Monday 30 May 2016

Advantages of Taking Free online courses

When it comes to free education and ease of access in the form of home or office based study, free online courses are the optimum choice. There are a lot of advantages of taking free online courses. These advantages include time and money savings, less stress and anxiety, and flexibility of learning your way. Taking free online courses is considered an exceptional way to yield benefits of the use of technology in the global world. Free online courses are an excellent tool for obtaining certifications with no tension of costs for time, money, psychological and physical stress.  Free online college courses with certificate accredited by local awarding bodies give you the advantages of added value to CV, increased prospects of a job in your country and abroad, promotions and base for further studies.
Some of well reputed online colleges like Brentwood Open Learning College offer free online courses in different subjects.  If you wish to know more about these free courses, please visit the link below: -


Monday 15 December 2014

E-Learning


Should I Consider E-Learning?
Most people, firms or Companies, when in need of coaching or training either go to College, School, or conduct in house training classes or they use manuals and self-study guides. In some conditions however it is advantageous to use Web-Based coaching and training or different sorts of
E-Learning rather than the traditional standard coaching.

This article will help you to seek answers for these questions by going through the advantages and disadvantages of using e-learning as a training option.

What are the advantages of E-Learning?
E-Learning has advantages over on campus studies for the employees in a company, clients using a product, or students studying in a school.
These advantages contain:

E-Learning is better than reading the manual guides
Many working people do not have enough motivation to sit down and teach themselves by reading to them manual guides. Manuals are usually more effective for reference than for learning. Self-study guides can be a helping factor cannot be a substitute for a complete learning programme. On the other hand, WBT (Web Based Training) attracts the student's attention and can even be enjoyable to use. It absolutely would work better than simply learning from a manual.
Cost-effectiveness
The major consideration for any training programme is its cost. As the number of people being qualified increases, it becomes more cost effective to develop in house training programmes rather than sending out people to have trainings from classes. Providing online training is especially suitable for the companies that employee huge number of staff and they need to updates their skills through further trainings. .  
Online Learning is more practical
Additional condition is when the people to be trained are broadly distributed. Travel time and costs to send them to a class could be expensive option and sending trainers to them could not be applied. Getting staff trained online would be more practical option for the companies under these circumstances.
Standardized
Since different tutors and instructors have different ways of instruction, all personnel may not be getting the same level of training. Consistent standards can be maintained through e-learning.          E-Learning assures standardization of training and content presented. This ensures that the whole experience of training was equal for all the personnel’s who attended the online course.

What are the disadvantages?
There are some downsides for using e-learning:
Essential access to a computer
Students should have access to computers either at their homes, at work, or at some coaching site where they could have their web based training through the computer. Generally computer access is not easily available.
Need access to the Internet
In the case of WBT, students are also required to have access to the Internet. This can be a problem for training field personnel who are placed in remote locations where internet is not available, in this case they might have computers but won't readily access the Internet for the just-in-time training or guidance.
Must have enough skills for using computer
Personnel need to get training through e-learning must know how to use computer. At least they must know how to use a keyboard and a mouse. To the minimum some people are at least trained for using the WBT system.
Personnel Confrontation
Some people have fears about using computers, while others hesitate from using any form of computer communication. They feel that it is very unfriendly and do not want to go ahead with this form of learning.
The E-Learning System
The e-learning must be designed in such a way that it is engaging and keeps learners' interest intact, students' attention is maintained from start to finish. Poorly designed system on the other hand can cause dullness or even can lead student to confusion and poor concentration. 
 Costs Versus value of training
Most of the decisions for the Businesses are based on potential return-on-investment (ROI).The businesses decide whether training their personnel and/or customers is a value-added activity for them and how this training should be conducted. Which routes should be adopted for this whether or not e-learning is the best route to take.
Other factors to consider
  •           Cost and practicality of sending students to class
  •           Accessibility of computers and literacy of learners
  •           Development amount against quantity being skilled.                                                                                   
www.bolc.co.uk       



      Friday 12 December 2014

      The Scope of Online Learning


      The scope of Online Learning is increasing day by day. In the light of  Babson Survey Group Report (2013), in 2011, 6.7 million students  (approx.) were enrolled for online learning which is comparatively much higher than in 2002 i.e. 1.6  million (approx.) Due to keen-sighted, higher-education institutes were encouraged to upgrade and  boost their Online Programmes. 72% of schools launched such type of Online Learning in 2002,  which gradually increased up to 87% in 2012. Colleges also put emphasis on the establishment of the Online Degree Programmes. According to the recent survey; 62% of the schools and colleges  awarding the degrees entirely through distance learning.
       One of the main factors of evolution of Distance Learning is its demand by the Students. Online  studies are cost efficient and flexible to schedule which are the main opportunities that students want  to seek.


      Main advantages of online learning

      1. Flexibility of the Schedule: Online courses can be accessed from anywhere by students at any time. There is a possibility for Parents, working students and professionals to attend classes without disturbing their work schedule. For students to take online classes only requires a computer and internet access.                                                                                                                     
      2. Easily Accessible: Accessibility to the curriculum is available according to the students’ necessity. Students can view lectures, conversations, descriptions, and remarks. Members of the community can help each other by sharing their learning notes.                                                                                                                                                                
      3. Huge Choice of options Available: A wider range of Degree programmes are available for students so that they may choose according to their needs. Some degree programmes may not yet be accessible through nearby private or public institutions                           
      4. Students are in full control their study time: Online Courses generally are generally scheduled in a strict format having inflexibility with shorter classes of about 50 minutes and more. Night classes may last approximately three hours. One of the advantages of online education is that students are not required to sit for long periods of time in one go. Lessons can be stopped when needed, and notes can be read at will.                                                                                                                                          
      5. Online communications: Instructors are easily approachable in the on-line setting. Students have variety of opportunities to get to their tutors; through online chats, emails, and forum discussions instead of face-to-face discussions.                                        
      6. More Time to absorb the material: According to a study by U.S Department of Education positive results are stated for the students enrolled in online classes. The reports says "on average, students in on-line learning situations performed with modesty higher than those receiving face-to-face Interaction." Over 1,000 empirical studies by the Department of Education showed that the additive that helped students to perform better was time. The report noted advantages in online studies during which learners spent much time on their assignment than students within the face-to-face condition.                                                                                                                                      
      7. Better Chances for interaction: Online Education is less daunting than the usual brick and mortar lecture rooms and can help to motivate the interaction among students by giving a chance to share their ideas and to have a voice. Students have more time to think on their ideas and when they are ready they can share accordingly. In common lecture rooms the spoken communication may have past the point when the students gets an idea to share or is ready to comment.                                                                                                    
      8. Reduced Costs: Online Learning facilitates the students by reducing the transportation cost and alternative overheads caused when attending lectures in on campus setting.                                                                                                                 
      9. No more expensive textbooks required: Some Online course categories might not need physical manuals, as reading materials could also be on the market either through the Institutes’ own library or their cooperation with e-libraries and different digital publishers. E-textbooks would possibly provide considerable savings for learners, adding up to many greenbacks a year.
               
      Probabilities for suitability, cost-effectiveness, and student enhancement are just a few of the flexebilities that have subsidized to the evolution of E-Learnings. Distance learning has gained fame in these areas, and advocates are continuously trying to improve in these areas. One drawback is that the lack of collaboration and face-to-face interaction with the trainer as well as fellow students. Students might feel working lone when studying through online learning however colleges are proactively trying to look into the matter and to resolve these issues. Students can be facilitated with video conferencing technologies, cluster chats, and other online resources.