E-learning in Elementary?

E-learning has certain benefits over traditional classroom learning. While the most obvious are the versatility and the money savings from not having to travel or spend excessive time away from home, there are also others that might not be so obvious. It's self-paced. Most e-learning programs can be taken when need. Certainly, individuals will have their own tasks, schedules and jobs to complete. E-learning is a great way for these individuals to complete the lesson when they can. The lessons can be used and absorbed for a while before moving on. It moves faster. The individualized approach allows learners to skip material they already know and understand and move onto the issues they need help with. In auditorium lectures dealing with large amounts of people, the speaker talks about information that some people don’t know yet, or already know. People who are advanced in a certain lesson probably don’t want to waste their time listening to information they already know. E-learning is a great way for students to learn new information and pass the information they already know. It can work from any location and any time. E-learners can go through certain subject’s lessons from anywhere, usually at any time. This benefit can make learning possible for people who never would have been able to work it into their schedules, and also people who miss classes, or are absent for the class. It can lead to a stronger grasp on the subject. In elementary schools, there aren’t any divided courses for the students to take. Usually there is only one teacher who teaches the majority of the subjects. When, the teacher shifts from one subject to another, students might not have caught the broad idea of the lesson. E-learning offers the ability to revisit or replay sections of the lesson that might not have been clear the first time around. And when they’ve caught the main idea of the lesson, the subject will be easier for them to understand.

Although many think of e- learning as a whole new step, it really isn’t. People born over the last 10-15 years would be considered tech- natives. I myself am a tech- native, and being the thirteen year old elementary student I am, I know how important technology is. There are many students my age and younger who use technology literally everywhere. On buses they have cell phones. At home they might have video game consoles. And all most every student owns a computer. Yes, some may say that computers were invented many years before the 1900’s and therefore re-stating that tech- natives aren’t only people of the newest generation. But the term tech- native means more than that. It means that these people were born into a world of more advanced technology. Technology including i-pods, tablets and laptops. The reason is obvious- e-learning would be a benefit towards the new generation because we were born into a world of new technology. Grade eight students this year were born in 1998; therefore making them and all the grades younger than them tech-natives. We grew up alongside high- tech devices. We live attached to advanced electronics. So yes, using e-learning for students in elementary would be a smart idea. After all, we’ve already adapted to the future.