Introduction:

in recent years, the knowledge-based economy has exhibited apervasive and ever-increasing demand for innovative ways of delivering education, which has led to dramatic changes in learning technology and organizations. As the new economy requires more and more people to learn new knowledge and skills in a timely and effective manner, the advancement of computer and networking technologies are providing a diversemeans to support learning in a more personalized, flexible, portable, and on-demand manner. These radical changes in learning needs and technology are fueling a transition in modern learning in the era of the Internet, commonly referred to as e-learning.E-learning is a form of training or teaching that takes place over the internet or intranet E-learning has become a widely used tool for teaching and training individuals in both academic and corporate settings. It is a convenient andinexpensive way to gain knowledge and information while pursuing higher learning. Companies can realize significantsavings from transportation, room, board, and meals while sending employees through training programs. Also, many students are able to complete their educations because they can take courses when they have the time to do so. E-learning requires large amounts of patience, motivation, self-confidence, dedication and general knowledge of computer use.

Traditional learning:Traditional learning, also known as back-to-basics, conventional education or customary education, refers to long-established customs found in schools that society has traditionally deemed appropriate. Some forms of education reform promote the adoption of progressive education practices, a more holistic approach which focuses on individual students' needs and self-expression. In the eyes of reformers, traditional teacher-centred methods focused on rote learning and memorization must be abandoned in favour of student-centred and task-based approaches to learning.

The Traditional Teaching Methods:The main types of methods used in traditional education are as follows:

o Lectures and Direct Instruction

Traditional teaching, as most of us have experienced, is classroom-based and consists of lectures and direct instructions conducted by the teacher. This teacher-centeredmethod emphasizes learning through the teacher’s guidance atall times. Students are expected to listen to lectures and learn from them.

o SeatworkTests are the most significant indicator of student performance and degree of learning. Students who belong in the same class sit down and take a single set of examinations, which they should pass. Most of the examinations are taken from fundamental resources, such as textbooks and other publications that are relevant to the subject.

o Listening and ObservationTeachers talk to the students about the subject matter and expect them to learn everything through the lectures held inthe classroom.

MemorizationRote memorization is the process of committing ideas to memory through repetition. Teachers teach ideas and then repeat these ideas or ask students questions to see if they remember ideas taught in the class. Teachers also have students read from a textbook and handouts that contain information. Students memorize information and then repeat the information both in class and on tests. This practice helps students develop memory skills while also helping themlearn facts that society considers important.Advantages of traditional learning:

Interaction: One of the main advantages to traditional classroom learning

is the students' ability to openly interact with both the teacher and other students in the classroom. This interaction allows for immediate feedback and the ability toask questions right away and receive an answer if you don't

understand something in the lesson. Traditional classrooms settings also allow the teacher to better convey the subjects and lessons she\he is teaching and allows her\him abetter opportunity to properly engage and inspire her students.Motivation :

Before college and university classes, students are used to going to school and learning in a classroom surrounded by classmates. Even if they don't need to do that anymore afterhigh school, to combine a place traditionally meant for acquiring knowledge with the environment of their homes is confusing for them. The learning atmosphere of the traditional classroom helps them to stay focused and keeps them motivated; unlike virtual classrooms, where procrastination can become a common attitude, traditional classrooms preserve a feeling of "now and here" all along the learning process.Social Interaction :

In a traditional learning setting, students can correspond with and learn from other children who are both like and unlike them in many different ways. Meeting other students who come from different countries and even different cultures allows students to broaden their horizons and expand their minds into accepting diversity. In traditional learning, young children learn how to socialize and develop social skills that are vitally important to life outside of the classroom and in the working world. Students learn better communications skills, which will lead to better writing and speaking skills, which wouldn't be possible in avirtual classroom setting.Organisation :

Another advantage of traditional classroom learning is that it provides students with a fixed schedule and specific periods dedicated exclusively to learning. Most adults lead a busy life these days, whether they have a demanding job orchildren in school. It's difficult to find time for personal

study between working hours, and there is always something more important to do. Students in this situation prefer to be "forced" to schedule classes first and then plan other activities around them.

Fewer Technology Requirements: Many students do not have access to technology, such as

computers or the internet that would make learning in a non-traditional classroom possible for them. In this, traditional classrooms have a major advantage because students do not need constant access to either a computer orthe internet. Their lack of the appropriate technology wouldnot hinder their education like it would in a non-traditional classroom atmosphere. There is also no requirement that they learn how to independently maneuver their way around the computer and the World Wide Web in a traditional classroom.

