Living in the 21st century, what does the face of education look like to you? Do you visualize ink and paper, chalk and blackboard, or tablets and screens?
If you have any familiarity with how schooling and education are being conducted in the present, you would know that laptop screens and digital tools have completely replaced the blackboards and the traditional pen-paper mode of education. From using inks in classrooms to e-learning, we have come a long way. This century has witnessed a paradigm shift in learning, thanks to the greatest invention of this century – the Internet.
How did it all begin?
Did you know that the first instance of e-learning took place even before the internet was invented? It may come as a surprise to you but e-learning is actually older than the internet. Although e-learning today is dependent upon the internet playing an important role in the reach and spread of online learning, the Internet wasn’t how it all began.
Since the invention of ink and paper centuries ago, there have been numerous instances of teaching and learning employing tools and machines. The first instance of learning online was at the University of Illinois, USA in the year 1960 when although there was no internet, students began learning from a computer terminal interlinked to form a network. The first completely online course was offered in the year 1984 by the University of Toronto, which is a year after the internet was officially born.
The millennial effect
Fast forward to the turn of the century. By this time although the internet was not as hugely popular yet, it had nonetheless made its way into our lives. By and by over two decades of the rapid spread of the internet, the millennial effect took place and as internet users increased worldwide so did its use for a variety of purposes from sharing and communications, to online shopping and education.
Initially, e-learning was limited to using tools and technology to aid education and learning in traditional classroom setups. However, the education industry has undergone a massive change due to technology making greater inroads into the teaching-learning process changing it to a much deeper extent.
Now e-learning is no longer just employing tools of technology to assist teaching and learning but using technology as the medium of dissemination of education, liberating learning from brick and mortar structure of schools and classrooms to taking it completely online. Today one can access education even remotely. We officially live in the era of learning from anywhere, anytime. There are also many tutors such as Landon Schertz who have come up to help students get hold of this new learning routine.
Anywhere, anytime learning
The past year and two have made this a reality – being lived by millions of students worldwide. Distance learning is no longer limited to higher institutions anymore where it was first practiced in a limited way, but taking place much more widely at all levels of formal education as well as corporate learning.
The coronavirus pandemic has had a huge role to play in this. As schools and education institutions shut down, we were forced to confine ourselves to our homes to avoid disease spread. Technology came to the rescue and made education available and accessible online.
The entry of customization
E-learning has made possible a host of developments in learning thanks to the flexibility and customization it has brought to the fore. E-learning gives students things traditional schooling could not offer – the flexibility to access learning from anywhere, anytime as well as timing it according to themselves. With pre-recorded lessons and private tutoring they also have the option of customizing the pace of learning to suit their needs.
The future of education
With the coronavirus pandemic, formal education has gone completely online due to the risk of disease spread at schools and institutions. According to independent research by an Edtech company, 40% of elementary students in the United States are using at least one digital learning tool every day. The statistics of high schoolers are greater than this with 65% of students completely learning online. Higher education shows a similar trend.
It is beyond a doubt that education has changed and e-learning is here to stay. Although we don’t know how long the pandemic will keep schools shut, one thing is for sure, learning is changed forever. The future of education is digital. Now it’s only a matter of how soon we embrace technology and adapt to e-learning.
How is Landon Schertz changing learning?
Although it has been around for while, students are still adapting to the changes digital learning has brought to their lives. Landon Schertz closely interacts with many such students as their private tutor and mentor, striving to make their learning easy and fulfilling.
Landon Schertz is a progressive teacher and academician who has embraced e-learning. With unique methods and a customized approach to every student in his private teaching lessons, he is making a great impact on the life of every student in touch with him.
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