"EDUCATION, REIMAGINED"
(Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by Carla van Straten. It has been rewritten and reworked with more current and up to date information.)

With most things going viral on the internet ranging from embarrassing videos to the so called “facts” about GM foods and cures for cancer, the speed and ever expanding possibilities that the internet offers us is something that no one can deny.

Though floating away from the somewhat negative examples, the internet’s wide-spread agility can be used for good. This is being proven very powerfully through the use of E-learning. Definition: The use of electronic educational technology in learning and teaching, (education through means of the internet).

According to Athol Wesselink, Chief Technical Engineer at OpenWeb: “The recent announcement by the Gauteng provincial government to initiate a paperless classroom project as well as the Western Cape government’s commitment to spend R1.2-billion to implement e-learning in 1 250 local schools, is a significant step toward bridging the education gap in South Africa.” Read more

E-learning is in the process of flooding the world with it’s modern and agile form of education. Leaving traditional education systems in obscurity, where they pretty much started out to begin with…

South Africa’s involvement in eLearning

The Western Cape has recently invested in E-learning among their schools. Their take on it : "This has been a long time in the making, but we believe that our intensive planning and resourcing of the project will ensure its long-term success… This project has the potential to revolutionise teaching and learning in our schools." Read more

Though with any idea or system, there will of course be pros and cons. So despite it’s utter majesty (which is so easy to confidently proclaim), to make a statement with just that is inadequate. We must be open and objective, to provide the most informative insight to the world of E-Learning.

Pros and cons of eLearning

Pros:

• The ease of gathering information from the internet as opposed to searching in endless library books, is a definite pro. Information is obtainable within a click of a button, and the sources are so wide-spread. This saves one large amounts of time. It is almost magical, and definitely alien-like.
• There is flexibility concerning your schedule or even your pace of learning. All in your own time, meaning no losing track or being held back! This would also entail no shame in working at a slower pace than the ones around you or ever feeling “dumb”.
• E-learning has become the more affordable option, and in today’s world we are dogs to the economy. (So the less we have to sit and play dead, the better.)
• With E-learning, you can be anywhere to access it’s contents and do it’s tasks and activities, as long as an internet connection is accecable.
• The three main cognitive learning styles are: Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic. Now with the learner being able to select the medium that the information is displayed in, the matter of only certain percentages of the class understanding a concept, is no longer a concern.
• Information accessed by the learners can be stored and re-accessed, and a video can be watched over and over again until it is thoroughly understood.
• It can be customised to your own personal needs.
• Tutors can detect problem areas and supply advice and guidance before a student even asks them for help. By using electronic feedback from the system
• Is freely accessible to anyone that is interested in using it.
• It saves countless amounts of paper.
• Mobile wireless technology is broadening the possibilities concerning Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC), by making it more convenient and valuable.
• Independence of learning and of thought is encouraged through this system, as well as discipline.
• Feedback is easily recorded and attained providing you with instant foundation for self-improvement.
• Lastly, it is free for whoever is interested in taking part.

“EDUCATION MEANS INSPIREING SOMEONE’S MIND, NOT JUST FILLING THEIR HEAD” – KATIE LUSK

Cons:

• Cons include the obvious, like internet connection having to be accessible at all times necessary. This will not be fully possible for a lot of people.
• As involved as we are with technology in our day to day lives, some people aren’t as familiar with it as others.
• No electricity = no information.

Criticism includes:

• Some people lacking the ability to remain consistent, when their working speed is in their own hands.
• The isolation can be demotivating for some learners, according to studies.
• And that the lack of a face to face teacher won’t supply one with the help and interaction that’s needed in the learning process.

In contradiction to the criticism:

• The sad reality of life is exactly what would be referred to in nature as: Survival of the fittest, where even if you are spoon fed at some stage of your life, the next stage will come where you’re all alone. Enough said.
• Social Learning, is when members with similar interests are grouped together via a network. This group then learns from one another on a digital discussion platform similar to what one would find when joining a Facebook group. “They would engage in the topics at hand and share their knowledge, experiences and opinions in a structured way. In social learning, the learner will shuffle between roles of student, teacher, peer, instructor, advisor, and even between grader and graded.”
• E-Learning is not based on machines that teach. The teacher is still very involved in the whole process, if not more involved than in a traditional classroom situation. “First exposures to concepts are provided online via video, reading material, exercises and quizzes. In this way, students are motivated to make sense of various concepts in their own way and in their own time.”

With what was listed in mind, I’m sure your opinion has been fed or starved to a certain degree. But regardless of that, at the end of the day, E-Learning supplies a wide spectrum of people with an open, mobile, free-thinking based education, for free. It’s the future of education, and maybe even the world.

“EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD.” – NELSON MANDELA

Sound Idea Digital specialises in Learning Management Systems and eLearning developments | soundidealearningmanagement.co.za