Disadvantages of traditional learning:a. Students' focus is set in the wrong direction: in taking notes rather than understanding and absorbing new concepts.Result:

• students' inability to grasp key ideas and concepts,

• Failed lesson objective.

b. Too much focus on presentation, little time left for practice:  Since a teacher has to deliver a fixed number of concepts within a limited time, most classroom activities are sufficed to the presentation stage only. Practice is left for the student to do as homework.

Result:

• This strategy does not allow for students to experiment with new concepts. Their learning is put to a halt at a certain stage; they end up cramming concepts, and are unableto produce anything fruitful, except generic answers to examquestions.

• Furthermore, many students might get stuck while doing problem sets at home. This too thwarts their performance. Ifthey are unable to master one concept, and have been unable to practice it effectively, we cannot possibly expect them to grasp a newer concept based on the previous one,

c. A teacher's lecture is generally one-size-fit-all. Not every student has the same pace of learning. While some students can follow the teacher's lecture with convenience, most of the others require time to chow on the information that they are getting. Also, each student has a different learning style. You can't expect a kinesthetic learner to master a concept by just listening to a lecture. If a visuallearner gets worse grades than an auditory learner, it doesn't mean that the former is slow or dull; it might simply mean that the classroom strategies were designed for the auditory learner only.

Result:

• This results in the students' inability to keep pace with the teachers'. The world stereotypes them as 'slow learners'.

• Poor grades and lagging in classroom performance is a major contributor to a poor self-image and lack of confidence. In fact, the failure of many students to achievewhat they are capable of achieving can be attributed to the above factors.

• This not only mars potential talent, it also causes distress to a lot many dedicated and hardworking teachers.

The traditional public school system and classroom practicesare far from perfect. The responsibility befalls the

shoulders of us educationists that we review the factors which make the present school system ineffective. Only then would we be able to rectify these problem areas in order to create classrooms that deliver. In the coming days, I shall be posting more on these issues, and offering practical solutions to them.

Criticism of the traditional learning:Traditional education focuses on teaching, not learning. It incorrectly assumes that for every ounce of teaching there is an ounce of learning by those who are taught. However, most of what we learn before, during, and after attending schools is learned without its being taught to us. A child learns such fundamental things as how to walk,talk, eat, dress, and so on without being taught these things. Adults learn most of what they use at work or at leisure while at work or leisure. Most of what is taught in classroom settings is forgotten, and much or what is remembered is irrelevant.

In most schools, memorization is mistaken for learning. Most of what is remembered is remembered only for a short time, but then is quickly forgotten. (How many remember how to take a square root or ever have a need to?) Furthermore, even young children are aware of the fact that most of what is expected of them in school can betterbe done by computers, recording machines, cameras, and so on. They are treated as poor surrogates for such machines and instruments.

Definition of E-learning:E-Learning refers to the use of internet or wireless technologies to deliver a broad array of training solutions.E-Learners access the learning from computers via the internet or an intranet, or through a hand held device like a palm pilot. In 2001 Marc Rosenberg suggested the

following definition of e-Learning: “the use of Internet technologies to deliver a broad array of solutions that enhance knowledge and performance.” (p. 28). In less than two short years this definition has expanded toinclude wireless as well as internet technologies with the two technologies often working together to delivery focused learning to the job-site. We are all familiar with traditional learning (classroom-Learning) which is face-to-face group learning led by an instructor or subject matter expert. In e-Learning environments learners interact with learning materials, their instructors and other learners from various locations and often at various times using network technologies. So by its nature, E-learning offers significant flexibility as to when and how learning occurs.

The Current Role and State of E-Learning:

The World Wide Web has fascinated the academic institutions around the world and provided a potential for a new medium to deliver courses to people, who live faraway from the institution, in the form of the text, audio and video without the need of adding new buildings or hiring new instructors (Malalla 2004). The majority of the academic institutions accepted E-Learning as an alternative to the traditional classroom teaching without any stiff resistance.The acceptance rate was very fast, rapid and widespread (Malalla 2004).

