eLearning gains momentum

NEW DELHI:

With increased competition for jobs and the trend now being on continuous learning, more and more people are boosting their educational qualifications online.

"Electronic learning market is estimated to touch USD21 billion by the year 2008. According to our own market research and analysis, eLearning market in India is over USD 200 million, most of which comes from in-house development. As the market matures, outsourcing of eLearning will also gain a strong hold," says Karthik K S, of 24x7 learning solutions.

It recently launched Referenceware, claiming that it is the largest online book resource offering unobstructed access to thousands of the latest business and technical books.

"Currently, industries across verticals are adapting to eLearning in a big way and the market is expected to grow to USD 1 billion in three years," he says.

The advent of satellite technology and Internet has changed the way people live. From shopping to sending mails and making new friends, technology has now started to play a crucial role in our everyday life. In 2004, India launched the EDUSAT, a dedicated satellite for education and hence opened up new resource to spread education.

According to sources in IGNOU, which conducts satellite- based education, the satellite was a major step taken to spread education adding that through satellite it is possible to view and study from centres that are located hundreds of kilometers apart.

Sonia Chabra, British Council, which provides online English education says, "Electronic technology is an important medium for imparting education. Though a majority of our students still sign up for our usual classes, online programmes are now gaining importance."

Amity University, the largest private university in the country provides both correspondence and eLearning besides regular classes. "With eLearning, one can study from their home through a computer and internet. It is more interactive as one can communicate with the teachers instantly unlike through correspondence where one has wait for the weekends for the classes," says Savita Mehta, Amity University.

According to specialists in the field, eLearning is spreading because of the interest shown by the corporates who want their employees to stay updated all the time besides students from far flung areas and government initiatives.

"The employers now want to keep their employees updated about the latest studies. Moreover, one has to constantly sharpen his skills to keep ahead," says an official from an eLearning institute. "

All estimates indicate that eLearning can be delivered at one-third the cost of traditional assisted learning in a sustainable manner. With careful service, the quality can well exceed almost any form of learning.

This makes eLearning very important and perhaps the most dominant form of learning in future. The decreasing cost of computing and communications, wide availability of computers, mobiles and internet and wireless networks and the development of new technologies which enable personalized lessons and training will certainly pave way for this evolution," says Kannan.