the growth of at least 20 students at the same time. For professors who teach at university, class sizes can even range from 100 to 300 students all at once! It is difficult to manually examine each student's progress, and keep track of the specific learning requirements for each unique student. In the meantime you might not be able to see the entire picture of how your class is really doing throughout the duration of the course.

If you look at overall class reports presented in your eLearning software, search for trends and outliers. These trends can help you determine which topics students complete the fastest or slowest, which lets you know the topics that are interesting or difficult. The outliers can help you identify students who excel or struggle with course concepts. You may even be able for you to partner your top academic performers as mentors with students who need extra help!

Providing additional educational assistance

Based on the information you receive through eLearning tools, from a teacher's perspective, you'll identify those students that require additional assistance. You can then pair these students up to an educator or offer additional support tools directly with them through the system. It's a fantastic way to make sure your students receive the assistance they require, without having to draw attention to it in front of their classmates. This can also be useful for distant learning course when you're unable to offer the assistance to students face-to-face.

How to use eLearning for corporate training

Reduced costs for training programs

The training programs required for compliance or onboarding have traditionally been run by an instructor. The cost of bringing in an instructor to train your employees includes travel expenses room, lodging, and the expense of bringing in the instructor as well. If you are training in preparation for certification then you may also have to factor in certification fees along with the required books and equipment as well.

Thanks to eLearning platforms the expense for running training programs decreases significantly. However, if you choose to continue having an instructor in charge of the program it is no longer necessary to organize travel and physical classrooms. Instead, the content could be delivered virtually through the use of videoconferencing tools. Additionally, you can capture and replay the course in a later time!

Enhancing the knowledge of a product

LMS tools are a popular form of eLearning technology as they enable organizations to develop product knowledge databases. Teams within the company can make videos to explain the latest product features, policies, as well as other training that is required. If new hires are brought on board, they can depend on the information center to build product knowledge. The same is true for existing employees. it's a great resource to any employee or client that requires a product refresher, too! It's easy and fast to update the LMS with new videos and content each time a new feature or product is released. Having a centralized information base for product knowledge also reduces the possibility of misinformation being spread all over the business.

Making sales programs more effective

Sales representatives play a challenging role which requires them to be aware of every new feature and position it in front of the client to prove how the product fulfills the specific requirements of the buyer. On a larger scale, it could be challenging and exhausting creating new content that is specific for each lead.

Software for e-learning can be a great help to make sales programs more effective through managing, hosting, and sharing content. Sales leaders then just need to select the chosen product information videos or information sheets they'd like to share and then send it to the prospective customer. Then, it's simple to monitor progress and determine how much information the lead has consumed. Sales managers can be notified when the information has been deleted or not completed, which then triggers the lead to contact the individual directly for further assistance.

Scaling new hire onboarding programs

If you're part of an expanding team, it's likely that there's not enough time to educate all new employees joining. eLearning tools could be an ideal place for newly hired employees to gain knowledge about the company's policies, product, processes, and objectives. Human resource managers have access to the system to monitor the progress of training courses that are required. Also, it ensures that every new hire receives the same amount of information to get started so no one is left uninformed or forgotten about in their first few days!

Ensuring compliance regulations are adhered to

Compliance regulations often have a training or knowledge aspect. As an example, employees could be required to update their CPR or security training every several years. Having training programs built and monitored in a centralized eLearning platform allows team managers as well as compliance auditors to demonstrate the date when training was done. eLearning systems can specify exactly the employees who completed sections of training and at what point in time. Better yet, you can also get notified when compliance training has to be renewed!

Enhancing accessibility at the workplace

Like eLearning used in the educational system You can also use this technology to increase accessibility at work! As an example, employees who require additional time to read through details can do so via an eLearning platform which will help improve participation, motivation, and alignment to project goals.

Conclusion