Online Learning
Online learning involves the use of Internet technology to attend classes, converse with professors and classmates, receive and submit assignments, download class materials, do research, chart progress and much more. Modern, online learning can involve not only the use of personal computers to access the Internet, but also related communication technologies.
The growing success of online learning is largely due to its ability to preclude the need for students to physically attend classes; students can download prerecorded lectures and meet in online learning discussion groups via instant messenger or chat rooms at a mutually convenient time.
Online learning is essentially an umbrella term for a multitude of learning methods that incorporate Internet and communication technologies. The term online learning also encompasses e-learning. E-learning is computer-based training that utilizes CDs and DVDS; it is the natural evolution of online learning following the advent of these technologies, as well as the increasingly widespread use of the Internet.
The specific applications used in online learning include: online exams, threaded discussions, bulletin boards, chat rooms, e-mail, help desks, online notebooks, uploading and downloading documents, web-based instruction and many more.
Two other types of online learning include blended online learning and m-learning.
Blended Online Learning
Blended online learning refers to a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online learning environments. Synchronous learning environments feature classes that are held at a fixed time, often face-to-face. Asynchronous online learning allows students to attended pre-posted lessons on the Internet at their own convenience, rather than according to a schedule set by the instructor.
Asynchronous online learning activities often include blog sites, where students can express their opinions on a particular assignment or ask questions at any given time. The downfall of this online learning feature is that students do not receive an instant response unless another student happens to be checking the blog site at that exact time.
The advantages of the blended online learning approach are many. The blended online learning method has been known to improved academic performance for all types of learners because it offers so many different approaches-blended online learning offers the best of both worlds.
M-Learning
M-learning, the use of mobile devices such as cell phones and handheld computers for on-the-go learning and related communication, is the logical progression of the computer-based learning that currently takes place on the Internet via personal computers.
M-learning is such a new concept that it is still only on the verge of being implemented as a tool for increasing the already considerable flexibility of many online learning programs.
What distinguishes m-learning from online learning is student access to lessons and materials through a portable or mobile device. M-learning works especially well in conjunction with online learning-particularly, as a method of following up on coursework performed on the personal computer.
There's a reason why m-learning isn't in full bloom as an online learning technology just yet. Mobile devices pose limitations in terms of their functionality. Currently, software engineers are plugging away at developing adaptations of existing online learning programs for use in a mobile context. Once established, students involved in online learning will be able to attend courses from anywhere they have a signal. Can you image earning your master's degree while riding the train home from work? Now, that's a valuable and efficient use of time!