E-learning (Advantages and Disadvantages)

Advantages
• Overall cost is reduced, the cost of instructor’s salaries, meeting room rentals, student travel, lodging and meals are all eliminated.
• Retention increased and application to the job averages an increase of 25 percent over traditional method.
• Students don’t have to travel to institutions as they attend the course online, so no time is wasted.
• Consistent delivery of content is possible with asynchronous, self pace e-learning.
• Student can get standard education as expert knowledge is communicated, but more importantly captured, with good e-learning and knowledge management system.
• All paper works are automated and online basis, so there is a proof of completion and certification these are really essential for training initiative.
• Students have now the ability to choose the suitable time to complete training conveniently; they can also take the course at off-hours or from home.
• Students how are slow or quick learners can go on self pace option so stress reduced and increased satisfaction.
• Students find the E-learning course interactive which engages them, push them rather than pull them through training. And they also find confidence that reduces burden of responsibility of mastery as refresher or quick reference material is available.
• Portability of training has become strength of e-learning with the proliferation of network linking points, notebook computers, PDAs, and mobile phones.
Disadvantages
• Development costs is larger due to up-front investment required of an e-learning solution is larger.
• Issues like if technological infrastructure can accomplish the training goals. And also if compatible software or hardware can be found or extra technological expenditure is needed.
• Content may not be always appropriate as it may exits from some experts, Even skills that involve complex physical or emotional components can be augmented with e-learning.
• It is a very important issue in organization if they accept the culture, where student demographics and psychographics may influence them against using computers at all, let alone for e-learning
• Learners may have technophobia and unavailable of technologies needed, so this may be a technology issue.
• Social and cultural interaction may reduce, the impersonality, suppression of communication mechanisms such as body language, and also peer-to-peer learning is eliminated, these are potential disadvantages with the increase of communication technology.
• The material available for e-leaning may not rival that of printed workbooks or reference materials.