The following article has been inspired by the thoughts of Mr. Mayank Srivastava. He is the Founder of Experts’ Global, one of the world’s leading EdTech firms in the field of GMAT prep and MBA admission consulting.
There are some things that will always be best taught in the traditional, brick and mortar, educational institute. Values such as community setup, communication and interpersonal skills, experiential learning, and peer interaction can only be taught in a physical setup.
In their context, e-learning can only be a supplement. However, where the emphasis is on gaining specialized skills, such as preparing for a competitive exam, e-learning platforms are more than capable of taking the lead.
They provide several advantages that traditional learning platforms do not. E-learning is still in its early days but it would not be surprising to find these platforms one day dominating and even replacing several of the traditional learning platforms that we see today. This is because they…
Allow one to set the pace of their learning
Every individual student has a specific set of learning needs. Everyone learns at a different pace, picking up some concepts faster than others. E-learning platforms let students match their learning, to their natural speed. Classroom programs cannot hope to do so, at least not perfectly. Well designed e-learning solutions can even arrange the lessons in a proper progression of difficulty, for the student.
They save the student time
E-learning does not involve any of the hassles of commuting or getting ready for classes. The time saved in this manner can be put to better use, in extra practice and revision.
They allow for very flexible timings
Traditional learning systems are dependent on classes of fixed length that must adhere to a fairly strict schedule. Unlike them e-learning platforms have no need to adhere to a schedule and allow the students to study whenever and wherever they want. The students can also revisit the lectures, whenever they need to, as e-learning platforms utilize video lectures. This is very convenient for all types of students but working professionals find this system to be, particularly, useful.
They are more economical
E-learning solutions do require a lot of initial investment, in order to develop the educational literature and technology that they need. However, once the product is ready the amount of further investment needed drops off considerably. This is not the case for traditional learning platforms, wherein the educators must repeat the same effort for each class that they take.
They are much more scalable
Through the internet, e-learning platforms provide a way for educators to share their knowledge with a worldwide audience. This aspect of e-learning has attracted many high potential educators to these platforms. This has, in turn,increased the quality of these platforms, as the quality of any learning system is intrinsically tied to the quality of its educators.
They have the potential to employ artificial intelligence
EdTech solutions have the capacity to adopt artificial intelligence solutions, to improve their functionality. For example, machine learning algorithms EdTech tools can identify patterns in the user’s behaviors and tailor learning solutions to each student’s specific needs. While this concept is far from perfect, as of now, e-learning systems will soon see a massive deployment of artificial intelligence solutions.
