Elearning courses, also known as electronic or digital learning, are rapidly becoming a standard way to build new skills or gain additional qualifications.
The reason is simple.
Digital learning offers flexibility and convenience. With more people than ever using connected devices, it’s easier to study at a time and place that works for you, often at a lower cost than in-person training.
If you’re exploring the benefits of online learning, or you’re interested in how and why it’s reshaping education and training, this article is designed for you.
We’ll share our perspective on what makes online learning a powerful tool, and why it continues to play a central role in the evolution of modern education.
Accessible and Flexible Learning
One of the main reasons online learning has skyrocketed is its accessibility. If have a PC, mac, mobile phone or tablet, you can learn online. It may seem incredulous to think you could gain a GCSE qualification via a handheld device, but if you want to learn, then there are multiple options available online.
Accessibility means that you can learn from home too, and at your own leisure and pace. For those looking to access qualifications or master new skills, there may be priorities that prevent this learning from taking place during the day. Digital learning is available 24 hours a day. And when it’s available 24 hours a day, as much as it’s accessible, elearning is also completely flexible.
You can learn when you want, at a pace that suits you. If you need to revisit concepts or modules, elearning offers you the opportunity to learn and relearn. Because the content is stored in a digital portal, you can access it easily and as many times as you like.
Whilst accessibility and flexibility are two of the major reasons elearning has reached more than 100 million learners, variety of course content is another. Much research has been carried out to maximise learner engagement and motivation, and online learning can include something for all types of learners.
Multimedia options, interactive games and quizzes and adaptive content all combine to make online learning visually appealing and engaging. Enabling you to create content that leads to rich, deep and meaningful learning.
Another reason why elearning has become such an accessible phenomenon is that it is geographically boundless. As you collaborate on a group project, you could be screen sharing with a learner from another continent. Accessing materials from the best course provider rather than the nearest college or university is an option for all nowadays.
Engaging and Interactive Learning Experiences
It’s obvious that ease of access, flexibility and being able access quality content from anywhere around the globe has had an influencing factor on the elearning revolution. However, it’s fair to say that the engaging content itself has been as much of an influence.
Whether you’re accessing materials through electronic devices in a traditional class based setting, or you’re learning remotely, technology is a huge part of contemporary learning.
Why? Well, why not? Books still have their relevance and permanence in education, but nowadays, so does multimedia.
Learners can immerse themselves in multimedia elements, videos and simulations bring scenarios and concepts to life in a new and stimulating way. Animations are effective ways of teaching skills and concepts to learners too, both young and old, in early education and in further education.
Studies have shown that these learning elements combine to develop sharp critical-thinking skills and problem solving skills. Because animations, simulations and videos can replicate real life problems and difficulties, online learners are able to develop skills that transfer into the workplace.
This improves professional confidence and the ability to react and respond to situations in the way you envisage as the business leader.
These days most of us use technology to learn, relax and entertain ourselves, it’s pretty much part of everyday life. And, in this respect, it can be used to hugely drive motivation and engagement in learners. Quizzes, assessments and collaborative learning can all be formatted to take place in an interactive way that we understand and find easy to use.
These gamification elements have been purposefully incorporated into online learning to ensure that audiences enjoy, understand and can interact easily with platform interfaces. The very same methods we use to unwind can help us to learn-it’s a way technology can infuse learning that traditional methods find much harder to penetrate.
Personalised Learning and Performance Tracking
One aspect of classroom learning that might seem hard to replicate online is personalisation.
In a physical setting, educators draw on body language, facial expressions, and completed work to assess progress. These cues help them understand how someone is doing and adapt their approach.
While elearning platforms can’t yet read expressions or gestures, they can support personalised learning in other ways. Many tools now track performance, adapt to user progress, and tailor the experience accordingly.
Learning Management Systems (LMS) enable learning and engagement to be tracked. Content can be tailored to meet the specific needs of those involved in learning.
Learners who are struggling to complete assessments can use support materials and others access modules requiring high-levels of skill or competence. Content can be developed to provide challenges to stretch learner ability.
Just as learner progress can be tracked, so too can the effectiveness of the course materials.
If analytics show low engagement, the content can be updated, adjusted, or completely revised. In this way, the system begins to mirror a teacher, observing responses and adapting the material to meet learner needs.
Sometimes learning is a requirement, not a choice. In these cases, motivation may be low.
At other times, learning something new can spark a desire to keep going, to keep exploring and building knowledge. Elearning supports this by encouraging self-evaluation and self-assessment. These tools help individuals reflect on how they’re learning and identify what works best for them.
Over time, this reflection builds confidence and self-awareness. It helps people understand not just what they’re learning, but how they learn.
So all in all, elearning courses are of significant importance and are now an established and proven feature of the current educational landscape. As we’ve explained, the reasons behind this are borne from the way technology connects personally with the learner to engage and motivate them to learn in depth.
Technology is proving itself a worthy tool that’s been embraced from early education to further education-and beyond. Elearning courses are being used by more and more learners, whether they are learning a new skill or gaining an accredited qualification. And, it’s fair to say that in the coming years, online learning will continue to revolutionise learning in an inspiring and powerful way.