The teachers and professors who had a growing interest in the technology and Computers showed great interest in onlineteaching and learning. They showed determination to invest time and resources to discover the complexities of E-Learning to make it a universally accepted theory. In every university almost every teacher is making effective use of technology and transforming some or all of the existing course material into the E-Learning environment. There is a growing number of online courses around the world. Not just the universities but many private companies are making use

of ELearning to provide training courses. Malalla(2004) argues that with the increase in course offerings, there is an increase in research interest and other scholarly pursuits from both the corporate perspective and the academic standpoint. Almost every field of interest is making use of E-Learning in one way or another. According toSonwalkar (2002), “Most universities and corporate trainings facilities now offer some or all of their courses online”. Universities around the world offer all sorts of courses in ELearning these days from IT, Business, Medicine and Sports.

The literature related to this topic demonstrates that all the academic institutions as well as industry is implementing E-Learning in every field at a very fast pace. Today there is hardly any university in UK that does not offer some kind of online learning and teaching in the form of ELearning. There are some universities which are offeringpostgraduate degrees to students from all over the world viaE-Learning. Some of the universities have a complete department dedicated to ELearning research and development.

Background of E-Learning:

Human computer interfaces are of course an integral issue indesigning E-Learning packages. Much research has explored the design of advanced interactive systems to provide for a high quality user experience. For E-Learning it is important to develop advanced interactive spaces that enablethe users to evolve their own conceptualizations of the learning material and follow individualized pathways throughinteractive constructivist-constructionist learning with maximum learning autonomy unhampered by hard-wired learning styles and pathways. The advances in electronic communications, the Web and the Internet and associated technologies have motivated the widespread adoption of ELearning to improve access for learners to higher educationand employee training in the workplace (Hameed, et al,2007).

Computers are now commonly used for storing and manipulatingdata to assess the student’s performance. The same software and hardware can be used as a vehicle for teaching most of the computer-aided based courses. The educational material in an E-Learning system has to be very carefully structured so that the student can follow a logical path through the lesson. E-Learning systems have evolved into complex systems; so that it can often be difficult for a teacher/ developer to know the best regime to follow when starting todevelop an E-Learning system (Hameed, et al, 2007).The beginning of electronic communications, the Web and the Internet and associated technologies have produced a change in which E-Learning is seen as a means towards improving access for learners to higher education and improving employee training in the workplace.

There are two interpretations of E-Learning implicit within the work in this paper. One definition is that of E-Learningdesignated as predominantly or almost entirely enabled by online access to virtual learning experiences but without multi-modal, multi-media and/or social network support. Thisdesignation is used for the purpose of comparing and contrasting such a purist ELearning approach with the more advanced and modern

E-Learning is revolutionary and it is a time for a new and fresh approach. The main advantage of E-Learning is that it focuses on the individual learner. The new approach of thinking of the learner as a customer has changed the whole process of learning. In the past training and learning was organized for the convenience and need of only two stake holders mainly instructors, institutions and ignoring the third and in some respect the most important one, a learner or student (Cross, 2003).

Technologies that are being used in E-learning:

There are many types of technologies used in the education system. Most e-learning uses combinations of these techniques:

Audio:The radio has been around for a long time and has been used in educational classrooms. Recent technologies have allowed classroom teachers to stream audio over the internet. There are also webcasts and podcasts available over the internet for students and teachers to download. For example, iTunes has various podcasts available on a variety of subjects thatcan be downloaded for free.

Video:Videos may allow teachers to reach students who are visual learners and tend to learn best by seeing the material rather than hearing or reading about it. Teachers can accessvideo clips through the internet instead of relying on DVDs or VHS tapes. Websites like YouTube are used by many teachers. Teachers can use messaging programs such as Skype,or webcams, to interact with guest speakers and other experts. Interactive video games are being integrated in thecurriculum at both K-12 and higher education institutions.Research on the use of video in lessons is preliminary, but early results show an increased retention and better resultswhen video is used in a lesson. Creating a systematic video development method holds promise for creating video models that positively impact student learning.

Computers, tablets and mobile devices:Computers and tablets allow students and teachers access to websites and other programs, such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, PDF files, and images. Many mobile devices support m-learning.

Blogging:Blogs allow students and teachers to post their thoughts, ideas, and comments on a website. Blogging allows students and instructors to share their thoughts and comments on the

thoughts of others which could create an interactive learning environment.[51]

WebCams:Video cameras that allow you can connect to the internet andsee other internet users. Allows students to become engagingand be able to see who everyone is.

