E-LEARNING IS WORKING

Without something resembling a liberal arts education, combined with an extensive vocabulary, in-depth thinking becomes restricted.

Without the skills training one receives in high school and college, as well as from corporate training departments, the ability to excel in one’s chosen career becomes limited.

In terms of the former, most individuals are on their own as a liberal arts education becomes more and more de-emphasized.  No worry, however, for those motivated individuals who choose to pursue the study of great thought and wisdom.  Books remain readily available and the internet is opening up nearly limitless possibility.

When it comes to skills training, the advent of e-Learning has exploded the opportunities.  Never before has such excellent training for careers, or specific tasks, been so widely available. 

E-Learning is reaching around the world —- so many useful possibilities within grasp.  For as long as one has computer access and a high speed connection, the worlds of skills learning and education is at hand.

But, does it work?

“.  .  .  E-learning has become one of the buzz words in training and learning and development. It has been praised for its flexibility, cost-efficiency and its ‘greenness’. But does it really do what it promises, and does it help to impart the essential skills of tomorrow? Or is it simply ‘computers instead of books’ (as Rory Cellar-Jones, BBC’s Technology Correspondent who chaired the debate, learned from his taxi driver) or ‘what employers do when they don’t want to pay for proper training’?

 According to Professor Diana Laurillard, who holds the chair of learning with digital technologies in the faculty of culture and pedagogy at the University of London, ‘no sane person can say that e-learning is not essential.’ Rather, e-learning is ‘the most exciting thing to have come our way since the invention of writing’ as it helps to present ideas and knowledge in a new and different way.  .  .  . “  (Essential or overrated: does e-learning work?,”  BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT in the UK.)


On the side, a January, 2017 article in
EducationDIVE,
The growth of online learning: How universities must adjust to the new norm by Kristen Betts explains what’s happening:    

“The ubiquity of technology has transformed education, making online learning part of the “new norm.” Over the past three years, online enrollments in higher education have continued to grow although overall enrollments in the United States have continued to decline. From 2002 to 2014, the number of students enrolling in “at least one distance education course” increased from 1.6 to 5.8 million students according to WCET Distance Education Enrollment 2016. Online enrollments are being driven by the growing number of students who are seeking flexible formats for courses, certificates, and degree programs to support career placement, advancement, and transition as well as to pursue advanced studies. Increasingly, students enrolled in on-campus programs are also registering for hybrid to fully online courses throughout their enrollment.

 Nontraditional is the new “traditional” in higher education in the United States.  .  .  . “

On the Training side , corporate America is ahead of the pack.  E-Learning is growing rapidly as the training medium of choice.  The private business sector has discovered that their goals of growth and profitability can be greatly enhanced through e-Learning initiatives. 

People want to learn.  They always have.  Whether one is intrigued by the history of ideas and/or the learning-path to a better future, e-Learning is making all of that more possible than it has ever been. 

More on Monday  –  –  –

— Bill Walton, co-Founder, ITC Learning

March 15, 2017

 ww.itclearning.com/blog/  (Mondays & Wednesdays)

 “THE WORLD RELIES ON THE HANDS OF ITS MEN AND WOMEN”

 

(This is a personal blog.  Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner,  jhbillwalton@gmail.com, an independent consultant.  They do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity.)