Success of E-learning and Distance Learning Centers

Computer science is the study of the theory, experimentation, and engineering that form the basis for the design and use of computers. Studying computer science and several other courses away from the study center and universities has become easier because of the use of computer itself. The number of students enrolled in universities has increased with the success of e-learning and distance learning centers.

Teaching students may differ across universities due to the different approach to development, as well as different historical backgrounds of the universities. This is especially true in under developing countries like Nigeria, where youth of 24 years and below are the majority of the population the government is implementing new study programs and policies in response to the political and economic circumstances.

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According to economictimes.com, e-learning is a learning system based on formalized teaching but with the help of electronic resources. Simply put e-learning is internet-enabled learning. While teaching can be performed both within and outside the classroom the use the computer and the internet form a major component of E-learning, with the rapid progress in technology and the advancement in learning systems, books are slowly being replaced by smartphones and tablets and electronic education materials optical discs or pen drives. Knowledge can also be shared at any time of the day on the internet, irrespective of where you are.

Distance education must involve two-way communication between educators and students occur with them having contacts. With the development of technology in education has increased the need of distance education tools.

Distance Education is a method of education in which learners are physically separate from educators. In recent years higher education systems have had to face an increasingly competitive environment and use of web-based learning in the last decade. The effect of using the Internet in education has gradually increased and new technologies have improved student’s learning. Distance learning has become an important part of the education. That’s why most universities begin to use the web-based distance education systems.

Education is a key factor for sustainable development (Chimombo 2005). The significance of education, especially in developing countries, is increasing because of progressing pressure to catch up with the developed world regarding, for example, global competitiveness (Hawkins 2002). Predictably, educational settings are different in developing countries than in developed countries, such as low quality of education and narrow possibilities in attending schools in rural areas because of far distances and high opportunity costs (Ibid 2005). Chimombo, 2005 opines that country-specific circumstances have to be improved regarding compulsory and free education to foster general access to education. In Article 26 of the 1948 UN universal declaration of human rights the right of obligatory and free education for everyone is already committed (UN Human Rights 1948).

Comparative analysis; Is an overview means of examining two or more things to discover the differences and similarities, in order to understand it more. In this paper, our emphasis will be on Distance learning systems and E-learning systems, so that we can obtain a detailed relative study. The widespread use of computers and the internet have made distance learning easier and faster, and today virtual schools and virtual universities deliver full curricula online. The capacity of Internet to support voice, video, text, and immersion teaching methods made earlier distinct forms of telephone, videoconferencing, radio, television, and text-based education somewhat redundant. However, many of the techniques developed and lessons learned with earlier media are used in Internet delivery.

Furthermore, it is important for us to described comparative education as Nicholas (1996) views it, as an attempt to discover the differences in the forces and causes that produce different educational systems, and the underlying principles which govern the development of the National system of education with modifications and changes which the circumstances provide a wealth of information and never analytical approaches to system of education and showcase the performance of students in different environments such as in a distant classroom, or using their computer and other mobile gadgets to learn.

A broad range of learning approaches exists already, for example, e-learning, blended learning (Maier, 2007), and distance learning which utilize information and communication technology (ICT). The use of ICT can benefit, for example, students in rural areas by having them attend classes as distance learners and motivating them to learn like the “Group Learning Sets” (GLS) initiative offers. Regarding this, the potential of e-learning seems very assuring, but because of gaps between developed and developing countries, knowledge transfer is not only difficult but also costly.

According to case studies, there are already a number of e-learning programs offered in developing countries (Kohn et al. 2008). These programs are developed by various national and international initiatives, for example, the group learning sets initiated by Computer Aid International in collaboration with Kenyatta University. The growth of e-learning programs according to Lockwood and Gooley, 2002 is driven by the need for and potential of providing education in less expensive ways, increased access to information, effective learning, and greater flexibility.

Stephenson, 2001 posits that there is little systematic research into the overall effectiveness of e-learning as a learning medium despite the great interest in it. He acknowledges that while there is much more work to be done, a variety of e-learning courses aimed at making sustainable development a reality have been developed and demonstrate how e-learning can reach thousands if not millions of minds and potentially plant the seeds of change.

1.1.1 Electronic Learning (E-learning)

Fry 2000 and Wild et al. 2002 describe E-learning as the delivery of training and education via networked interactivity and distribution technologies. Other authors notably Roffe, 2002; Schank, 2002; and Sambrook, 2003 see e-learning simply as learning and communication exercises across computers and networks or for that matter any other electronic sources.

In the 70s and 80s distance learning became popular and was done via mail until the rise of Internet usage. In late 90s the digital learning environment was heightened and World Wide Web started as a distributed learning mechanism to support on campus student and distance learners. With the use of this delivery technology learners can get a range of resources like discussion forums, multimedia, chat, video conferencing and electronic black boards (Gulatee and Combes, 2007).

In E-learning system, students are able to interact anytime from wherever with different instructional material (text, sound, pictures, video and so on) through Internet. In addition, learners can communicate with teachers and classmates both individually and as a group discussion with the use of message boards, instant message exchanges and video conferencing (Al-Ammari and Hamad, 2008).

Khan (2005) suggests that e-learning system is used for an open, flexible, and diverse E-learning environment. Moreover, an E-learning system can be analyzed as an inventive approach for delivering, learner-centered, interactive, and facilitated learning environment to anyplace, anyone, anytime by utilizing the features and resources of different digital technologies along with other types of learning materials suited for an open, distributed, and flexible learning environment (Ibid, 2008).

1.1.2 Distance Learning

Distance education is not a new concept. In the late 1800s, at the University of Chicago, the first major correspondence program in the United States was established in which the teacher and learner were at different locations. Before that time, particularly in preindustrial Europe, education had been available primarily to males in higher levels of society. The most effective form of instruction in those days was to bring students together in one place and one time to learn from one of the masters. That form of traditional education remains the dominant model of learning today. The early efforts of educators like William Rainey Harper in 1890 to establish alternatives were laughed at. Correspondence study, which was designed to provide educational opportunities for those who were not among the elite and who could not afford full-time residence at an educational institution, was looked down on as inferior education. Many educators regarded correspondence courses as simply business operations. Correspondence education offended the elitist and extremely undemocratic educational system that characterized the early years in this country (Pittman, 1991). Indeed, many correspondence courses were viewed as simply poor excuses for the real thing. However, the need to provide equal access to educational opportunities has always been part of our democratic ideals, so correspondence study took a new turn.

Following the establishment of the Open University in Britain in 1970, and Charles Wedemeyer's innovative uses of media in 1986 at the University of Wisconsin, correspondence study began to use developing technologies to provide more effective distance education.

In the 70s and 80s distance learning became popular and was done via mail until the rise of Internet usage. In late 90s the digital learning environment was heightened and World Wide Web started as a distributed learning mechanism to support on campus student and distance learners. With the use of this delivery technology learners can get a range of resources like discussion forums, multimedia, chat, video conferencing and electronic black boards (Gulatee and Combes, 2007).

1.1.3 E-learning:

The term “e-learning” has only been in existence since 1999 when the word was first utilized at a CBT systems seminar. Other words also began to spring up in search of an accurate description such as “online learning” and “virtual learning”. However, the principles behind e-learning have been well documented throughout history, and there is even evidence which suggests that early forms of e-learning existed as far back as the 19th century.

1.1.4 Distance Learning:

The first distance education course in the modern sense was provided by Sir Isaac Pitman in the 1840s, who taught a system of shorthand by mailing texts transcribed into shorthand on postcards and receiving transcriptions from his students in return for correction. The element of student feedback was a crucial innovation of Pitman's system.

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