Whiteboards:Interactive whiteboards ("smartboards") allow teachers and students to write on the touch screen, so learning becomes interactive and engaging.

Screencasting:Screencasting is a recent trend in e-learning. There are many screen casting tools available that allow users to share their screens directly from their browser and make thevideo available online so that the viewers can stream the video directly. The advantage of such tools is that it givesthe presenter the ability to show his ideas and flow of thoughts rather than simply explain them, which may be more confusing when delivered via simple text instructions. With the combination of video and audio, the expert can mimic theone-on-one experience of the classroom and deliver clear, complete instructions. From the learner's point of view thisprovides the ability to pause and rewind and gives the learner the advantage of moving at their own pace, somethinga classroom cannot always offer.

Virtual classroom:Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), also known as learning platforms, utilize virtual classrooms and meetings which often use a mix of communication technologies. One example of web conferencing software that enables students and instructors to communicate with each other via webcam, microphone, and real-time chatting in a group setting, is Adobe Connect, which is sometimes used for meetings and presentations.[52] Participants in a virtual classroom can also use icons called emoticons to communicate feelings and

responses to questions or statements. Students are able to 'write on the board' and even share their desktop, when given rights by the teacher. Other communication technologies available in a virtual classroom include text notes, microphone rights, and breakout sessions. Breakout sessions allow the participants to work collaboratively in asmall group setting to accomplish a task as well as allow the teacher to have private conversations with his or her students.The virtual classroom also provides the opportunity for students to receive direct instruction from a qualified teacher in an interactive environment. Students have direct and immediate access to their instructor for instant feedback and direction. The virtual classroom also provides a structured schedule of classes, which can be helpful for students who may find the freedom of asynchronous learning to be overwhelming. The virtual classroom also provides a social learning environment that replicates the traditional "brick and mortar" classroom. Most virtual classroom applications provide a recording feature. Each class is recorded and stored on a server, which allows for instant playback of any class over the course of the school year. This can be extremely useful for students to review materialand concepts for an upcoming exam. This also provides students with the opportunity to watch any class that they may have missed, so that they do not fall behind. It also gives parents the ability to monitor any classroom to ensurethat they are satisfied with the education their child is receiving.

Advantages and Benefits of E-Learning:

The main benefits of E-Learning are its flexibility and accessibility, both in terms of time and place and in terms of its accessibility to a much wider population. A student is now able to learn wherever there is a computer and at whatever time of the day is convenient to them. E-Learners

are able to access the E-Learning materials from home, work or wherever they choose, and at the time of day that they choose. They can also control the pace at which they progress through the materials. Students can create learningspaces in their own homes. Klein and Ware (2003) found that this was preferential to any “official” space allocated to the E-learner by the employing organization.

Students are able to obtain globally recognized qualifications from established UK universities and still continue to live and work in their home country. E-Learningallows students to choose a course, which is recognized as the best in their field, no matter which university it originates from. ELearning breaks geographical boundaries and erases worries that mature students may once have encountered such as moving home, or finding new schools for children and they can continue to work, if they Choose to study part time (Walmsley 2003).

From a corporate point of view E-Learning is accessible and cost effective. Rockwell Collins in 2002 had to train its 2,500 employees on a critical course and traditional learning would have allowed an education rate of only 200 employees per year. E-Learning however allowed the company to train 800 of its employees in the first two months of training (Jones 2002). It also allows employees to learn in real time, employees can access the information at any time,rather than scheduling a training course. There is also the advantage that the employee can refer back to any part of the material that they do not feel fully familiar with. Figures suggest that E-Learning can provide 30% more training content in 40% less time and at 33% of the cost of more traditional techniques (Beckett 2004).

A further advantage for corporations is that they are able to work with something that they can manipulate and control to a much greater extent than conventional residential

courses. As a result they can create training courses, whichserve their particular business needs.

As the potential student base is global, the cultural diversity of students brought together by E- Learning promotes interactions, which would otherwise be unlikely.

