E – LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Czhiellah Anj-Lee Kimsey C. Genita, Ed.D

Technology in education is the biggest change that happened in the history of teaching and learning delivery. Before, most people argued that technology in the classroom can be distracting and even foster cheating. However, through the years, technology had become part of the change they needed to embrace. Teachers, parents and learners had finally accepted the potential benefits of technology in education. With the advances in network technologies, they are able to send voices over the internet which was mainly designed to communicate data.

Technology has advanced so much that make both teachers and learners feel as if they are inside the classroom. Nowadays, e – learning is one of the technology based educational tools that enables them to learn anywhere and at any time. E-learning known as electronic learning is a method of education used for web – based distance education where in there is no face – to – face interaction. It allows teachers and learners to interact with each other in a learning environment called virtual classroom. It is a facility that reduces the travel time and eliminates the expense and inconvenience of getting the teachers and learners in the same premise.

E-learning offers the ability to provide a learning environment with learning tools, learning materials, opportunities for contextual and collaborative discussions, and individual learning and assessment. Engaging in online classes, communicating with teachers via chat and message forums are one of the many options available to learners. Thus, e – learning provides the learners with the ability to fit learning around their lifestyles, effectively allowing them to further explore their understanding about their lessons.

More so, e – learning and other means of online communication allow learners to keep

in touch and discuss their subjects and other related matters while providing a sense of community. With e – learning coming in the scene, teachers can give their inputs and help learners in their subjects. Since it is not face to face, they fear less and can ask questions freely. Thus, interaction with learners becomes more appropriate. In general, though traditional learning takes a long time and expensive, still it should not be discarded for it is capable of helping the learners improve their performance. However, e – learning offers an alternative learning that is faster, cheaper and potentially better.

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The author is Teacher III at Carangian Elementary School, Deped Tarlac City