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E-learning courses have become a significant part of corporate training through the last decade. The advantages and disadvantages are continually weighed up against each other in an attempt to accentuate the rewards of technological learning.
 
E learning clearly has its advantages in the sense that students are
not pressured to learn immediately and can learn at their own pace in
the comforts of their home. In learning face to face in a formal
classroom environment, there is the social risk of embarrassment and
pressure to fit in with the classroom behaviors and learning styles.
E learning opposes this by providing the freedom of setting pace and
independent ability to research certain information to gain better understanding
of topics. There is a negative to this as freedom promotes laziness
and students may abuse this liberty. The traditional classroom view of learners is as passive recipients that don’t require feedback for successful learning. (Chen, Chung, Crane, Hlavach, & Viall, 2001; Jonassen, 1991; Savery & Duffy, 1995) The added pressure of a classroom environment with peers and lecturers scrutinizing your responses and understanding would lead to heightened awareness and better concentration on the pupil’s part.
In e learning, all the information is delivered using a technological
framework that can be referred back to at the click of a button,
whereas in traditional leaning classroom environment cannot cater
for such a play back device and unreliable human memory is heavily
relied upon.
Because of massive leaps of technological advances in both hardware
and software, the delivery vehicle for information and leaning
materials is a lot more interactive using graphics, diagrams, tables,
pictures, movies, and the internet to make learning more interesting
and entertaining which increases the chance of material absorption and
understanding. Also the pace at which learning can take place can be
of a greater magnitude than face to face due to reading material being
consistent and precise whereas human communication is complex and
could be misunderstood.
The disadvantages of learning through a technological framework
through a home PC is that users cannot ask questions and have them
answered immediately by a professional in the topic. “Current online learning environments ostensibly deliver gains in terms of mass storage of information, yet fall short in optimizing positive student engagement.” (Edwards S L, Watson J, Farrell A, Nash R 2007 Journal of Learning Design; v.2 n.1 p.25-36) With the
traditional classroom environment, students are given a variety of
points of views from students to tutor and using such information,
formulate their own understanding of the topic whereas e learning is
limited in its scope of the topics covered. Human communication is
complex and can cater for many scenarios and learning types through
different means of communication. Face to face communication consists
of 70% body language and 30% verbal communication and being of such a
flexible nature limited only by imagination, teachers can work on
visual cues to identify problem areas in learning and address the
issue immediately by further explanation and changes in teaching styles
whereas e leaning is set (Way J, Web C 2006)
 
 E learning is set in a technological framework and is therefore limited
by the restricted dimensions of technology. If technology were to be upgraded and updated, then the restrictions that have limited e learning could also be updated, one such
problem is the communication barrier of technological interactivity that is
poor compared to the richness to interpersonal communication. Live
video communication would be a plausible solution, as it would allow
students to and tutors to communicate. In the First Aid course context a professional should be available at allocated times to communicate with students in a conference style online classroom.
 
 The first aid course could be improved by improving learner engagement, further developing learning tools and reducing the amount of download to un-restrict learners with slower download speeds. It should also consider placing a professional in a conference like situation, so students can receive feedback correctly and efficiently.

E-learning courses will continue to shift and change to satisfy the needs of the learning community. The advantages will begins to out weigh the disadvantages significantly. The First Aid course was an example of this technological development and assisted in revealing some impediments of the online framework for learning.

The First Aid course is intended as general guidance not designed to be a substitute for formal first aid training.
It’s purpose is to assist in building first aid knowledge and skills.

I expect that this course will be able to assist my frist aid skill development with correct and reliable information that will not breach my rights under the good samaritan act if i should choose to use information that I have obtained from this course.

I believe that the learning experience will be flexible and tailored to my needs as I am able to end and continue a course until it’s finished. In addition to this, the course will provide relevant information and assist in the development and refreshment of my first aid skills.

I would expect that there were additional excercises that could be used for specific topics as well as information through other reliable sources for extra reading and development.

