EXTRACT

The recent boom in the development of Internet and mobile technologies is one of the major advantages for present-day learners because this allows them to have instant and unrestricted access to information and knowledge. In other words, various study materials in electronic form can be saved to personal computers and mobile devices. In that sense, they are readily available for quick searching and information retrieval. Such digital materials can be shared in a learning community, either through direct upload to a cloud storage, or distributed via a social network of any kind. This accelerates the sharing and exchange of information among students, especially in group or project-based learning settings. Furthermore, digital study materials do not take up much space when compared to traditional paper-based ones. For example, a USB flash drive that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface would be enough to store vast amount of information. Also, they can be organized into personal collections and archives as well as edited to suit the learning needs of each particular student.

SOURCE: Zounek J. (2016, December 22). Heads in the Cloud: Pros and Cons of Online Learning. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311807840

Complete the paragraph below by summarizing the extract above. Cite the source using NARRATIVE STYLE in-text citation.

Question: Discuss the advantages of e-learning.

E-learning improves the quality of education as it opens doorways to a wealth of information, knowledge and educational resources, increasing opportunities for learning in and beyond the classroom. Previously, sources of information were limited to books, course materials and lectures; however, more access to information and online materials has accelerated and changed the way students learn (Ghavifekr & Rosdy, 2015). The report published by White Paper Education Transformation (2010) highlights that the effects of e-learning increase as technology is more deeply integrated into the educational experience and students and teachers have technology access throughout the day. Indeed, effective E-learning comes from using Information Communications Technologies (ICT), which broaden educational opportunities and help students develop the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century._________________________________________________________

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For instance, currently, a wide array of learning materials can be accessed online, without restriction and can be retaken and updated an infinite amount of times, unlike textbooks which need to be reissued and rebought once again when they become obsolete. It is therefore, fairly safe to say that e-learning, supported by ICT, helps students better store and retrieve information, which consequently eases the development of higher order thinking skills such as exploration, analysis and synthesis of information. Briefly, the opportunity provided by ICT enables access to a wide array of sources, which is an important prerequisite for more meaningful learning to occur.