Creative news fork

What is the term "eLearning?

Oct 12, 2023

You're likely to hear about someone who is classes online. In fact, it's quite likely you've probably already taken an online class or two yourself by now! Making use of digital software and devices is bound increase in popularity. There are endless advantages to the use of technology in order to speed up and enhance learning objectives.

However, not all software and use cases are the same. This article we're going to break down what "e-learning" actually means, and dive into a few examples of how you can use it like in school classrooms or corporate training programs!

Skip ahead:

What is eLearning?

The term "eLearning" is used to refer to many different words, like digital Learning, Virtual Learning or remote educational. 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 distinct differences among the most important eLearning terms:

eLearning term Definition of eLearning Term
online learning The way in which a student can access some element of their education using a digital or electronic channel regardless of the distance between the educational institution as well as the pupil.
Digital learning It is the same of eLearning. This was, however, the first term that was used prior to that eLearning gained popularity.
Virtual learning Education that is provided for the students almost completely through digital channels.
Remote education Learning that is offered to a student from another place, using digital or physical tools to help facilitate learning. Also known as distance learning.

The benefits of E-Learning

  • Easy accessibility since anyone having access to an Internet connection can access and review the information provided through the software. Additionally, they provide a selection of formats for interpreting the new information sources.
  • Cost-efficiency as generally the cost to install one or several tools for eLearning is cheaper than hiring more staff. This is true especially when digital learning tools help to automate repetitive administrative and time-consuming chores.
  • Monitoring of progress, which could be needed for compliance, organizational reporting, or student performance reports. It's quick to produce reports that are created automatically using the software. Furthermore, because they're online it is easy to share them with colleagues, or educators and facilitators as well.

Other essential eLearning concepts to be aware of

In order to help you comprehend the wide topic of eLearning it is helpful to refer to this simple chart with definitions of other commonly talked about concepts!

Term Definition
Instructor-led A method of teaching in which there's at least one teacher (the instructor) who instructs the course. They could be in person teaching the class, or conversing with students online.
Self-sufficient The method of teaching is one in which students are expected to monitor their own learning development. Content for courses is available through a computer system. Students must access the information and work on assignments with no need to be required to do so by an instructor.
Synchronous learning Students are learning at the same time that teachers are instructing. This is the kind of learning that happens during class time.
The synchronous process of learning The students are learning the material in a different way than when the teacher instructs it. This is the kind of learning that takes place when students must review a resource before class, for example.

The latest rise of electronic learning

Although it certainly has existed for quite some period of time, it hasn't always been as popular as it is today. Before the introduction of eLearning it was more typical to see remote learning styles and especially in rural locations. Communities that lacked the support to host a wider variety of classes or offer support for students who are delayed would rely on remote learning to help fill in the needs. Though, by 2012, 21.4% of higher education students were already taking at least one online class.

The year 2020 witnessed an unprecedented increase in learning online as the pandemic forced most students to take online courses instead of in person classes. The availability of tools like Zoom made it easy for learners and educators to connect via the internet, so that 60% of the higher education students took online classes 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 by 2023.

Fundamental eLearning principles

There are several key principles that most digital learning tools rely on. These fundamentals are crucial as they are the center of creating a powerful application or software that will enable eLearning much more accessible and useful.

Interactivity

In a physical classroom, learners have the ability to ask questions, get hands-on experience with different labs or experiments, and get real-time feedback from peers or teachers. The most effective eLearning software should attempt to offer an element of interactivity for the students. If there is no interaction students could become disengaged, lose interest the material they are learning and may have trouble understanding the fundamental ideas.

Learner-centered

Engagement

Keeping students interested over time is an ongoing struggle that teachers face. In order to overcome this issue research has shown that students want teachers to employ a range of methods for teaching as a means to retain their interest in the classroom. E-Learning software can to increase engagement through finding innovative ways to keep students' enthusiasm, increase retention of lessons, inspire creativity, or by assisting in any other way the performance of students within the course.

