eLearning and its benefits
Both students and staff can find significant advantages in eLearning in particular:
Flexibility and convenience of learning
eLearning accommodates multiple learning styles and preferences. Students can learn at their own pace and focus on sections they want to learn. In addition, access to material is driven by individual learners' needs and can happen outside lectures as well as off campus, reaching students beyond the barriers of the classroom, the campus, even the continent. This makes learning more personalised for individuals.
Greater Collaboration
eLearning improves peer group working and communication. The
flexibility and convenience of asynchronous communication allows learners to reflect
and reply in their own time. Online collaboration is far easier to set up and
often more comfortable to attend and work in for the very wide variety of
students population.
More reflection and Higher Retention
eLearning encourages reflective practice and improves students
own learning performance. In addition, as students can focus on what they need
to learn and do this in a variety of learning styles, retention is frequently
better than in a traditional classroom.
Time and cost saving
Although eLearning requires an initial time and money input, in the long run, the online environment provides a cost-effective and
time-saving method of delivery. There are fewer printed materials to copy, issue and post to students. Materials can be shared and reused in a more efficient way. eAssessment question banks can be created and reused and the marking and tracking and the assessment process is (almost) paperless.
Enhanced learning
eLearning draws upon hundreds of years of established pedagogical principles. With more and more best practice and features developed
to optimise eLearning, the field is growing to offer learners more exciting ways to engage with the course, lecturers more flexible ways to deliver their teaching and assess their students and greater interaction and collaboration within the classroom.
Transferable skills
eLearning gives users the opportunity to practice and enhance their computer and Internet skills.