by Mieder van Loggerenberg
e-Learning
For us humans, we are social creatures and need social interactions. So, as educators, we would prefer teaching a face-to-face class. Regardless of how we feel about teaching online, we cannot dismiss the fact that 2020 if not for e-learning we would not have been able to teach a single class. We are constantly online, whether it is checking out our social media account, doing our banking or just watching a movie on Netflix. The internet and technology play in valuable part of modern society and even more so in education now. e-Learning is just one of the tools, technology in the 21st century has given us. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of e-learning:
Advantages
Cost and Time effective
Simply put, technology can save us time and money. No more traveling expenses, less time traveling, effective use of time, increased productivity, paperless learning material which in turn not only reduces the price of textbooks but is also eco-friendly. No need for a physical classroom which in turn can reduce overheads and expenses and as a result cheaper tuition. Some platforms even provide free courses like MOOCS - Massive Open Online Courses. Some of the well know MOOCs are EdX, Coursera, Khan Academy, Udemy, Udacity, LinkedIn Learning, Duolingo, Treehouse, Lynda, Pluralsight Skills, CBT Nuggets, HubSpot Academy, and the Open University. What makes distance education so effective is that students have 24-hour access to content, lessons and with some platforms even real-time feedback.
Effective learning
E-learning offers a myriad of platforms and give us the option of an anywhere, anytime, learning style. Students can re-do, re-take, review any content and so increase retention. Interactive learning can accommodate for different learning styles and in turn promote better participation. Platforms also allows various data formats, electronic devices, and easier transferring of information. With e-learning, new and improved learning techniques can transform any lesson whether reviewing or studying boring topics, into a fun, interactive lesson. In turn, with better learning techniques students are more engaged which helps them to stay more motivated during the learning process. With technology and e-learning, students can become autonomous learners and study at their own pace.
Give students access to information
Besides students having access to online learning courses, through learning management systems teachers can do administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs through a single platform and allow students to easily access any form of data from a single location.
Acquiring vocational skills
The integration of technology into vocational instruction can provide students with vocational skills and potential access to the world of work outside of the school and allow teachers to design useful learning environments that emphasize learning in the context of real-world activities for vocational students. Since, technical, and vocational education focuses on the preparation of learners for employment, providing them with knowledge, skills, and attitudes desirable for the workforce. It would be logical to state that vocational education must include ICT or some form of e-learning.
Encourages collaboration and communication
Seeing all the multiple benefits of ICT and e-learning in education, we can clearly see that communication between students, teachers and parents have greatly increased. Technology does not only encourage teamwork among students, but teachers can monitor and assess students’ progress and take preemptive action when and if needed and so increase the efficiency of the learning process. Both the parents and school can actively monitor their children and openly communicate with the teachers. Which in turn can prevent or manage disciplinary issues.
Disadvantages
Technology can be a distraction
Even myself when I think of the disadvantages of e-learning the first thing that comes to mind is definitely two major issues – games and social media. We have all encountered, at some point in the classroom, having to deal with a student total engrossed with their phone and having to repeat an instruction or sometimes the entire lesson just because of how distracting a phone can be. We can argue all day on implementing mobile devices into our lessons to discourage excessive use, but we all know that the temptation is far too great and we as teachers need to enforce healthy boundaries.
Temptation to cheat
Besides being a distraction, technology offers easy access to information, which means it is far easier for students to cheat or plagiarize information. Yes, we can all say it is about being moral and teaching students to make the right decision, but prevention is far better than cure. Meaning taking the necessary precautions will reduce students from cheating.
Content validity and appropriateness
While on the subject of plagiarism and copying information, it is difficult for people in general, not only students, to distinguish what information is real and the risk of disinformation can have serious consequences for students. The information given to students must be checked and monitored by teachers to ensure the validity of the content and whether or not it is appropriate for our students.
Anti-social behavior
Even though ICT and e-learning encourage communication in some cases it can impede and promote anti-social behavior. Social interaction is crucial because it supports students to improve their communication skills. For effective learning to happen, proper communication is necessary. Excessive use of social media can make students feel disconnected. With anonymity students cannot see the social impact they have and so tend to speak without reservation which is typical of anti-social behavior.
Socioeconomic status
Even though technology has become more affordable not all students can afford it. So, with full integration of technology in the classroom it can actually emphasize the socioeconomic status of students and cause great embarrassment and place those at the lowest end of the wage scale at a significant disadvantage. Students with more access can learn more, and more often, which means they have more exposure which can increase their opportunities to succeed.
Lesson preparation
Last, but also the most dreaded, is teachers must invest far more time in lesson preparations and training. This even more so for those with little to no experience with technology. This is by far the biggest disadvantage for teachers seeing that we have so much on our plate already. Now we are expected to teach and use highly technical platforms with little to no formal training. This is where we need to emphasize the importance and the benefits of ICT in education.
Gamification
Gamification has become a common practice in many organizations and according to experts in the field it has proven to be an effective educational strategy. The main point experts make is that that with gamification students become active learners by immersing themselves into different scenarios instead of just passively receiving information from teachers. It offers learners stimulating and enriching learning environments. However, despite all the advantages, gamification can present some risks and complications in the learning process. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of gamification:
Advantages
Increased engagement
Simply put, games can make any boring topic or monotonous lesson an engaging and interesting learning experience. It promotes students to be cognitively active and enjoy the learning process at the same time and in turn increase engagement and higher retention of the content or topic. Gamifications can give students the impression of immersive learning and give them the feeling of a spatial, auditory, and kinesthetic learning environment.
Give instant feedback
One of the most important factors of gaming is that it gives the students statistical measurements of everything they do. This can be used as a tool to get feedback on their progress, weaknesses, strengths and even comparisons on learning benchmarks and how other students are performing. This can help students to actively address any issues that arose during the learning process and even serve as a motivator by scoring their performances.
Boost Motivation
For anyone familiar with games will know that most games have some kind of scoring system where you can earn points, badges, stickers, or prizes for completing certain objectives. In addition, many of these gaming platforms allow you to share your achievements on social media. This can serve as a great motivator for students and give students a sense of accomplishment.
Develop strategical thinking
Most games are problem based and a lot of strategic thinking must be used to complete a level in the game. It gives students to seek out a greater understanding of concepts and make complexed decisions and lifelong learning skills. Many games foster collaboration and a community of learning through online gaming platforms where students can directly communicate and share problem-solving strategies.
Disadvantages
Requires access to computer and the internet
Budgetary issues have always been the biggest reason why schools do not integrate technology into the curriculum. This means that the socioeconomic status will determine if gamification can be implemented as a learning tool.
Leads to overstimulation and addiction
Majority of students cannot manage their time effectively as it is. Gamification can become a crux if not managed properly.
Affect the school budget
With the demand for having better, faster, and trendy equipment, it can absorb the teaching resources and in turn affect the spending of necessary facilities, staffing and even teacher salaries.
High development cost
In short game development is both costly and time consuming. In many cases the resources invested does not justify the learning outcome or the lack of effectiveness. Without constant development, upgrades, providing better features periodically, most users will lose interest and may not have a high replay value.
Poorly made games
In some cases, the design of the game might not correspond with the learning objective, meaning that the assessment method of the game should preferably link up to the learning objectives. This can sometimes occur where the game over emphasizes the entertainment above learning or vice versa. Furthermore, if the scoring system of the game has no actual use where it does not affect the progress of the learning process and can serve as a demotivator.
E-learning and gamification should be seen as a tool to promote learning. Both have its advantages and disadvantages but if and when used correctly it can enhance the learning experience significantly.
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