May we start this blog post with an apology. The reason, you ask? It’s because we are mentioning the ‘C’ word (Covid-19) in the first paragraph, and we know it’s something may are rather tired of talking about. However, it is very important to this post as, it is the main driver for the colossal rise of online learning!
Although technology was already coming on fantastically in its own right, it was the Covid-19 pandemic that inevitably caused a significant expansion of technology use.
Research shows that on average, students retain between 25-60% more through online learning than they do in traditional classroom settings. Other studies show that, because it is self-paced, eLearning leads to increased student satisfaction and reduced stress.
Let’s take a look at the pro’s and con’s of eLearning. Click on the green and red bars to reveal more information.
Pro's
- Flexibility
- Learn at your own pace
- Utilise resources as and when required
- No pressures, i.e., peer, teching, and time
- Better value for money
- On Demand availability
- Comfort in your own surroundings
- Adaptable to all learning styles
- Eco-friendly
Con's
- Risk of technical difficulties
- Less social
- No ‘real-time’ scenario to encourage immediate questions and answers
- Technophobia
- Potential lack of focus
- Redundancy of physical books
There are many pros and cons to eLearning; it’s important to understand that this approach to learning, and teaching, is not for everyone – and that’s okay! There are always such thing as individual differences! But it is also important to acknowledge that eLearning is going to continue to be a huge part of our education moving forward.
If you are unsure, try just focusing on the positive points of eLearning and encourage yourself to embrace these areas. Even if it’s only a little more than usual – it’ll make all the difference to being able to better engage with eLearning processes.
