Advantages and Limitation of E-Learning - Research Paper Example

Advantages and Limitation of E-Learning Recently, there has been an increase in the number of students taking part in education on part-time basis. This increase has been caused due to the increase in the expenditure on education and the decreased amount of monetary funding for students. Another reason is that student commitment with family and job has increased, and students do not have free time to spend in educational institutes. Due to this scenario, education providers have incorporated or created educational programs for students with the assistance of up-to-date technology. These kind of educational programs are recognized as e-learning programs. Several universities are concentrating on either changing their current educational system or adding an e-learning educational system to their current educational practices. Debate has taken place over the advantages of e-learning, and several limitations have been figured out. One of the main benefits of online education is that due to e-learning opportunities, those individuals who are disabled and geographically restricted can gain access to both further as well as higher education. E-learning has even enabled those individuals who were experiencing social restrictions to attain higher education to gain it. Those who do not favor this form of education believe that this type of education leads to isolation due to lack of interaction amongst students and instructors. Certain people believe that this form of education is limited to people who have access to required technology. Body Student Perspective Over the past thirty years, e-learning has gained ample amount of popularity because this has aided those individuals that were not able to access higher education for several years in gaining it. E-learning opportunities have enabled individuals to learn and develop with the assistance of appropriate technological advancements. McNaughton states that the trend of distance learning has provided the ability to become educated to those who were experiencing difficulties in gaining education through traditional means (Fichten 35). He further states that these individuals include those who are disabled, who belong to communities located in the rural regions, and those who could not manage to spare enough time to gain classroom education. One of the problems experienced by those who want to pursue higher education is that they have to work in order to take care of their family, and due to this, they fail to manage time for conventional classroom learning. E-learning has countered this problem and had provided these students with the benefit of determining the setting in which they want to study, the time at which they want to study, and the speed at which they want to study. According to Shabha, online education can improve the academic performance of individual students (as cited in O'Neill, Singh, and O'Donoghue 317). Several students experience difficulties in concentrating and participating in conventional classroom educational system because they are quite shy. Online education counters this problem as in online educations students do not feel shy as face to face interaction does not take place, and they can easily raise concerns and inquire to gain education. Another benefit that students obtain from online education is that their productivity at their work settings increases and their relationships with work groups and family members increases; they spend more time at work and with family and they do not have to comply with strict classroom schedules. Those who argue that online education is not beneficial for the students base their argument on grounds of loss of interaction which might result in isolation from the society. Wang states that online education is based on Asynchronous approach; according to this approach, the interaction between the instructor and the students remains on the lower end during online educational sessions (Wang 1). One of the greatest concerns and limitations of online education is that it does not promote the concept of team work which is promoted very heavily in classroom educational system as it is one of the main requirements of businesses that operate in the 21st century. Learning takes place at a greater level when interaction levels are high; if the level of interaction conducted in classroom educational system is replicated in online educational system, these educational systems will become a great success. Students have a tendency of communicating and socializing with other students, and this interaction is one of the main aims of education. The problem with online education is that it even restricts this kind of interaction and may result in isolation. Motivation is very important in education; an individual can not gain proper education if he/she himself/herself is not motivated to attain learning and development. Stelzer and Vogelzangs state that online education leads to decrease in level of motivation and that when students sit alone in front of a computer to study, they lack motivation and they can easily be distracted; lack of interesting content and lack of interaction in online education may persuade an individual to stop pursuing online education (as cited in Bolliger 46). Interpersonal and communication skills are of utmost importance in an organization, and lack of these skills leads to failure to adjust in the culture of an organization. Online education does not help students develop both interpersonal and communication skills, and this might lead to failure to adjust in an organization. Society