Does e-learning work?

If you’re considering earning a new qualification to improve your career opportunities or alter the path you’re on, you previously would have only had the option of going to college or university. This would often mean that anyone who was employed full-time or had other commitments would be unable to gain another qualification as they simply wouldn’t have the time.

However, with developing technologies, e-learning has become an alternative method of education that offers flexibility to the student, potentially increasing their likelihood of taking it on and passing.

E-learning is used for the financial services courses on the Simply Academy website as it can benefit the learning of people that have other commitments. But if you’re unaware of it, you may be wondering if it actually works. In this blog, we look at the effectiveness of e-learning and why so many people choose to gain a new qualification in this way.

How effective is e-learning?

As a newcomer to e-learning, it’s important that you’re aware of how effective it is and that it will be as beneficial as a more traditional method of education. You may assume that traditional forms of education such as college and university are likely to be seen as superior, but in fact, many experts believe that e-learning is as effective if not more effective than these other routes into certain careers.

For example, Work Learning Research is a company that specialises in thoroughly evaluating methods of education, and they created a report on e-learning that produced results suggesting that it could be as valuable as classroom learning. In the report, the conclusions found that the same learning methods in a classroom and e-learning platform led to the same results and that, in many cases, e-learning outperformed the effectiveness of activities held in a traditional classroom environment.

What makes e-learning effective?

The report on the effectiveness of e-learning by Work Learning Research claimed that several factors made it equal or superior to classroom learning. These factors included the methods of learning such as laboratory activities, quick-fire quizzes with an endless list of questions and immediate feedback from a tutor that could look through all of the work completed on the e-learning platform.

However, there are other reasons that e-learning is an effective method of learning, such as that students are able to learn at any time of day and from anywhere that has access to the learning platform. It also offers a clear course structure for both the person providing the course and the student and uses the latest software so multiple methods of learning are integrated. Gaining knowledge through an e-learning platform also means that the student can manage their progress, plan their next steps and keep on top of their learning.

What are the benefits of e-learning?

As a potential e-learning student, you will be interested to learn of the benefits to gaining a new qualification in this way.

Benefits of e-learning include:

• Access to updated, industry-relevant and applicable content
• Consistent learning from start to finish
• Flexibility over studying time and location
• Freedom to revise course material at any time
• Instant feedback and communication with tutors
• Less paper usage
• Manageable results
• Reduced costs

Additionally, many people choose courses that offer e-learning as it is far easier to carry out than a traditional method of learning. For instance, if someone is working full-time, has children or needs to attend to other commitments, putting time aside each week for lectures and seminars is unlikely to be feasible.

Instead, e-learning allows you to work in your own time and you could even consider taking on an e-learning course from another country as you won’t need to be there in person. During the coronavirus pandemic, e-learning presented its uses by giving students the opportunity to extend their skillset and achieve a new qualification in the comfort of their own home.