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What is eLearning?

Oct 12, 2023

It's pretty common to hear that someone is completing their courses online. And chances are you've perhaps even completed an online course or two yourself by now! Utilizing digital programs and tools is only going 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'll go over the definition of eLearning and look at a handful examples of how you can use it like in school classes or in corporate training programs!

Skip ahead:

What exactly is E-Learning?

The term "eLearning" is used to refer to various phrases, such as electronic learning, virtual learning and remote education. They all refer to the same concept: that a student is accessing some aspect of their education via the use of electronic or digital channels. There are however some differences in the key concepts of eLearning:

E-Learning Term The definition of the term eLearning
eLearning Any way that the student is able to access an element of their education using an electronic or digital channel regardless of the distance between the educational institution and the student.
Electronic learning It is the same is used for eLearning. However, this was the initial term before eLearning grew in popularity.
Online learning The education is delivered to students almost exclusively through digital channels.
Remote education Education that is provided by a person who is in another place, using technology, either physical or digital, in order to aid learning. It is also referred to as distance learning.

Advantages of E-Learning

  • Easy accessibility since anyone with an Internet connection can access and review the information provided by the tools. The tools also provide a variety of formats to interpret the new information sources.
  • Cost-efficiency as generally the cost for setting up one or more eLearning software tools is still cheaper than hiring more employees. This is true especially when digital learning tools help in automatizing repetitive, administrative and time-consuming chores.
  • Monitoring of progress, which could be necessary to ensure compliance, organization reporting, or student performance reports. It's quick to produce reports that are created automatically through the program and, since they are already online and shareable, they can be easily shared to colleagues or educational facilitators too.

Other essential eLearning terminology to understand

To help you understand the wide topic of eLearning You can refer to this chart that provides definitions of other commonly talked about words!

Term Definition
Instructor-led An approach to teaching where there's at minimum one person (the teacher) who instructs the course. This person may be in-person to the class, or communicating to students via the internet.
Self-sufficient The method of teaching is one in which students are required to monitor their own learning progression. Course content is provided within a framework and students must access the information and work on assignments with no need to be instructed by the instructor.
Learning synchronized When students are learning while teachers are instructing. This is the type of learning which takes place during the class period.
The synchronous process of learning Students learn content in a different way than what the teacher teaches. This is the type of learning that happens when students need to review the material prior to the class for instance.

The rise in popularity of electronic learning

Although it certainly has been in use for quite a long period of time, it was not always as well-known like it is now. Before the introduction of eLearning it was much more common to see remote learning styles, especially in rural areas. Communities that lacked the support to host a wider variety of classes or offer help for delayed learners were able to rely on remote education programs to bridge these gap. In 2012 however, 21.4% of higher education students were already registered in at minimum one online course.

The year 2020 saw an unprecedented increase in learning online because the pandemic had forced most students to learn virtually instead of attending in-person classes. Access to online tools such as Zoom allowed learners and teachers to collaborate remotely so 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 be US$166.60bn in 2023.

Fundamental eLearning principles

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

Interactivity

Physical classrooms are where students are able to ask questions, get an experience in the lab or exercises, as well as receive real-time feedback from peers or educators. The most effective eLearning software should attempt to offer an element of interactivity to the learner. Without the interactivity, students are likely to disengage, lose interest in the course material, or have difficulty understanding the fundamental concepts.

Learner-centered

Engagement

Maintaining student interest over the long run is a huge issue that teachers must face. To solve this research has shown that students want teachers to use a variety of teaching methods as a means to keep their attention during classes. eLearning tools can help in promoting greater engagement by identifying methods to sustain student interest, improve lesson retention and encourage creativity in some other way aid the student's performance in the course.

Accessibility

Students must be able to access and comprehend the content of the course to ensure that they learn successfully. eLearning software needs to be able to adapt to various needs of learning. There are even a ton of accessibility rules that apply to online learning platforms that are helpful for eLearning users and facilitators to keep in mind.

The most common types of tools for eLearning

eLearning is a broad and inclusive term that refers to all kinds of digital tools or device that helps a student to learn more efficiently. There are a lot of tools out there today, we're covering a few important categories you need to learn about:

Systems for learning management (LMS)

  Examples of LMS tools:  

Virtual engagement tools

Tools for virtual engagement are excellent for helping students interact with other students and the learning content. There are many methods to achieve this like organizing group projects, conducting questions in class, taking polls, collecting feedback, enabling visual collaboration, or gamifying the completion of tasks.

  Examples of virtual engagement tools:  

Software for tracking student progress

Even though certain LMS platforms let you track student progress already but you may want to choose an option to track this on its own if you aren't planning to utilize eLearning software in most of your lessons. Having a way to track scores and progress online makes it easy to communicate performance data with the parents or supervisors.

  Progression tracking examples software to track eLearning  

3 typical challenges and solutions for digital tools to learn

  1. Accessing eLearning in areas with little to none Internet connectivity  

Digital divide is a common challenge to integration of eLearning tools at scale. It's more common for rural areas or developing nations to not have access to the Internet which can make it difficult for students in the areas that are not connected to participate in online learning courses.

Solution: The educators who work in these areas may employ the combination of traditional and eLearning techniques. The eLearning techniques employed should not be reliant on Internet connections, and must concentrate on the main eLearning principles including learner-centricity and increasing engagement and accessibility.

A good example of an online learning tool for areas with limited Internet access would be an e-reader. This will enable students to read a variety of different books on one device, track reading progression, customize the layout to make it more accessible and also view difficult terms in the built-in dictionary.

  Challenge 2: Onboarding students to the e-learning tools  

It's a struggle learning to read or write, record and communicate via the internet. This is especially the case in the case of young groups or students who don't have much technological expertise.

