For the past 12 years, the value and popularity of e-learning has steadily risen. Companies and organizations seeking more cost-effective means of training people, as well as students seeking more flexibility in learning, have driven e-learning to the revolutionary tool that it is today. A myriad of reasons make e-learning an attractive alternative to face-to-face instructor-led classes, especially today in this age of technological advancements. This explosive growth, however, has uncovered e-learning as a double-edged sword – one that can either propel effective learning or be an overinflated tool that does not answer to its potentials. Below, we discuss how e-learning can be both a benefit and a bane to education and training.

The Promises

Promise 1: Personalized learning – Aside from perhaps a one-on-one face-to-face module, no other avenue can offer the most personalized learning that e-learning can offer. With the help of multimedia, content and instructional methods for a course or program can easily be adapted to an individual’s needs and roles. Valuable time is saved because the content can be presented as fast or slow as the student wishes. More practice and additional examples can also be provided for those who need them, and can be skipped for those who don’t.

Promise 2: Increased Engagement – Psychological engagement, or cognitive processing of content, is the aim of every course, program or training. Engagement is, to some degree, always a prerequisite of learning. Many activities under e-learning platforms tend to push the learner into the realm of psychological engagement via practice tests, self-explaining, and making outlines on certain topics discussed during the lesson.

Promise 3: Multimedia as a tool – A unique feature of e-learning is being able to incorporate a combination of different media to suit the learner’s needs and optimize the presentation of information. Text, audio, illustrations, and motion visuals – some or all of these can be used to enhance learning and provide a more interactive learning opportunity.

Promise 4: Accelerated Proficiency on skills – Through e-learning, expertise in skills can be gained in a much shorter time than when actual situations are used in training. Computer simulations, which can be readily shown in e-learning settings, can provide experience similar to the real thing while cutting up time wasted in dealing with actual situations. The number of days or hours spent in dealing with real-world scenarios can be slashed to a few minutes when dealing with computer simulations, thereby effectively training the learner with a skill in just a matter of minutes or hours.

The Downsides

Downside 1: Too much can be bad for you – Human beings have a limited capacity to comprehend and absorb information. As a rule, during instruction, less is always more. Though using all available media – sounds, text, movie clips – may be a very attractive option, but studies show that less is always better.

Downside 2: The risk of being underutilized – With all the available tools for e-learning, it may be sometimes difficult to choose which tools are appropriate for the topic. Whether it be lack of engaging activities, inability to maintain interaction, or inappropriate use of media, there are still some e-learning platforms that do not fully utilize the potential of technology.

Downside 3: Overlooking the target – Sometimes, the lure of technology causes e-learning design to fall short of the intended objectives. Regardless of the huge investments into e-learning technology, any course or module will be ineffective without proper structure and organization. With the numerous possibilities that course designers can incorporate the essence of e-learning is sometimes forgotten. The latest media, like games and virtual scenarios, are only effective if they are able to sustain student learning.

Again, e-learning is just one of the many tools for delivering education and training, and like other methods, is only effective if designed in ways that can support and strengthen learning. E-learning, like many other technologies, can either be a revolutionary tool or an ineffectual fad, and it’s up to course designers to determine what it is.