E-Learning:
Advantages & Disadvantages
Mohammad Hussein Kaveh
PHD in Health Education
Why e-Learning?
“There are two great equalisers in life - the internet and education.
By combining the two, e-learning will be the great equaliser in the
next century. By eliminating barriers of time, distance, and socioeconomic status, individuals can now take charge of their own
lifelong learning.”
John Chambers CEO of CISCO systems
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
2
Advantages of e-Learning
• E-learning is more cost saving & cost effective
than traditional learning;
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
3
Comparison of Relative Costs
140
120
Relative costs
100
80
eLearning
Traditional
60
40
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Years
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
4
Comparison of Relative Costs
140
120
Relative costs
100
80
eLearning
Traditional
60
40
20
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Years
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
5
Relative Costs
800
700
Per Capita Relative Costs
600
500
eLearning
Traditional
400
300
200
100
0
<50
4/8/2015
c.200
MH KAVEH
>500
6
Relative Costs
800
700
Per Capita Relative Costs
600
500
eLearning
Traditional
400
300
200
100
0
<50
4/8/2015
c.200
MH KAVEH
>500
7
Advantages of e-Learning
• Diminishes problems related to in-classroom
teaching of audiences
• Learning times reduced, an average of 40 to
60 percent,
• Increased retention and application to the
job averages an increase of 25 percent over
traditional methods,
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
8
Advantages of e-Learning
• Expert knowledge is communicated, but
more importantly captured, with good elearning and knowledge management
systems.
• Access by learners to teachers and
resources, worldwide
• Aiding equal opportunities
• Immediate access to information
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
9
Advantages of e-learning
• Self-pacing
• Users learn at their own pace;Learner can
control What to learn, When, Where, and
How.
• It reduces stress and increases
satisfaction.
• You can revise a topic as many times, fast
or slow, as you like, until you understand
it.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
10
Advantages of e-Learning
• On-demand availability
• Enables students to complete training
conveniently at off-hours or from home.
• Interactivity
• engages users, pushing them rather than pulling
them through training.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
11
Advantages of e-Learning
• E-learning encourages students to take
personal responsibility for their own
learning.
• Empower students to be accountable for
their own study
• Helps students develop skills for self-
directed learning.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
12
Advantages of e-Learning
• Training occurs in small parcels; a
programmed instruction approach
• When learners succeed, it builds selfknowledge and self-confidence in them.
• Developing skills and confidence in handling
difficult tasks and problem solving
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
13
Advantages of e-Learning
• Flexibility
• E-learning has the advantage of taking
class anytime anywhere.
• E-learning delivers teaching material and
learning activities in a flexible format.
• Potential to develop tailored
personalised learning resources (the
adaptive curriculum).
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
14
Advantages of e-Learning
• E-learning offers individualized instruction,
which print media cannot provide, and
instructor-led courses allow clumsily and at
great cost.
• In conjunction with assessing needs, elearning can target specific needs.
• Information can be displayed on a need to
know basis.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
15
Advantages of e-Learning
• Proof of completion and certification, essential
elements of training initiatives, can be
automated.
• By E-learning measurable assessments can
be created
• Users get certificate for their learning, not
for their attendance in the training session
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
16
Advantages of e-Learning
• Collaboration and teamwork
• Making Learning Communities;
• Efficiency gains through shared
endeavour
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
17
Advantages of e-Learning
• It accommodates different types of
learning styles.
• By using learning style tests, e-learning
can locate and target individual learning
preferences.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
18
Advantages of e-Learning
• More efficient training of a globally
dispersed audience, by e-learning.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
19
Disadvantages
• Technology issues of the learners
• Technophobia
• Unavailability of required technologies.
• Limited access to a computer as well as
the Internet.
• Required computer skills especially for
beginners;
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
20
Disadvantages
• For beginners, it has been reported that
confronting computer technology was
more stressful and consumed more time at
the beginning of a course.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
21
Disadvantages
• Feeling isolated and missing social contact
• Feeling that they communicate largely with
a machine rather than other human beings
• Possible inadequate opportunity to discuss
and interact with teachers
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
22
Disadvantages
• Portability of training has become a
strength of e-learning, but still does not
rival that of printed workbooks or
reference material.
4/8/2015
MH KAVEH
23