8 June 2005
As more and more people turn to the Internet as a learning tool, new research has been launched to examine just how valuable online education can be.
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) is conducting the study and will be looking into some of the 3,000 courses now available via the Internet.
Lisa Englebright, researcher at the NIACE's said the group is keen to gain an idea of just how effective or ineffective online course have been for adults.
"This is the first generation of learners who have studied online," said Ms Englebright. "For NIACE it's both interesting and important to find out what the benefits are and what the drawbacks have been."
She added that comments both positive and negative are welcome so as future courses can be moulded to maximise the potential of e-learning.
"Once we've got our findings, we hope to be able to increase the understanding of providers and decision makers about online learning," she added.
"This will ensure that steps are taking to improve on what's available and help more learners to take advantage of the flexibility of learning in this way."
People can now use the Internet to study traditional courses such as IT and languages but also courses as varied as fork lift truck driving.© DeHavilland Information Services plc
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