What topic?
What format?
What constitutes a course?
…these questions must be asked before the search for an e-learning course begins. My answer to these questions were that it be a topic, which is of interest and use to me and the format be an online questionnaire that raised curiosity. My definition of an E-learning course is that it can be assessed through a technological framework and is based on a traditional learning setting.
The tack of searching for a course became much easier once these questions were answered. Simply a course could be found by:
1. Searching about the topic

2. Searching amongst other courses in a website

3. Researching reputable sources to see if courses were provided on their websites.

Lessons from Cyberspace reading
http://drr.lib.uts.edu.au/file/17282/013966_palloffworking.pdf The articles expressed that E-learners must be kept interested and exposed to a variety of interactive learning strategies to obtain optimal gain in knowledge. The creation of a course will not necessarily result in a change in culture towards online learning, the article suggests that there must be an instigation for the use of technological mediums for education if the online courses are to be successful and utilized. They also suggest that there are many different learning styles, predominantly through the sensors and for an optimal result these needs can be filled through the use of visual and audio imagery. Learning Circuitshttp://www.learningcircuits.org/2005/sep2005/watkins.htmThis article suggests that E-learning platforms create a new learning environment for students as they are able to interact differently with peers and educators in addition to the formation of new motivations and goals. It also states that administrators or educators should initiate lessons with icebreakers and familiarization exercises to assist in the learning process. Technical and study skills are mentioned as two of the most important factors in the success of e-learners.

My Preferred Learning Style
- Through Discussion
- Visual
- Comparison
I believe that these learning stratgies affect my attitude towards particular e-learning courses in addition to my performance in an e-learning course. If the course failed to satisfy my stratgic needs then my learning would suffer detrimentally as a result of it and boredom would be largely present.
THE RESULTS FROM VARK
showed that my preferences were rated as follows:

• Visual: 12
• Aural: 6
• Read/Write: 12
• Kinesthetic: 12

This makes me a multimodal learner. This is similar to the method of learning,which I predicted myself as having.
Multimodal learning is practice by 60% of the population and is considered as a major way that people learn.
However, even multimodal learners need to be familiar with the learning strategies that combine to create their multimodal strategy. I believe that aspects of these stratgies are incoporated into daily work and will prove this through the analysis of my blog entries.
Visual learning is learning through diagrams and media in addition to colours and other stimuli. An example is the use of pictures in my blog entries that I have incorporated to assist in the conveying of ideas.

Read/Write study strategies refer to the use of literature to develop bonds between words and a preference for lists in learning. A small example of this are the headings which I have used to seperate the topics in my blog. This is an example of a read/write preference in learning stratgies.

The final stratgies is kinesthetic learning. This refers to observative learning or model learning. Kinesthetic learning is optimised through the use of action and is often learning through consequence.

E learning is a technologically supported way of learning that is very flexible and can be used by a variety of people to gain knowledge about endless topics. In this case, I have chosen to E-learn First Aid, (a course that I have taken in the past) as I feel that will give me the chance to truly compare traditional learning methods with that of E-learning.

 My objectives for this course were to improve my existing first-aid knowledge as well as identify the differences between the two teaching methods. I expected that most of the content would be familiar and that the questions should be reasonably simple to complete with no real grading besides the final exam. I have found that through the e-learning course I was able to recognize the situations I have become uncertain about and that time has taken it’s toll on my skills. I believe that the e-learning course was an efficient way to brush up on first-aid skills, but was too brief to establish any new skills.

