Feature Article - The Pros and Cons of E-Learning, Part 2 - By Christopher Henderson

Last month, we discussed several positive aspects of e-learning. However, not everyone’s experience with online training is positive. In this issue, we’ll discuss ways to combat students’ problems with e-learning and improve their learning experience.

Problem #1: Lack of interactivity with the instructor. E-learning is normally done in two modes: synchronously and asynchronously. Synchronous e-learning occurs when the students listen and watch at the same time the instructor delivers the content, while asynchronous e-learning occurs when the students watch on a delayed basis. Students watching on a delayed basis cannot ask questions and get immediate feedback.

The best solutions for lack of interactivity are to allow e-mail communication, cultivate discussion groups, and post frequently asked questions. While these solutions can partially address the problem, it is difficult to get user-specific feedback and interchange that is rapid.

Synchronous e-learning does allow for immediate feedback and question/answer exchanges. Most of us know these e-learning events as webinars. While webinars are certainly cost-effective, the interaction is somewhat difficult to manage. Speakerphones, background noise, and poor telecommunications infrastructure can lead to feedback, distortion, and dropped words, resulting in a frustrating experience.

Newer technologies show promise on this front. One of the most promising technologies is Telepresence. Several manufacturers, including Cisco, Polycom, Halo, and others are rolling out systems and infrastructure for this new, high definition, low latency communication medium. Semitracks is working to implement Telepresence technology for courses and seminars. In our test runs, students have indicated that watching a webinar is almost the same as being in the room with the instructor.

Problem #2: Watching the computer screen. Numerous studies indicate that watching the computer screen is more tiring than watching a real instructor. Many people get eye strain or get bored and start doing other things. An e-learning presentation is, in many cases, less able to hold someone’s attention than a live presentation is. The best method for tackling this problem with asynchronous courses is to “chunk” the courses into short segments – the shorter, the better. At Semitracks, we try to limit online course segments to 30 minutes or less. In fact, more than 50% of our online course segments are 15 minutes or less. Chunking courses reduces fatigue and distraction and makes it easier for students to fit segments into breaks or down times.

Problem #3: Student interaction. While webinars allow limited interaction, the interaction level is not nearly as high as one can achieve with a face-to-face course. Although lack of real-time interaction is a serious limitation, technologies like Telepresence can combat the problem by allowing users to freely interact in real-time.

Problem #4: Lack of laboratory and exercise activities. For some areas like laboratory analysis and equipment repair, lack of hands-on applications is a big challenge. However, as simulation development software improves, the problem will ease in the future. Furthermore, since many lab tools and instruments today are driven from a computer interface, some complex tools can be captured using simulation software.

In fact, computer simulations may even have an advantage over hands-on testing. Complex fabrication and analysis tools can be easily damaged, along with the samples or product. To avoid making a costly mistake, it’s often better to learn on a simulator, much the way pilots learn to fly an aircraft by first using a simulator. The simulation approach will be needed soon in today’s advanced IC foundries where wafer lots can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and tools can cost upwards of five million dollars.

Although the developing field of e-learning faces the challenges we’ve discussed, new technologies are continually emerging to address these problems. E-learning stands at the cutting edge of the market, poised to revolutionize the way we learn. In the next issue, we’ll finish our discussion of online learning technology by addressing some of the concerns that people have when considering the switch to online training.