The Research Areas and Benefits of E-learning

With technology now progressing by leaps and bounds and internet connections getting to lightning speed, e-Learning is no more a new science but rather an everyday practice observed in practically every university worldwide. Also, with the ever-increasing numbers of students in today’s classes, colleges are harnessing technology to the fullest for universities are striving hard to provide their students with world-class education without burdening the professors. The advent of high speed internet coupled with online educational platforms such as Blackboard, Canvas and Angel has now made it easier for educators and students alike to access educational materials from anywhere. By and large, E-Learning has made it possible for a student to attend classes whilst also fulfilling his personal and professional commitments. E-Learning has greatly benefitted employed individuals, who now have access to receiving advanced degrees without the need to quit their jobs. By the virtue of E-learning, a stay at parent can now meet his familial requirements and yet study, attend and get education from the comfort of their home. There is no doubt that E-Learning is on a rise and professional prospects in this field abound.

Due to the online nature of e-Learning, the two biggest advantages that e-Learning offers are flexibility and non-reliance on geographical barriers. Via the flexibility attribute, e-Learning goes above and beyond the four walls of the classroom and therefore doesn’t have the need for a student to be chained to his desk to attend a class. Thus, students can sign up for, study and even finish the entire course online, even if they are in a completely different country. Educators also benefit from the flexibility offered by e-Learning and can essentially teach a course across multiple campuses a university may have. With this knowledge in the tow, further research should be performed to better understand how the merits of e-Learning can be better harnessed to create a positive impact on the learning experience of students in various universities.

The research pertaining to the field of e-Learning could be two-fold in nature. Firstly, a research study can use the experience and feedback of learners across various learning environments and use the data collected to determine specific positive learning outcome. Secondly, the research can focus on how e-Learning as a technique could be made better via latest technical innovations made in the field of computers with a special attention given to use of cloud and mobile technologies. The reason behind setting these objectives pertain to the limited amount of progress that e-Learning has made in terms of incorporating cloud-based and mobile technologies. More specifically, a research study can be put together to address the following research questions:

1. How can e-Learning be effectively used as a powerful medium to better impart education to students across various learning environments?
2. What features of an e-Learning platform based on cloud-computing are perceived as being positive and negative by students?
3. What features of a cloud-based learning environment could be integrated into the modern-day e-Learning techniques to have positive impact on students' learning experience?
4. How can mobile technology be integrated efficiently in an e-Learning platform?

Thus, E-learning methodologies are flexible, efficient and consequently cost and time effective. Even though substantive research has been performed in the said field, further research opportunities should be pursued to better enhance this field for educators and learners.