E-learners have shown E-Learning to be effective and to improve learning outcome and speed. This is explained by the fact that the average E-student will be mature in employment that this will lead to more employees learning on-line while at work, the importance of this is that there is a growing realisation by students, employers and universities that, by combining work and study, learning takes place at a deeper level of understanding and students are able to apply their knowledge more effectively (Donoghue, et al 2002).In a traditional lecture setting, 33 minutes after a lectureis completed, attendees only retain 58% of the material presented. By the second day, only 33% is retained, and three weeks after the course I completed, only 15% is remembered (Jones 2002). While in E-Learning lecture settingmaterial can be accessed several times and at any time if something is forgotten which allows students to remember most of the information delivered that they are required to learn in particular course.

Disadvantages of E-Learning

The most notable disadvantage of E-Learning is its lack of social interaction. Many students need social interaction inorder to perform academically well and thus find distance learning difficult. A student studying a subject in isolation will require a great deal of motivation, time management and a focused approach. A traditional bricks andmortar environment provides the chance for a relationship todevelop between students and tutorials facilitating the exchange of ideas (Hasebrook, et al 2003).

Bourner and Flowers (1997) suggest a solution to this is to create more of a “human touch” and Daniels (1996) suggests that the solution is that the academic community moves the emphasis away from the campus as a common focal point. Instead he suggests, universities should develop a sense of “institutional belonging” amongst staff and students. It isdifficult so see how this approach would work, with studentsnever actually meeting their tutor or fellow students.

It should also be noted here that the online student must have proficient computer and Internet skills, sufficient forthem to register, communicate, download, view and be tested (Dellanna, et al 2000). This must be taken into account whendeciding what type of course content to offer and what skills the student needs to register for the class. This places an obstacle to those who do not have these skills, often these people are fearful of new technology, and predominately are mature students. From this view point itis difficult to see how E-Learning will support integration into the learning system (Hameed, e al 2007).

There are types of training that simply cannot be taught viaE-Learning, these are known as “soft skills”. These includeinterpersonal skills, verbal, communication, leadership and initiative. There are fears that online education courses, while offering many advantages over traditional brick-and-mortar courses, do fall short in teaching those soft skills (Walmsley 2003). These soft skills are often essential life skills that contribute towards employability; this problem raises the classic dilemma of the student who is academically excellent, but unable to assimilate his knowledge to others because of his poor communication skills.

It is argued that successful education involves building relationships from the interaction between the student and his or her instructor and among the students. Carole

Fungaroli, Professor of Literature at Georgetown University,makes this point:

“Teaching isn’t just about disseminating. A lot of what I do involves assessing howmuch you understand or my students understand, questioning them. We do a lot of discussions” (Kling 2003).

E-Learning does not afford the student with the same opportunities of explanation and clarification that occur inface-to-face interaction and as Blass and Davis (2003) pointout, feedback in an E-Learning environment may be delayed ortext-mediated or simply too context-dependent to be able to be recreated through a telephone call or e-mail two days later. They further point out that electronically mediated communication typically loses the nuances of speech and dialogue present in face-to-face conversation. It is very often easier to explain something to someone who is sitting in front of you then it is to explain the same thing to themin writing, especially when it can be considered that a great deal of human communication is non-verbal.

Another disadvantage of E-Learning is that it can be difficult to engage some students in meaningful and productive work in an E-Learning environment (Jones, et al 2000) and some authors even advocate that virtual learning environments make no contribution to learning. Others consider that the medium is impersonal (McConnell, et al 2002).

E-Learning tends only to be suitable for learners with strong independent learning and motivation skills, these kinds of people constitute a sub-set of the learner population. This requirement, to a degree, undermines the accessibility advantages of E-Learning. Further E-Learning is very good.

Comparing traditional Learning and eLearning:

When comparing learning an identical course in a traditionalframework to a computer mediated learning framework, students have expressed higher satisfaction from the computer mediated learning, and rated the learning as more effective than in the traditional framework. In other studies, too, it was argued that computerMediated or online learning is more effective and interactive.

Findings of research conducted in the seventies and eighties, comparing the use of computers as a learning environment, also indicated a slight improvement in the student’s achievements following use of a computer.

E-Learning includes many components that are familiar from traditional learning, such as: presentation of ideas by thestudents, group discussions, arguments and many other forms of conveying information and accumulating knowledge. The contents of the course’s curriculum might be organized according to subjects and in a serial manner.

E-Learning also includes advantages which are not found in traditional learning, such as: time for digesting the information and responding, enhanced communication among thelearners, both as regards quality and as regards urgency, knowledge being acquired and transferred among the learners themselves, the ability to conduct an open discussion, whereeach learner gets more of an equal standing than in a face-to-face discussion, access to information and to discussion ability, responses may be made around the clock with no restrictions, a higher motivation and involvement in the process on the part of the learners.