I identified that the course was very thorough in it’s teachings and was presented in a very user-friendly manner. The disheartening issue is that the information is insufficient for beginners to successfully master the processes and there are no methods of collaboration. As a result the learning process is sheltered from external views. This lack of communication can impede on the ability of the student to acquire knowledge, as problems cannot be discussed with peers and other ideas aren’t infiltrated to assist in the formation of greater understanding. This E-learning course is suitable for those who are First-Aid certified and wishing to brush up on their skills, but cannot be accepted as an adequate means of professional education for beginners. It gives an insight into the skills obtained from a first-aid course and can be used for the acquisition of simple first aid knowledge. Despite the user-friendly framework of the website, it failed to provide a welcoming atmosphere. The questions and answers were straightforward and often became tedious to answer. However, the examination process of the course was very effective in that it questioned the learner in terms of their response, which was very similar to those that would be asked in a traditional course.  However, despite my proclamation of the lack of content in the course, I was able to learn that knowledge is lost rapidly if it is not practiced and the use of E-learning is a great way to revise old skills. E- learning is a very flexible framework as it allows users to attain new skills or revise old ones in their spare time, so that it doesn’t interfere with their daily plans. In comparison to the traditional framework it is very user friendly and much cheaper. The traditional setting cannot be under estimated in this course as it provides the chance for learners to act out situations and responses can be graded accordingly.  E Learning experiences should be built in a user-friendly and comfortable atmosphere with plenty of interaction between users and regular prompts from administrators to ensure that learners continually have something new to learn. The information should be presented in an orderly manner and examinations should be as realistic in situations as possible.

The course began with the selection of an injury type from a wheel, followed by the selection of a sub category. After selecting my chosen category I was presented with a list of skills that I would obtain from completing this topic and was then confronted by a first aid question which was related to my selections, followed by two choices of action listed below.
By selecting one answer I would either be applauded for being correct or corrected if the answer I chose was wrong. If the answer is wrong, then learner is then corrected and returned back to the question page to re-answer correctly. (shown below) 
I believe that this technique is unique to that of a technological medium. Learners are able to be ‘taken back’ by their mistakes to re-select and understand the reasons for the correction. This practise is often hard in a face- to- face situation due to emotional factors as well as time restraints.

Each sub-category is made up of 5 short questions to increase the effectiveness of the course and to maximise the attention of the learners. At the end of each subcategory, which summarises everything that is covered.
I believe that this is a very effective way of learning as it allows reflection and correction through the repetition of questions and facts in different formats.

First Aid is a very physical practise and the E-learning course has implemented Videos(above), which showcase real situations to determine whether the learner is able to implement first aid knowledge in day-to-day situations.

This course is provided by BBC based in the United Kindom.
The E-learning course is introduced with a spectrum wheel seperated into slices representing different types of injuries.

I thought that by seperating the different types of injuries and sub-categorizing them (as seen below) was an effective way of presenting an abundance of topics without confusing or putting off the learner.

The sub-categories are also supported by imagery and the status of that topic. The status allows the learner to follow through the course without completing the same section twice.
These characteristics of the E-learning course reflect the guidance that is given by trainers in a face-to-face course.

I have chosen to do a short First Aid e-learning course purely because it is a topic that is normally COMPLETELY irrelevant to technological mediums such as the internet. Most of the courses that I came across through my reserach included, short e-learning course for the use of:
- Microsoft Word
- Powerpoint Presentation
- HTML

- and other related topics

I have completed a traditional first aid course before and believe that this experience will allow me to draw on the differences between the two experiences.  

My objective is to identify the weaknesses and strengths of this E-learning course compared to that of a tradtional course.
I expect that this course will have interactive content and will be a great basis for people looking to attain a first aid certificate, especially those who choose to participate in accelerated programs, which are provided by a number of emergency departments.

The chosen area of interest for our case studies is that of ROI (Return on Investments).
ROI of E-learning refers to the ability of the new E-learning system to ‘pay itself off’ or generate enough worth to cover the cost of implementation. ROI often requires that the implementation pays off the initial costs through direct and indirect ways as well as generating additional revenue.

 Appropriate information sources should be up to date and from an academically acknowledgable source. An obvious start is from the journal databases accessible through UTS Library.

Key Words such as ROI, Case Studies and E-learning should assist in narrowing down the search.

UTS databases such as INFORMIT or Proquest would be helpful in the search.

Facts should be well referenced and have an academic source supporting it. Whereas views are statments made by the writer with no academic basis behind it.

The sources I used were credible as they were sourced from news articles and journals.

In the case of a biased source, the material would reflect on either the positives and negatives of E-learning without providing any other insight into the topic.