Week #5 - Why e-learning is Awesome

Considering that we live in this high-tech modern age, I’m surprised that I still have to wake up in the morning and drag myself to school. Especially since e-learning is such an accessible platform for learning. e-Learning has many advantages which I believe can benefit students and lecturers in ways the traditional school system cannot.

For one, e-learning is self-paced. This is especially important to me since I suffer from dyslexia, which means I learn at a rate much slower than others. Growing up, I always had to be the student taking remedial lessons or extra private lessons because I could not catch up in class. Not only did it cause me to question my own intellect, it made me waste so much time. With e-learning, students with disabilities would be able to go over material again till they were comfortable with the topic. Thus, eliminating the need for stupid remedial lessons that waste so much time.

Being self-paced also means it allows students to move faster. Sometimes I sit through a lecture completely zoned-out because I already have pre-existing knowledge about that lecture. With e-learning students would be able skip topics or modules they are already familiar with.

I know many friends who forsake getting a university education because of financial reasons. With e-learning, it makes it easy to save cost on education. Not only will the institution be able to save on operational costs, students can also save on travel and food by staying at home to complete modules. Also, assuming tuition is paid per topic, students can also opt to skip topics they are familiar with (as mentioned above) and save costs on that.

Sometimes school may not be the most conducive environment for learning. There might be distractions such as other students chattering or uncomfortable seating. The best thing about e-learning is that it is portable and you can access it at any time. You could be going through your online lessons at home, or even on holiday overseas, just as long as you have an internet connection. And if you’re the sort of person that prefers studying through the night, you can choose to access your learning material then.

e-Learning not only develops one's independence, it is also great because it gives the student more freedom to decide how he or she would like to study. Coupled with the different interactive media, there is great potential for e-learning to be the next step in the learning revolution.