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by U21Global
The evolution of the Internet and the speed of communication make it an easy and fast medium by which to learn. It also recognises the growing need for a more flexible and convenient way of developing career qualifications while working and coping with other lifestyle priorities such as family.
eLearning is the new way to study and work at the same time. It offers flexibility and convenience for executives who have to lead mobile work lives that entail relocation and frequent business travel.
eLearning uses the Internet for the delivery of subject materials and to facilitate instructor-student interaction. Take for example U21Global, our courses are entirely Internet-based and students access online classrooms via the internet. These provide content and a variety of communications features, including email, chat forums and video conferencing being the main forms of interaction. Students will be exposed to combined problem solving, global case studies and networking. The whole approach is not text-based, but interactive study based on global case studies in global chat rooms. In short, eLearning refers to a virtual campus that is accessible to students anytime, anywhere.
There are absolutely benefits from eLearning – it opens up the world for networking and information exchange. Students can use tools such as email, real-time chat, threaded discussion forums, and public folders to exchange and post information and assignments. Course instructors maintain proactive communications with students through continuous monitoring of the student’s progress, prompt responses to questions, guidance in solving problems and assessment of students’ performance. The most appealing benefit is that such interaction is not time-zone or location dependent – students can interact with one another anytime and anywhere. Students just need to plug on and key in.
The internet also breaks down barriers in other ways – there is much more interaction compared to a traditional classroom. Behind the wall of the Internet, people are less shy and less inhibited. For example, our women students in Dubai have the ability to be much more interactive and participative as compared to a traditional brick and mortar school.
Many people think the main drawback of studying in a fully online environment is the absence of non-verbal communication. But it is precisely this lack of ‘faceless interaction†that allows students to discover new aspects of themselves. To succeed in this style of learning, students must have a constant thirst for feedback. The only way to do well is by regularly participating n the discussions, both with one another and the professors. It usually also helps certain
students overcome their fear of speaking in public. Additionally, based on our faculty experiences, student participation is higher in virtual classrooms than in actual face-to-face teaching. For example in one of our classes there were more than 3,000 postings – not to mention all the email traffic between students and students and professor. This shows how interactive eLearning can be, if conducted in the right manner.
At U21Global, we make it necessary for our students to contribute to discussions regularly in order to bring out the best in them and to ensure that they get the best possible peer learning experience. Online learning institutions, like U21Global, combine excellence and expertise of traditional oncampus teaching with an innovative and flexible online solution. We offer students the pedigree and prestige that come from its network of 17 of the world’s most respected universities. We offer students an opportunity to have the international experience through an online learning environment and the advantage of world-class graduate programs at a more competitive fee.
U21Global delivers an interactive, dynamic brand of executive education that utilises the most sophisticated technology and the Internet to provide an invaluable learning experience. For more information, visit http://www.u21global.edu.sg
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