Lesson 3: E- "Estudyante for Electronic" Learning

              Online learning is a force in higher education because this medium allows students to have access to education anytime, anywhere. This new breed of teaching is challenging traditional instruction in two ways. First, learning is moving from being synchronous to asynchronous. Second, higher education is beginning to shift from being teacher-centered to learner-centered. This article focused on the implications of these two changes. In addition, the authors (Repman, Zinskie and Downs, 2010) identified and offered solutions to problems inherent with the adoption of this new approach to teaching

               The authors clearly defined the difference between distance learning, online learning and e-learning. They defined distance learning as being the expansive idea of teaching individuals at a distance, which has a long and varied history. Online learning was identified as the approach to teach courses through course management system (CMS) in a synchronous or asynchronous format. E-learning was defined as a recent approach to teaching that incorporates Web applications that are learner-centered.

              Web applications offer at least two powerful benefits. First, collaboration and connectivity are part of the fabric of Web tools. Second, Web tools allow students to become active creators of content rather than passive consumers of information. This second benefit moves teachers from the role of knowledge transmitter to a position of facilitation. The authors presented research (Craig, 2007) that questioned whether or not CMS could promote collaboration and creativity. The authors pointed out that there is a huge disconnect between the way individuals currently use the web and how CMS operate.

              Unfortunately, the growth of online classes is not limited to a pure pursuit of increased learning and better teaching methods. One of the primary rationales for increasing the number of online courses was access and efficiency. Another reason given for the increase of online courses was a push for schools to do more for less.