E-learning Efficiency: the advantages and disadvantages of e learning - Essay Example

It is due to the relevance of these terms that new avenues and platforms have been introduced in the field of education. One of the most common approaches to benefit the modern student is e-learning; Zhang and Johnson (2007) defined it as the platform that facilitates the availability of learning material on the internet. This makes the material accessible to students from any place where web access is available. Seok (2008) defined e-learning as a part of an educational program in which the course material and other functions are made available to help the learning process.

E-learning promotes ‘efficiency’ due to the effective management of course material on the web and enhances ‘speed’ due to the immediate availability of the required materials from anywhere desired by the student. 1.2 Research Objective The objective of the research is to investigate the reasons for its acceptance around the world. The research hypothesis is as follows; e-learning has been effective in the field of education because it promotes high quality, low cost and high level of accessibility.

However, some disadvantages have become apparent after its usage such as unavailability of the instructor at the required time and requirement of the necessary infrastructure i.e. hardware and software. The concept of e-learning is also difficult to apply in some fields. 2. Advantages of E-learning There are several advantages of e-learning; however, some of them are being discussed here in detail to highlight the importance of e-learning in modern education. 2.1 High Quality Stennes (n.d) stated that e-learning improves the level of acquisition of education in many respects.

The traditional form of education only offered a class session in which queries could be cleared or course material could be acquired. Kanninen (2009) explained that the interactivity of the e-learning provides another platform where academic discussions can take place between the teachers and students to improve their learning process. Many universities offer the same valuable certifications through this medium as offered in the traditional form of education, for example, King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia (King Abdulaziz University, 2010).

It facilitates user personalization since courses can be added or dropped with convenience due to the online registration and drop facilities. Cheryl (2008) explained that teachers can provide unique instructions for the advanced learners in a group of students rather than adopting a whole-group instructions strategy. 2.2 Low Cost One of the reasons of adoption of e-learning has been the low cost effect of the platform. According to Sheypak and Artyushina (2007); updates can be distributed to all the required people in an inexpensive manner i.e. uploading the content on the respective website.

Weller (2004) stated that premises rentals can also be avoided due to the technology of e-learning. Students can save their time and travelling costs to their campuses to a great extent since they can access the required material on the internet. 2.3 Enhanced Accessibility E-learning has introduced the level of accessibility that had never been witnessed before. Suesaowaluk and Nayak (2007) stated that course materials, online discussions, tutorials etc can be accessed