COVID-19 has changed the face of education to a large extent. Till very recently, online class was limited to extra classes that one took to gain extra knowledge. Now, thanks to corona, even mainstream education has been taken care by online teaching.
E-learning is a method of delivering a live and interactive course over the Internet. Online courses for different streams, be it arts, languages, technology, hobbies, etc., are available in the net, which is why it is referred to as E-learning. With the advent of Internet, and fast streaming of data, there has been a revolution in the education sector. The traditional face-to-face, chalk-and-talk classroom is fast having an alternative wherein the trainer and the trained no longer sit in the same room, but may be continents and time zones apart.
Compared to the traditional classroom method, the effectiveness of E-learning can be summed up from the following benefits:
1. Cost of setting the facility for classrooms, transportation costs of both trainers and trainees, cost of the resources are greatly reduced. Training costs of Ernst & Young reduced by 35%, and 40% for Rockwell Collins when they switched over to e-learning from normal classrooms.
2. There is lot of saving of time, as the time required by the trainers and students to travel to the classrooms is saved. This not only has a say in saving of time, but also on saving of fuel which is a considerable environmental impact.
3. Online courses are not bound by geography as trainers and students can interact with each other from any part of the globe. It allows both one-on-one sessions as well as mass teaching for learners across the globe, giving wider coverage.
4. Many organisations require their employees to go for certifications to upgrade their skills. Online courses give the choice of choosing the appropriate course for the certification.
5. E-learning allows people of all ages, occupations, qualifications, and experience to take up courses of their choice. Working professionals as well as home makers can take up courses of their interest, at their time and convenience to update their skills.
6. Particularly in technical courses, e-learning allows updation of content as and when the knowledge base gets updated. It means that there is greater flexibility in the content and syllabus preparation. E-learning makes the content scalable and allows quick updation of matter, concepts, and ideas. With online electronic media, concepts can be easily explained using multimedia like graphics, videos, animations and slides.
7. E-learning gives the learners the option of going through the lessons any number of times. It allows rereading and revision, especially during exams. Studying at one’s own pace gives the freedom, flexibility and time to go over the lessons repeatedly.
8. E-learning allows the students the flexibility to focus on particular areas they are interested. They can leave out the topics which they are not interested in. This helps them in giving more time and interest on their subjects. It also makes the learning interesting and enjoyable.
9. Now there are multiple certification courses by reputed e-learning platforms like Udemy, Coursera, Udacity etc., at affordable prices. With technology getting quickly updated on an almost weekly basis, skills, particularly the technical skills on a E-learning platform give any person on any part of the earth an easy, affordable and flexible way to update themselves.