Defining what is e-learning is not as easy as it might first appear.
E-student.org is supported by our community of learners. When you visit links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
E-learning, also referred to as online learning or electronic learning, is the acquisition of knowledge that takes place through electronic technologies and media. In simple language, e-learning is defined as “learning that is enabled electronically.” Typically, e-learning is conducted on the Internet, where students can access their learning materials online at any place and time. E-learning most often takes place in the form of online courses, online degrees, or online programs. There are many different examples of e-learning out there, which we’ve covered in greater detail in our previous articles.
These are the topics covered in this post:
Online learning has numerous advantages over traditional learning methods. Some of these include the possibility for students to make use of self-paced learning and to choose their learning environments. E-learning is cost-effective and cost-efficient, as it removes the geographical obstacles often associated with traditional classrooms and education.
Taking these benefits and many more into consideration, it becomes evident why the current trends in e-learning show remarkable growth for the industry. Worldwide e-learning revenue is expected to grow to $325 billion by 2025, which is remarkable considering the fact that the number was only a third of this – $107 billion – in 2015.
With that being said, it must be noted that e-learning is certainly not without its disadvantages. The various types of e-learning all come with sacrifices in one way or another. Increased risk of cheating during assessments, social isolation, and lack of communication skill development in online students are just some of the challenges of e-learning that need to be addressed. Please read our separate post on the disadvantages of e-learning to get a better overview of the drawbacks associated with e-learning.
To give you some visual stimulus, here’s a short video to demonstrate what e-learning is.
There are as many definitions of e-learning as there are educational scientists worldwide. To get a better overview of the various academic definitions of e-learning, let’s look at some examples from different academic institutions and educational researchers.
Sarah Guri-Rosenbilt from the Open University of Israel explored the exact definition of e-learning in her 2005 research paper “’Distance Education’ and ‘E-Learning’: Not the Same Thing”.”She defined e-learning as electronic media used for various learning purposes ranging from conventional classroom add-on functions to online substitution for face-to-face meetings with online encounters.
Clark and Mayer defined e-learning as instructions delivered through digital devices to support learning in their 2016 research paper “E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning.”
Arkorful and Abaidoo defined e-learning as using information and communication technologies to enable access to online teaching and learning resources in their 2015 research paper “The role of e-learning, advantages and disadvantages of its adoption in higher education.”
Ruiz, Mintzer, and Leipzig defined e-learning as using Internet technologies to enhance performance and knowledge in their 2006 research paper “The Impact of E-Learning in Medical Education.”
For an example of how a government actor defines it, eLearningNC.gov has defined e-learning as learning by utilizing electronic technologies for accessing educational curriculums outside of traditional classrooms.
As it appears, answering the question of what is the definition of e-learning is not as easy as it might first seem. The differences between e-learning and distance learning are subtle but important, and it’s essential to distinguish between them.