JOIN USThe success of e-learning depends on a learner’s maturity, because, as opposed to instructor-led training, e-learning practices put higher dependence on self-paced learning. The pedagogy in ancient India, though reflects various modes of learning, is heavily skewed towards the skills and capability of the teacher. Reverse communication path within classroom teaching has never been explored. Even if it was ideated, none could think of mapping the peer group discussion into a formal curriculum design.
The journey from a formal class room environment to a self-paced learning environment and trusting computers as a medium of learning took a long time for Indian students. Hence, initially, pure e-learning formats didn’t work in the Indian environment, as they were a direct import from overseas, where people could connect well with the idea of zero physical communication between a teacher and a student.
The idea was to infiltrate the tertiary sector considering higher maturity level of students. Courses on social science were launched by a few institutes, but the idea didn’t click for many reasons. One was that the programmes didn’t have approval from government authorities. It was only when Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) launched their programme did online e-learning initiatives get a shot in the arm and people began considering auxiliary learning platforms.
For a country with over 1.2 billion people, a million schools and 18,000 higher education institutes, the challenge to ensure individual care at schools and absence of flexibility in the curriculum have created the space for an alternate platform.
E-learning tools support a structured format of education system, which further evolved as a new learning paradigm — Blended Learning. Technology adoption at the early phase of learning prepares the pupils to accept the blended mode which catapults them to the digital space with ease and self-paced learning becomes easy.
The learning patterns have undergone a drastic transformation with the higher usage of handheld devices. Podcasts, learning skillets, knowledge forums and responsive websites have empowered learners to learn on the go, which has given hope for many professionals.
Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Content Management Systems (CMS) developed on the principles of content reusability have helped not only the educational institutes but also the companies as the training cost had come down drastically. The Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM) compliant learning materials are uploaded on a global platform to facilitate choice based pull of simultaneous access from multiple locations over internet.
Earlier the training head had to provision for a steep budget for travelling of the trainers if required to offer internal training at different locations but with online intensive training schedules a large group could be addressed from single location.
Another important aspect that is gaining momentum in today’s context is learner autonomy. A learner’s autonomy could be respected only when someone is experiencing personalised learning environment (PLE) where the learner chooses his/her schedule, course and difficulty level. Since individuality doesn’t only entail one’s aspirations, but also considers one’s abilities to learn and respond, acceptance and preference to such Managed Learning Environments (MLE) are increasing with time.
From a bouquet of courses stored in the LMS, a specialised basket of study materials and test mechanism for an individual could be created almost without any extra cost. Moreover, the recent spurt of free mass open online courses (MOOC) have empowered learners to pursue multiple courses.
Popularity of these courses prove the point that need of such courses were always there but high fee and time commitment were working as a deterrent to enrolment to such courses.
These constraints have been eased now. Knowledge propagation will occur organically only when it remain free of borders. The growth of e-commerce sector in India over the last 6 years has only supported the e-learning industry to grow further as the ecosystem has become mature.
(The author is professor & associate dean, School of Management, IMS Noida)