The very use of technology for learning has been found to have a positive effect on the student’s commitment to the learning process. Also, use of technology creates a greater commitment on the students’ part to learning.

The following table summarizes several opinions regarding the comparison between traditional learning and eLearning:

Traditional Learning

E-Learning

Classroom Discussions

The teacher usuallytalksmore than the student

The student talks atleast asmuch as or more thantheteacher

Learning Process

The learning is conductedwith the whole classparticipating; there is almostno group or individual study

Most of the learningprocesstakes place in groups or bythe individual student.

Subject Matter The teacher conducts thelesson according tothe study program and the existing curriculum

The student participates indetermining the subjectmatter; the studyingis basedon various sources ofinformation, including webdata banks and net-expertslocated by the

student.

Emphases in theLearning

The students learn “what”and not “how”; the studentsand the teachers are busycompleting the requiredsubject matter quota; thestudents are not involved ininquiry-based education andin solving problems, butrather in tasks setby theteacher.

The students learn “how”and less “what”; thelearningincludes research studywhich combines searchingfor and collectinginformation from webdatabanks and authorities on thecommunications network; thelearning is better connectedto the real world, the subjectmatter is richer andincludesmaterial in different formats

ProcessMotivation

The students’ motivation islow, and the subject matter is“distant” from them.

The students’ motivation ishigh due to the involvementin matters that are closer tothem and to the use of

technology.

Teacher’s Role The teacher is the authority

The teacher directs thestudent to the information.

Location of Learning

The learning takes placewithin the classroom and theschool

The learning takes place withno fixed location

Lesson Structure

The teacher dictates thestructure of the lesson andthe division of time

The structure of thelesson isaffected by the groupdynamics.

E-learning challenges and solutions:Challenge #1: Resistance to change

One challenge to eLearning implementation is its unfamiliarity to many employees and managers who need to work with it. People commonly resist disruptions to the status quo, even if the changes are superior to what they had previously. They might not trust that a technology-basedlearning program will be as effective as interacting with aninstructor.

It's a fact that eLearning implementation can create enormous change within a company, so implementers can expectto face some resistance.

Solutions:

1.Sell them on the benefits: The learning material will be at their fingertips when they want a refresher. They won'ttake huge blocks of time away from their work to attend a class. They can focus on specific needed items, rather than the whole syllabus. Multimedia learning makes the material more engaging and easier to assimilate.

2.Develop an effective communication processes: in order to incorporate an eLearning programme effectively, communication is the key. Communication will help your audience understand and accept your eLearning program quickly. What to communicate? Trainees need to know what eLearning offers them, how they will benefit, what are theobjectives, among other aspects.

3.Promote the eLearning program: Engage and prepare your audience from the beginning through an internal marketing campaign. Use emails, posters or event host an event.

Challenge #2: Motivation of learners

Classroom-style seminars have one advantage – supervision and accountability. One of the common challenges in eLearning is that, left to their own devices, employees may not explore the course material. Even worse, employees may resent using their own time to do coursework, rather than enjoying the "vacation" from their everyday responsibilitiesafforded by an in-person seminar.

Therefore, the big challenge is how can we keep our studentsmotivated enough to complete the course and moreover, how can we make them enjoy the learning experience?

Solutions:

1.Establish incentives: Courses designed to lead to an accreditation or certificate give employees a tangible goal that benefits themselves as well as the employer. More broadly, any job training that can lead to career

advancement or resume building is valuable to today's employee.

2.Appealing: Perhaps the best way to motivate your audience is to make sure the eLearning courses you develop are visual and very appealing to the eye. Take a look at this infographic, where you can get ideas on how to make eLearning more attractive.

3.Tell a story: Stories are powerful tools in motivating your audience because they help students see why somethingis relevant to their experience by making it more concretefor them. Watch this presentation: Storytelling 101 and get the best insights in storytelling.

Challenge #3: Learners' technological skill

Any eLearning implementation will be limited by the computerliteracy of the employees using it. The learner's ability toaccess and interact with the course material dictates the utility he will get out of the program.

Solutions:

1.Adaptability: This eLearning challenge can be mitigated byscaling the complexity of the system to the needs of the course and of the employees. When the content being taughtis fairly basic, a simple interface can be used to impart it; the complexity can be scaled up as the course materialand technological expertise of the learner demands.