Solution: Check whether your software for e-learning has any learning materials available to share with your students. Try to design the materials in a way that is easy for your learners to understand for example, printing hard copies of an instruction guide.

In addition, be sure to have an instructional program that is step-by-step that will guide your students into making use of educational tools. It's important to explain what benefits eLearning tools offer to your students, in order for them to understand how beneficial it is to adopt the latest technologies. During this process, remain available and prepared to address any concerns your learners may have about the program you select and to be patient as they have to get used to it.

  Challenge 3. Aligning your eLearning tools with the rest of your tech stack  

A common misconception about using eLearning software is the fact that they'll need to be technologically compatible with other software or hardware that you're using.

Solution: Speak with the vendors of eLearning you are purchasing from to confirm the technical compatibility prior to making the purchase. It is often possible to check on the site of the vendor or through a sales rep.

If you have the technical capabilities to develop custom software and integrate with your platform, you may be able to create an integration of your own. Ask your vendor regarding APIs available and open source components to the platform that will allow you to get your technology stack work together.

What is the best way to utilize eLearning at schools

eLearning is primarily known because of its application within schools. There are unique applications for elementary, high school as well as university students. It is also possible to utilize more or fewer online learning tools, contingent on the type of program and level of hands-on involvement the content requires.

connecting with parents and guardians

At the elementary school level parents and guardians get actively involved in their children's learning. E-Learning software can generate and distribute reports automatically which saves time for teachers having to create these messages by themselves. Some tools can also collect comments or feedback from parents to further aid in the child's growth.

If schools or academic advisors have to evaluate the progress of a student through time, you could also leverage eLearning tools to provide an historical record. This report can then be a summary of the subject matter which a student is learning as well as their progress, along with any issues or delays the student has displayed. It's much more reliable than relying on memory or handwritten notes which may lack the full context for the situation.

Making assignments more accessible

In any educational level Teachers must make sure that content is accessible for a diverse array of learning capacities. Some eLearning platforms have customization options that allow students to slow down audio, review content multiple times, modify color or size as well as conduct text-to speech. Certain tools are also equipped to automatically translate to, delineate, or explain content, which could aid students that don't have immediate access to a teacher for that kind of assistance.

If you're teaching in a classroom then you're likely to be in charge of overseeing the growth of at least 20 students at the same time. For university-level professors classes can be between 100-300 students simultaneously! It is difficult to manually review each student's progress and remember the specialized learning requirements for each unique student. In the meantime, you may not be able to see the whole picture of the level of your students are performing throughout the entire class.

In looking at overall class reports presented in your eLearning tools, look at trends and outliers. The trends will help you figure out which topics students complete the fastest or least, which allows you to understand the topics that are interesting or difficult. Outliers may pinpoint specific students that are successful or struggling when it comes to understanding concepts. It is also possible of pairing your academic stars as a mentor with those students that require extra support!

Providing additional educational assistance

Because of the insights that you get through eLearning tools from the teacher's perspective, you'll identify those students that require additional assistance. You can then connect these students with an educational assistant or share additional support resources directly with them through the tool. It's a fantastic way to make sure your students get the help they require, without having to draw focus on it in front of their classmates. This is also a great option 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 education programs

Programs for training to ensure compliance or onboarding have traditionally been delivered by an instructor. The expense of hiring an instructor to train your team includes travel as well as the cost of rooms and expense of bringing in the instructor, as well. If you are training to earn a certificate then you may also have to factor in certification fees along with the required books and other equipment.

With eLearning platforms, the cost of running training programs drops significantly. However, if you choose to have instructors lead the training program it is no longer necessary to arrange travel or physical classrooms. Instead, this content can be delivered online using the use of videoconferencing tools. Additionally, you can record and replay the lesson in a later time!

Enhancing the knowledge of a product

Tools for LMS are an extremely popular type of eLearning technology since they permit businesses to build product knowledge base. The internal teams are able to create videos that explain new products, features, policies and any other required training. If new hires are brought to the company, they are able to depend on the 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 refresher on the product! It's simple and quick to upgrade your LMS with more video or other content whenever an update to a product or feature comes out. The centralization of information for product knowledge also reduces the risk of misinformation spread throughout the company.

Making sales programs more effective

Sales teams have a complex task that requires them understand every new product feature and explain the product to customers to prove how the product meets the customer's specific needs. At scale, it can be challenging and time consuming to continuously produce new information that is unique for each lead.

E-Learning software can assist in making sales programmes more effective through creating, hosting and distributing the content. Sales managers then have to choose the products and information sheets that they'd like to distribute and send it to the potential customer. It's straightforward to keep track of the progress to see how much of the material the customer has consumed. Sales leaders can get notified when the information has been completed or forgotten that triggers the lead to contact the person directly to get more support.

Onboarding new hires in scaling programs

If you're part of an expanding company, chances are there is limited time to educate all new employees who are joining. E-Learning platforms could be an ideal place for new hires to learn about the company's policies as well as processes, products and goals. Human resource managers have access to the software to keep track of progress on required training programs. This also ensures that every new hire is provided with the same amount of information to begin their training, so that nobody will be left uninformed, or uninformed about in their first few days!

Ensure compliance requirements meet

The compliance regulations typically have a training or knowledge component. For example, employees may be required to update their CPR or security knowledge every several years. Having training programs built and monitored in a centralized eLearning platform allows team managers and compliance auditors to establish that training has been completed. eLearning platforms can pinpoint precisely the employees who completed sessions of training, and at which date and time. Even better, you will be notified whenever compliance training needs to be renewed!

Improving accessibility in the workplace

Similar to eLearning within schools, you can also leverage the technology to enhance accessibility at work! In the case of team members, for instance, those needing additional time to read through information can access it from an eLearning platform that will improve participation, motivation, and alignment to project goals.

Conclusion