Providing students with a completely different learning environment, E-learning demands a new set of skill sets from them. With a huge increase in the volume of information that is available to students it is now becoming imperative that they have the superior skills like critical thinking, evaluations skills and researching abilities. Moreover in subjects and courses offered completely online students become much more flexible, self-determining and autonomous. This also leads to the need to be greatly focused, driven, motivated and with a great commitment to learning as the social interaction and peer pressure is reduced and sometimes non-existent. Although most students who have committed themselves to online classes do as well as their friends who are in a classroom setup, there is a greater chance of there being dropouts and withdrawal leading to incomplete grades.
E-learning and its contribution in the global age
E-Learning can be defined as learning process created in collaboration with content delivered digitally, network-based and has also been seen as technologically arbitrated education with the use of computers incorporating distance learning or a face-to-face classroom setting. This is seen as learning with assistance from a computer where there is a clear shift from the traditional to ICT based and personalized, self-disciplined, self-organized, learning within a community of teachers, and learners, enablers, implementer and experts etc. There is an enhancement of knowledge and performance with the use of internet based technology at the global level. With the advent of E-learning and its spreading around the globe we see what it has to offer: It offers the learners control over content, control over the pace of learning, control over learning sequence, control over time taken to learn and the possibility of tailoring their learning to meet their personal goals. Apart from this there is the ease with which the global learner can now manage their access to the e-learning materials, peer review of the resources available online, as well as arriving at a consensus regarding technical standardization etc.
Let take a look at CITIZENSHIP IN THE DIGITAL-AGE INFOGRAPHIC
Many of the hallmark of any good citizen form being respectful and responsible to doing what’s right – are key elements of digital citizenship as well. But students must learn how to apply these tried and true qualities to the realities of the digital age.
Source: www.iste.org
The various innovations that are seen in e-learning technologies show us a revolution in the education system which has hitherto allowed learning to become customized and individualized (adaptive learning) as well as leading to concerted, collective and collaborated learning while leading to phenomenal transformation in teacher roles. Educators are no longer seen as distributors of content but as facilitators for the learning process as well as assessors of proficiency, capabilities and interests.
E-learning in the global age allows for internet based learning which is made possible to deliver a wide array of solutions leading to knowledge enhancement and performance. In the field of medicine E-learning is used to improve efficiency and effectiveness while providing interventional education in the aspect of social, pedagogical and scientific challenges.
What do we see as the areas that need greater focus in the coming years and for the global age of E-Learning?
- Greater availability of learning material and experiences for those learners who do not wish to attend traditional face-to-face methods and offerings.
- Cost-effective dissemination of instructional content across the many media and across the globe.
- Teachers being able to impart learning to more students while maintaining the quality of the learning outcome especially to rural students and students who have opted for specialized courses.
- The content once created must be managed standardized and delivered in the most efficient and appropriate manner, whether it is instructional material of small portions or larger modules.