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E-learning is the learning that takes place when the learner interacts with digital educational materials.
E -learning (or eLearning) refers to the use of electronic media and information and communication technologies (ICT) in education. E-learning is broadly inclusive of all forms of educational technology in learning and teaching. E-learning is inclusive of, and is broadly synonymous with multimedia learning, technology-enhanced learning (TEL), computer-based instruction (CBI), computer-based training (CBT), computer-assisted instruction or computer-aided instruction (CAI), internet-based training (IBT), web-based training (WBT), online education, virtual education, virtual learning environments (VLE) (which are also called learning platforms), m-learning, and digital educational collaboration. These alternative names emphasize a particular aspect, component or delivery method.
E-learning includes numerous types of media that deliver text, audio, images, animation, and streaming video, and includes technology applications and processes such as audio or video tape, satellite TV, CD-ROM, and computer-based learning, as well as local intranet/extranet and web-based learning. Information and communication systems, whether free-standing or based on either local networks or the Internet in networked learning, underly many e-learning processes.[1]
E-learning can occur in or out of the classroom. It can be self-paced, asynchronous learning or may be instructor-led, synchronous learning. E-learning is suited to distance learning and flexible learning, but it can also be used in conjunction with face-to-face teaching, in which case the term blended learning is commonly used.
Videos allow teachers to reach students who are visual learners and tend to learn best by seeing the material rather than hearing or reading about it. Teachers can access video clips through the internet instead of relying on DVDs or VHS tapes. Websites like YouTube are used by many teachers. Teachers can use messaging programs such as Skype, Adobe Connect, or webcams, to interact with guest speakers and other experts. Interactive video games are being integrated in the curriculum at both K-12 and higher education institutions.
Research on the use of video in lessons is preliminary, but early results show an increased retention and better results when video is used in a lesson. Creating a systematic video development method holds promise for creating video models that positively impact student learning.
As a result of the digital revolution we have experienced in the last 25 years, a range of new teaching and learning formats is available, from e-modules, sophisticated simulations and serious games, to online collaborative learning. In this special issue, we cover several of these promising new formats of technology-enhanced learning (or e-learning or online learning), referring to the use of internet technologies to deliver a broad range of solutions that enhance knowledge and performance [1, 2].
For health care and medical education, with its growing demands on physicians competencies and decreasing supply of hospital-based patients [3], flexible, scalable and engaging learning opportunities are essential to meet the new demands. Traditional models of classroom-based learning as dominant training model no longer meet the current needs of health care institutions [4]. The role of technology-enhanced learning in health education has grown rapidly; over 90 % of medical schools in the USA and Canada use online course materials for medical education [5]. Although some people state that because of the technological change ‘today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach’ [6, p. 1], there is little evidence that students enter university with demands for new technologies that teachers cannot meet [7]. Selection and use of formats (such as e-modules or simulations) in technology-enhanced learning should be based on informed choices of effectiveness and costs, with instructional objectives being in the lead.
Media formats offer a certain ‘look and feel’ and functionality for learning; instructional methods define its didactic effectiveness. Research shows interactivity, practice exercises, feedback and repetition are important instructional features to stimulate learning outcomes [8]. However, this is just a start for research in this field; as media comparison research is often confounded and difficult to meaningfully interpret, more sound comparative research is needed on instructional design features, to bring the young field of e-learning further [9].
learning means,
the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught
learnig environment, students needs, norms of time, change the system of education also,
that helps the teachers to adopt the new technology in education and new trends,
which effects on learning of students,
a permanent but relevant change in behaviour by using some computrized source of trainig is known as E-learning
