E-Learning:Advantages & Disadvantages

Mohammad Hussein KavehPHD in Health Education

Why e-Learning?

“There are two great equalisers in life - the internet and education. By combining the two, e-learning will be the great equaliser in the next century. By eliminating barriers of time, distance, and socio-economic status, individuals can now take charge of their own lifelong learning.”

John Chambers CEO of CISCO systems

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Advantages of e-Learning

• E-learning is more cost saving & cost effective than traditional learning;

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Comparison of Relative Costs

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

eLearning

Traditional

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Rel

ativ

e co

sts

Years

Comparison of Relative Costs

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

eLearning

Traditional

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Rel

ativ

e co

sts

Years

Relative Costs

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

<50 c.200 >500

eLearning

Traditional

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Per Capita Relative Costs

Relative Costs

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

<50 c.200 >500

eLearning

Traditional

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Per Capita Relative Costs

Advantages of e-Learning

• Diminishes problems related to in-classroom teaching of audiences

• Learning times reduced, an average of 40 to 60 percent,

• Increased retention and application to the job averages an increase of 25 percent over traditional methods,

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Advantages of e-Learning

• Expert knowledge is communicated, but more importantly captured, with good e-learning and knowledge management systems.

• Access by learners to teachers and

resources, worldwide• Aiding equal opportunities

• Immediate access to information

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Advantages of e-learning

• Self-pacing • Users learn at their own pace;Learner

can control What to learn, When, Where, and How.

• It reduces stress and increases satisfaction.

• You can revise a topic as many times, fast or slow, as you like, until you understand it.

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Advantages of e-Learning

• On-demand availability• Enables students to complete training

conveniently at off-hours or from home.

• Interactivity • engages users, pushing them rather than

pulling them through training.

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Advantages of e-Learning

• E-learning encourages students to take personal responsibility for their own learning.

• Empower students to be accountable for their own study

• Helps students develop skills for self-directed learning.

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Advantages of e-Learning

• Training occurs in small parcels; a programmed instruction approach

• When learners succeed, it builds self-knowledge and self-confidence in them.

• Developing skills and confidence in handling difficult tasks and problem solving

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Advantages of e-Learning

• Flexibility• E-learning has the advantage of taking

class anytime anywhere.• E-learning delivers teaching material

and learning activities in a flexible format.

• Potential to develop tailored personalised learning resources (the adaptive curriculum).

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Advantages of e-Learning

• E-learning offers individualized instruction, which print media cannot provide, and instructor-led courses allow clumsily and at great cost.

• In conjunction with assessing needs, e-learning can target specific needs.

• Information can be displayed on a need to know basis.

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Advantages of e-Learning

• Proof of completion and certification, essential elements of training initiatives, can be automated.• By E-learning measurable assessments

can be created • Users get certificate for their learning,

not for their attendance in the training session

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Advantages of e-Learning

• Collaboration and teamwork • Making Learning Communities; • Efficiency gains through shared

endeavour

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Advantages of e-Learning

• It accommodates different types of learning styles. • By using learning style tests, e-learning

can locate and target individual learning preferences.

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Advantages of e-Learning

• More efficient training of a globally dispersed audience, by e-learning.

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Disadvantages

• Technology issues of the learners • Technophobia• Unavailability of required

technologies.• Limited access to a computer as well

as the Internet. • Required computer skills especially for

beginners;

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Disadvantages

• For beginners, it has been reported that confronting computer technology was more stressful and consumed more time at the beginning of a course.

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Disadvantages

• Feeling isolated and missing social contact

• Feeling that they communicate largely with a machine rather than other human beings

• Possible inadequate opportunity to discuss and interact with teachers

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Disadvantages

• Portability of training has become a strength of e-learning, but still does not rival that of printed workbooks or reference material.

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