ELearning vs Classroom Learning

Everyone knows how classroom learning works, right? You sit in a classroom and listen to a lecture, hopefully you can have a roundtable discussion of the topic, maybe you watch some videos and see some PowerPoint slides, and then you take an exam or quiz to test what you’ve learned. How is eLearning different to this setup?

In many ways, it is vastly different. You are physically in a completely different place, at home on your laptop, and you are not surrounded by other students with a teacher. In what other ways is it dissimilar, and how can one compare? Let’s take a closer look.

How Online Learning is Unique

Online learning is becoming the education strategy of the future, so it is important to be aware of how it works. You need a computer, first and foremost. More than likely, you will have daily video chats or online discussions with both teacher and fellow students. There will probably be a digital whiteboard, which is how you and the teacher can express ideas, plus other technology like videos and games to help you understand the material.

How is this Learning Style Effective?

The number one difference between eLearning and classroom learning is that online classes utilize immense amounts of technology to make sure you grasp the concepts. Many of these technologies make learning fun and interactive, with a teacher to help guide the way and answer any questions. In a physical classroom, it is mainly just the teacher who is imparting knowledge, with little technology involved besides the standard fare.

For the eager learner, online classes are just as effective as the ones held in a classroom. One thing to remember is that self-motivation is the key to success in online learning, but it could be said that this quality was always important for any scholar.