Accessibility

Students need to be able to access and understand the material in an instructional course, so they can learn effectively. The software used in eLearning must be flexible to meet different needs of learning. There's even an abundance of accessibility regulations relevant to online learning which can be helpful to eLearning users and facilitators to know about.

Common kinds of tools for eLearning

eLearning is a broad and all-encompassing term for any type of digital tool or program that aids a student to learn better. Although there are many devices available but we'll be focusing on a couple of important categories you need to get to know:

Systems for learning management (LMS)

  Examples of LMS tools:  

Virtual engagement tools

Virtual engagement tools are great for helping students interact with other students and the course content. There are various ways to accomplish this, including creating group projects, taking surveys, conducting class pop-quizzes and collecting feedback, creating visual collaboration, or gamifying the completion of tasks.

  Examples of online engagement tools:  

Student progress tracking software

Even though some LMS platforms let you monitor student progress, you might opt for a platform to do this on its own if you aren't planning to employ eLearning software for the bulk of your lessons. Having a way to track scores and progress online lets you easily send performance updates to supervisors or parents.

  A few examples of progress tracking software to track eLearning  

3 typical challenges and solutions for digital tools to learn

  Challenge 1: Accessing e-Learning in areas with little to any Internet connection  

The digital gap is an issue that's common in the integration of eLearning tools in a mass the scale needed. It's more common for rural areas or developing nations to not have access to the Internet, which makes it hard for students from the areas that are not connected to take part in online classes.

Solution: Teachers who work in these areas may employ the combination of traditional and eLearning techniques. The eLearning methods employed should not be reliant on Internet connections and should still focus on the fundamental eLearning principle of learner-centricity, as well as making it easier to engage or access.

A good example of an online learning device for those areas that have limited Internet access is an electronic reader. This will enable students to read a variety of different books on just one device. They can also track their how they read, alter the display for accessibility and also view difficult words in a built-in dictionary.

  Challenge 2: Onboarding students to the e-learning tools  

It's not easy to learn how to read and write, create documents, or communicate virtually. This is especially the case if you're working with young groups or students who don't have a lot of technological skill.

Solution: See the eLearning program you use offers any educational materials which you can share with your class. It is best to create the materials in a way that's easy for your learners to understand like printing hard copies of an instruction sheet.

In addition, ensure that you've got an instructional program that is step-by-step to guide your class into the use of tools for education. It's crucial to communicate advantages that eLearning tools will provide, so that they see the benefits of getting onboard onto the new technology. In this phase, you must ensure that you are available and ready to address any concerns your learners may have about the chosen software and wait for them to have to get used to the new technology.

  Challenge 3: Integrating eLearning technology with the rest of your tech stack  

One commonly forgotten aspect about using eLearning software is the fact that they'll need to work with other devices or software that you're using.

Solution: Talk to the vendors of eLearning you're purchasing from to ensure technical compatibility before committing to the purchase. You can often check directly on the vendor's website, or through a sales rep.

If you're a tech expert with the abilities to write custom code and integrate with your platform, you may be able to create an integration of your own. Also, talk to your supplier for APIs that are available or open source components that are compatible with the platform that will allow you to get your technology stack more compatible.

How do I use eLearning in schools

eLearning is most widely known as a tool used in the schools. There are distinct applications that are suitable for high school, elementary, and university-level students. You can also opt to use more or less online learning tools, contingent upon the program's type as well as the amount of interaction required by the material.

Connection with guardians and parents

When it comes to elementary schools Parents and guardians are heavily involved in their child's learning. Tools for eLearning can produce and distribute reports automatically which saves time for teachers to have to draft the messages on their own. A few tools are also able to collect comments or feedback from parents that will further enable the child's growth.

If the school board or advisors need to review a student's progress over time, you can use eLearning tools to create an historical record. The report will be a summary of the subject matter the student has studied as well as their progress, along with any concerns or issues they have shown. It is much more accurate than relying on memory or notes written in handwriting that could not be able to provide the complete context of the situation.