Perspective E-learning is very easy to conduct: an individual can indulge in the process of e-learning by using a computer available at his/her home or work environment. E-learning has provided individuals with the ability to gain higher education; this has lead to an increase in the number of graduates, which in turn benefits several parts of the society such as businesses and employers. On the other hand, there are those who have no access to computers at their homes and work place, and due to their poor conditions they are not able to access higher education. The 21st century organizations compete to employ highly skilled labor force. According to Clarke, more than 70% of the organizations that fall in the category of large organizations believe that lack of highly trained employees is major barrier in the success of the organization (as cited in Engelbrecht 41). With the assistance of online learning, both students who are employed and who are unemployed gain education. This results in higher amount of benefit for those who are employed as they are able to apply learning skills and knowledge in their professional settings. This kind of learning is even better than the classroom kind of learning because in the latter, students have to be in classroom to study, and the amount of time they spend in commuting to educational institutes and the amount of time they spend at educational institutes leads to a loss of productivity at work. In the case of online education, students do not have to spend time traveling, and they do not necessarily need to spend time gaining education, and this does not lead to a loss of productivity. The number of employers and positions demanding minimum education as graduate or post-graduate has increased, but students who are employed under full-time employment conditions are not able to gain graduate and undergraduate level of education because employers believe that if they take time off from work, productivity levels will decrease. This issue has been countered through online learning opportunity, and now individuals are able to develop and get promoted as they obtain the graduate and undergraduate degrees. Another issue is that when students are employed under full-time employment conditions, they tend to take late hour classes and study at educational institutes that offer education during night time. Due to this, individuals experience disturbance in their work life balance as they are not able to give ample amount of time to their jobs and families. This problem is even countered through online education as students can study at home at night and spend time with their family at the same time. Those not in favor of online education and those who believe that it will result in a negative impact on the society state that online education leads to the creation of social divide as there are those who are financially not well-off and can not afford to purchase technology required for attaining this form of education. Dhanarajan states that e-learning opportunities are further leading to an increase in unequal distribution of wealth, and the gap between poor and wealthy is increasing (as cited in Latchem 84). This means that technology is treating individuals of the society in a biased manner. It is providing favorable results to those who are wealthy and access it, and it is resulting in negative effects to those who are not wealthy and can not afford it. Conclusion Several advantages have been provided by e-learning to various stakeholders such as student, employer, and employee. It has enabled those individuals to acquire higher education that were previously not able to because of their physical health and geographical location. It has assisted shy people in gaining education and has assisted them in the process of inquiry and raising their opinion. On the contrary, online education does not help students in developing team work, communication and interpersonal skills, which are highly demanded in 21st century organizations, and it even creates a social divide as only those who have the wealth to afford technology can access online education. Works Cited Bolliger, D.U, and F.A Inan. "Development and Validation of the Online Student Connectedness Survey (oscs)." International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning. 13.3 (2012): 41-65. Web. < http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/viewFile/1171/2240> Engelbrecht, Elmarie. "A Look at E-Learning Models : Investigating Their Value for Developing an E-Learning Strategy." Progressio. 25.2 (2003): 38-47. Web. Fichten, Catherine S, Jennison V. Asuncion, Maria Barile, Myrtis E. Fossey, and Chantal Robillard. "Computer Technologies for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities I: Comparison of Student and Service Provider Perspectives." Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. 15.1 (2001): 28-58. Web. < http://dc160.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/pubs/Computer_Technologies_For_PostsecondaryII.pdf> Latchem, C. R., and Insung Jung. Distance and blended learning in Asia. New York: Routledge, 2010. Print. O'Neill, Kayte, Gurmak Singh, and John O'Donoghue. "Implementing Elearning Programmes for Higher Education: a Review of the Literature." Journal of Information Technology Education. 3 (2004): 313-323. Web. < http://www.jite.org/documents/Vol3/v3p313-323-131.pdf> Wang, Alvin Y, and Michael H. Newlin. "Online Lectures: Benefits for the Virtual Classroom." T.h.e. Journal. 29.1 (2001): 17. Web. < http://thejournal.com/articles/2001/08/01/online-lectures-benefits-for-the-virtual-classroom.aspx> Read More