TOPIC 9 : E-LEARNING
The rapid development of modern technology has greatly affected the society globally especially in various fields such as economy, politic and science. One of the most obvious fields that has gone through a great transformation due to the rapid boost of technology is education. In relation to that, e-learning has been introduced locally or internationally in order to make sure that the teaching and learning process become easier. In Malaysia itself, the application of this concept has left a great impact on our education system especially in producing talented human capitals which could bring our country’s name in the eyes of the world. E-learning can be defined as a means of education that incorporates self-motivation, communication, efficiency, and technology. In other word, it is also a means of teaching through technology where teachers and students are being exposed into different methods of conducting the teaching and learning processes. In addition, it also eliminates the distances and subsequent commutes compared to few years ago where teaching and learning process had been restricted due to costs, distance and time constraints. In this personal review, we are going to touch a little bit on the concepts of e-learning, types of e-learning and also the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning.
From the education perspectives, one of the most serious problems that we are facing now is the teachers often miss out classes due to personal problems or he or she has to go for any activities outside the schools which will cause the limitations in social interactions between the teacher and the students but by using the e-learning we could solve this problem easily by using videoconferencing, video (webcam), Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Groups and the latest is Facebook and so on. These applications will allow the teacher to conduct his or her lesson through online but not face to face kind of interactions and also give homework to their students. In addition, this will indirectly encourage the communication process to take place for example between the teacher and the students because in e-learning concept it is important for a student to communicate with their instructors or teachers frequently in order to get their assigned tasks done.
There are few processes on how e-learning occurs such as online learning, web-based training and computer-based training or instruction. The first process which is online learning is a process where we can do our research in the net through the supportive resources that are available in our computer. It is actually the fastest way for us to find any information that are available on the net which consists of different sources such encyclopaedia, online journal, online magazines and online newspapers. On the other hand, web-based training refers to the courses on the internet which is linked to learning resources outside the course for instance electronic mail and discussions and video conferencing. The third process which is computer based training or instruction is a process where computer does not provide links to learning resources outside the course and the computer is not connected to a network. Moreover, e-learning also includes the process of blended learning where the traditional learning or classroom is combined with the e-learning tools. This process aims to achieve maximum effectiveness which will not only benefit the students but also to the teachers.
Apart from that, there are fundamentally two types of e-learning called synchronous training and asynchronous training. Synchronous training actually a process where students and teachers interact with each other via the web. For instance, instant messaging, chat, audio and video conferencing are the examples of synchronous training. This type of e-learning has its own benefits such as enable monitoring and correction processes, encourage collaborations among the students and we can also personalize the training for each learner. The next type of e-learning which is asynchronous training allows the students to complete their Web-based training on their own without interacting with their teacher. This type of e-learning is useful because students can get any information that they want and through message boards, bulletin boards and discussion forums they can interact with each other.
The introduction of e-learning to the global education system has its own advantages and disadvantages. First of all, the advantages of e-learning are students can access to their e-learning course anytime they want. In other word it is convenient, flexible and accessible and it is also inexpensive worldwide distribution, low travel costs and time savings. Not only that, e-learning also allows us to save our costs for the corporation. Meanwhile, the disadvantages of e-learning are loss of human contact, the interactivity level is too static, it also takes our time and more money is needed to develop it, some courses are not very well delivered if we use computer, the progress of learning is slow,
In short, e-learning has given many benefits to the education system in terms of effectiveness in the teaching and learning processes such as flexibility in learning and different classes are being offered by the school and so on which is one of the requirements that has been pointed out by our governments in order to consolidate our local education system and able to compete with other countries all over the world.
REFERENCES:
(n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2011, from E-Learning Concepts and Techniques: http://iit.bloomu.edu/Spring2006_eBook_files/chapter1.htm
(n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2011, from Note-E-Learning: http://www.namahn.com/resources/documents/note-e-learning.pdf (pdf)
(n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2011, from Types of e-Learning and what suits me best?: http://www.gc-solutions.net/suit_me_best.asp
FREDDY BAIWAL
B.ED TESL (SM) UKM-IPGKS
INSTITUT PENDIDIKAN GURU KAMPUS SARAWAK
Jalan Bakam, 98000 Miri,
SARAWAK.
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
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