The ability to access assignments is improved

Anywhere in the education system Teachers must make sure that the content they teach is available to a diverse array of learning abilities. A lot of eLearning platforms provide customization options that allow students to turn down the volume of audio and review the content several times, modify font size or colour as well as conduct text-to speech. Some tools might also be capable of automatically translating, define, or help explain content, which could aid students that don't be able to immediately contact an instructor for that type of support.

If you're a teacher then you're likely to be in charge of overseeing the growth of 20 or more students in the course at once. For professors who teach at university classes can range from 100 to 300 students at once! It can be difficult to manually check each student's progress and keep track of the specific educational requirements of every student. At the same time, you may not be able to see the whole picture of the level of your students are really doing throughout the course.

When you take a look at the overall reports of your class through your eLearning tools, be sure to look for outliers and trends. The trends will help you figure out what subjects students finish fastest or least, which will help you understand what is interesting or challenging. 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 a mentor with those students in need of extra assistance!

Offering further educational support

Because of the insights gained through eLearning tools from a teacher's viewpoint, you can determine those students that require additional assistance. This allows you to connect these students to an education assistant or offer additional support tools directly to them via the platform. It's a fantastic method to ensure that your students get the help they require without drawing attention to it in front of their classmates. It's also ideal for any distant learning course in the event that you are unable to provide assistance to students face-to-face.

How to use eLearning in corporate training

Reducing costs of education programs

The training programs required for compliance or onboarding have typically been delivered by instructors. Costs of hiring an instructor to train your employees includes travel expenses as well as the cost of rooms and costs of hiring an instructor, as well. If your training is intended to earn a certificate then you may also have to factor in certification fees as well as required textbooks and equipment as well.

Thanks to eLearning platforms the price for running training programs decreases a lot. Even if you opt to continue having an instructor lead the training program it is no longer necessary to arrange travel or physical classrooms. Instead, the content could be delivered via a video conferencing tool. Additionally, you can record and replay the lesson in a later time!

Enhancing product knowledge

Tools for LMS are an extremely popular kind of eLearning technology as they enable companies to create product knowledge databases. The internal teams are able to create videos that explain new product features, policies, as well as other training that is required. As new employees come to the company, they are able to rely on this information center for gaining knowledge of the product. The same is true for existing employees. it's great to any employee or client that requires a product refresher, too! It's simple and quick to refresh an LMS by adding more videos or content every time a new product or feature is released. The centralization of information to provide product information also minimizes the possibility of misinformation being spread throughout the company.

Making sales programs more effective

Sales professionals play an intricate task that requires them be aware of every new feature and position it to the customer to prove how the product fulfills the specific requirements of the buyer. On a larger scale, it could be challenging and time consuming to create material that is tailored to every lead.

eLearning tools can actually help to make sales programs more effective through managing, hosting, and distributing the content. Sales managers then need to select the chosen product information videos or information sheets that they'd like to send to the potential customers. Then, it's straightforward to keep track of the progress to see how much of the content the sales lead has taken in. Sales executives can be informed when the information has been finished or lost, which then triggers them to call the individual directly for further support.

Scaling new hire onboarding programs

If you're part a rapidly growing team, it's likely that there's not enough time to educate all new employees who are joining. E-Learning platforms can be a go-to destination for new hires to learn about policies of the organization as well as processes, products and objectives. HR managers can use the software to keep track of progress on required training programs. It also makes sure that each new employee receives the exact amount of information to get started so no one is left uninformed or forgotten about in their first few days!

Ensuring compliance regulations meet

The compliance regulations typically include a knowledge or training aspect. In the case of employees, they may be required to update the CPR or security knowledge every several years. Having training programs built and maintained in a central eLearning platform allows team leaders as well as compliance auditors to demonstrate that training has been completed. eLearning platforms can pinpoint precisely what employees completed certain sections of training and at what date and time. Better yet, you can be notified whenever compliance training needs to be renewed!

Making it easier to access the work place

Similar to eLearning within the school system, you can also leverage this technology to improve accessibility in the workplace! As an example, employees who require more time to study the information they need can use an eLearning platform that will to increase participation, motivation and alignment to project goals.

Conclusion