With the advent of internet, e-learning has now become a familiar name. It is beyond argument that education shapes and influences a person's life and plays a very big role in his or her career.  Opportunities for educating oneself are abound but there are some less fortunate who may not have the opportunity and infrastructure to achieve the education they desire. But the internet has brought people very close together such that the desired education is within the reaching distance of everyone.  This has fuelled a sudden spurt in the growth of e-learning and there are many trends that contribute and fan their further growth. e-Learning is particularly helpful for those who are geographically remote and hence, do not have access to the educational campus very easily. When a basic knowledge of computer and internet is there, anyone can opt for e-learning and the advancement in information like multimedia, browser technology and media capability have really contributed to the basic infrastructure in e-learning.  This enables real-time online e-learning and offers a chance to get individualized attention and thus enhance their knowledge. The major driving force behind the growth of e-learning is the workplaces or offices that encourage their staff to further their educational background through e-learning.  For instance, companies and institutions face stiff competition from their counterparts and are always forced to stay on top of the competition. Thus, it is imperative for them to keep their staff updated with the latest. So, they cash in on the e-commerce transactional functionality and other related tasks.  The organization is more concerned on the growth of knowledge of their staff so that the knowledge can be accessed and reused by them. Hence, those indulge in e-learning are able to concentrate and focus their knowledge gained in a meaningful and relevant way for the growth of the organization. So, basically the demand to survive among the fittest is the driving force behind the compelling need to opt for e-learning. When such knowledge is achieved through e-learning, the organization is in a position to skillfully and tactically manage it, capture and store it and make it accessible in a positive method.  There are continuous efforts to bloom the field of e-learning through various ways such as focusing on more learning objects that offer access to a single learning objective. In addition, using of descriptive indexing that facilitates searching and linking of content and trying to bring in all web-based learning technology products to work with one another can also be attempted.  The last said effort can be further enhanced by trying to build a competency model of the skills and abilities of the top most performers which would be helpful for the new comer to e-learning.  e-Learning has come here to stay and is a good opportunity for an individual who wishes to get individualized attention without compromising on the day-to-day work environment. The enhancements in e-learning technology have a lot of scope to be developed and have a long way to go.  Author: Chandra (Chennai)   … [Read more...]