2.Offer them help:  when students run into problems when using the eLearning courses, there has to be acess technical support services. Live chats, auto-help buttons,emails, discussion boards, are just some examples you can offer. Having e-learning tutors/facilitators available will also make them feel they are supported in the programme.

Challenge #4: Content

Once the learner is on board with the eLearning implementation, the content of the course takes center stage. A well-designed course will impart its information clearly and effectively, while a poorly-designed program will be hard to use and understand.  Content needs to be interactive enough to keep students engage and actually havean impact.

Solutions:

1.Using the right eLearning development tool: Using an eLearning development tool that allows easy and secure collaboration and built-in review and bug-tracking makes it less likely that clunky errors will slip into the program. An eLearning tool like SHIFT, with an extensive library of ready-made interface interactions makes it easyto assemble a simple and engaging e-learning program in just a few minutes.

2.Make the learner pull content: Creating "pull" eLearning is a must. Content needs to be designed in a way that learners are not forced to review all content that they already know, instead they can just access or pull what they need in order to complete the course. It's a ver flexible format of delivering content because this enableslearners to select and choose only what they need.

3.Above all, Make content relevant!  Find creative and different ways to place the course content in a context that is relevant to the learner. Remove unnecessary information or content overload so that the learners can remember only what is truly important.

Challenge #5: Evaluating effectiveness

One of the oft-cited eLearning challenges is the task of determining whether the course is having the intended effect. In the absence of pop quizzes and report cards, how can an employer tell whether the eLearning implementation isachieving its goals?

Solution:

Look at the results. How many employees are using the eLearning program, how long they spend on it, and how many complete the course are all important figures, but most important is whether their performance reflects their newly-acquired knowledge. If they display the skills and information gleaned from the eLearning program in their work, then the eLearning implementation has been effective.

Findings and statistics:

1. In 2011 77% of American Corporations were using online learning (in 1995 this number was only 4%).  This means the number of companies using online training methods is dramatically increasing mainly because technological barriers are diminishing and customer priorities are shifting away from stand-alone training courses.

2. Corporate training alone is a $200 billion industry. eLearning represents $56.2 billion of this. This will grow into a $107 billion market by 2015. (GIA – Global Industry Analysts). This way, we can say corporate eLearning is one of the fastest growing, and, we believe most promising markets in the education industry.

3. The eLearning market is now more than 13 years old (the word “e-learning” was coined in 1998).  Since then, eLearning has continued its rapid evolution and radically changing the training industry.

4. The US and Europe account for over 70% of the global eLearning industry. The fastest growing market, however, is Asia Pacific, with eLearning revenues expected to grow at anannual rate of 20%.

5. eLearning is the second most important training method within organizations, with companies increasingly moving towards blended learning and eLearning, rather than instructor led training sessions. The global market for

eLearning is forecast to hit over $100 billion by 2015, withgrowth from the benefits of reducing operational costs, flexibility and simple training programs.

6. According to New Ambient Insight Report, the Asian eLearning market is expected to reach $11.5 billion by 2016.It is revealed that the 2 countries with the highest growth rates in the world are Vietnam and Malaysia, with 44.3% and 39.4% respectively. Following closely behind these countriesare Thailand, Philippines, India and China, with 30%-35% growth rate.

7. 4, 600,00 college students are currently taking at least one of their classes online and by 2014 this number will increase to 18,650,000. By 2019, half of ALL classes will bedone online. Watch this video.

8. E-Learning is generally shorter than classroom training on the same subject by up to 25-60% (according to Brandon Hall, 2001 and Rosenberg 2001).

9. In 2011, 51% of companies delivered at least one trainingsession via eLearning to over 50% of their employees, compared to 39% in 2010.  And for 76% of companies, the mostpopular delivery method of eLearning is blended learning. The 47% already using this approach are planning to intensify usage. (European Survey 2011)

10.  According to Towards Maturity Report 2011, eLearning courses were the most popular learning technology that year,used by 80% of employers.

11. Instructor Led training loses ground to eLearning movingfrom 70% of training delivered to 62%. Self-study e-learning (asynchronous) is on the rise now accounting for 15% of all training delivered. This is a two-fold increase from just one year ago..." (2006 ASTD Industry Report)