In years gone by, you had to buy books for learning. A full-time course usually involved joining a class and attending somewhere at a specific place at specific times. Often the course would be term time only, and there was no training at weekends. Then came the technological revolution and everything changed. E-learning is massively on the rise, and with the outbreak of the Coronavirus, more and more people are looking online for the way ahead.
Some people still prefer the old ways of learning, and that’s fine. They may find e-learning to be too heavily weighted towards theory rather than practice – learning, but not applying. For many, however, e-learning comes with a load of plusses that suit many peoples’ learning styles and needs. That’s what we’re going to discuss in this article.
SOME E-LEARNING IS FREE
When you research a subject, it’s amazing how many people offer free e-books and e-courses if you register. By providing your email address you then access or download the freebie. If it’s a course it will probably contain text and video. It’ll be designed to steer you towards their other courses for more information and training. These will cost you.
Free e-learning material often contains adverts to get you to subscribe, purchase, or visit their website. Businesses will use your email address for future marketing campaigns. When accessing the complete PPC guide, you can learn that ‘pay per click’ advertisers pay a fee every time their ad is clicked, because it generates traffic towards their website. This is another reason why helpful training material can be found online for free. The adverts are strategically placed on the web pages.
Money is often an issue for students. Even if you do have to pay for an e-course, it will be cheaper than paying to go to a university. You won’t be paying for the premises, cleaning staff and so on.
PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES
If you are a single parent trying to qualify for a better-paid job, you may be unable to attend a full-time college course. Travel time and expenses could be prohibitive. Learning remotely – even from home – may be a real opportunity for you, however. You may only be free to learn during the evenings or weekends, unlike normal colleges. E-learning courses are instantly accessible and can be viewed 24/7. Traditional courses have a start and end date. If free time is a challenge for you, it will be a relief to learn at your own pace. You can gain a qualification in your own good time.
YOUR LEARNING STYLE
Not everyone is a bookworm. Some people like to listen to audio or watch a video. They like to see a thing demonstrated rather than just see a diagram in a book. E-learning certainly caters to that preference.
Once a traditional lecture is finished, all you’re left with are your memory and scribbled notes. You don’t always understand something the first time you hear it. Some people need to hear things several times before it will sink in. E-learning modules and videos can be watched again and again.
Sometimes the class environment can be noisy and distracting. The speaker might waffle, and the class might waste time with needless questions. If they’d been listening they’d have already known the answers! Doing e-learning removes all these factors – you are the only person present in the room.
You may be unable to afford a formal course at a university, but do own a PC, laptop, tablet, or phone. These may all be platforms from which you can access an e-course. With the onset of social media, people are wiring their brains to prefer short bursts of text and videos that only run for a minute or two. Bite-sized learning has been developed because of this. E-learning modules don’t have to just have one long teaching video. They can be broken down into manageable portions. If your time is limited, this will make it easier to pick up and put down.
‘I still like interactive learning’, you may say. Classrooms offer this. Fortunately, some e-courses have discussion boards and platforms to chat on. Live video conferencing allows the host to give access to attendees to ask questions at an appropriate time.
If you like to know how you’re progressing almost on a daily basis, e-learning courses can help. They often have questions at the end of each module. You can see your scores immediately, and see your overall progress so far. You’ll also see the number of modules still to come.
I’m sure you’ve been encouraged to see just how accessible e-learning can be. Half of all e-learners just use their laptop and a quarter use their mobile phones. Such is their success that a third takes several e-courses. Perhaps you will be the next person to sign up. Where will your journey take you – into a new career or hobby? Who knows. One course can change your life.