E-Learning and Underserved Students

Individualization

One aspect of individualization in E-learning is that learning can be self-paced or instructor led, which gives students the flexibility to structure their learning experiences. Additionally, individualization allows for differences in learning abilities and preferences. Researchers suggest that students learn more effectively when they have frequent opportunities to apply the ideas they are learning and when feedback about the success or failure of a particular strategy or attempt is immediately provided. Although technology is not a substitute for person-to-person interaction, it may be useful in creating instructional learning environments that are individualized and adaptable.

Psychologist Howard Gardner suggests that people are endowed with multiple intelligences, the balance of which varies from individual to individual, leading them to develop preferences for acquiring knowledge. These intelligences, or preferred learning styles, include visual-spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, and logical-mathematical. E-learning incorporates the use of digital media elements and features to address the individual needs of diverse learners with different preferred learning styles.

Collaboration

For students who lack access to content or expertise because they live in underserved urban or rural environments, E-learning can transcend geographical boundaries to provide students with access to content, expertise, and resources that may not otherwise be available to them. In addition to offering access, E-learning can also help learners connect with one another. Underserved students who feel isolated and disconnected from others are less likely to be academically successful. E-learning provides a mechanism for students to communicate and collaborate with other students, teachers, and experts.

Additionally, E-learning eliminates factors of race, gender, and class because students communicate and interact with one another based on instructional tasks and virtual interactions; their cultural, racial, and/or gender identities are not revealed unless students choose to make them known. This allows students to learn in an environment free of bias and stereotyping while also maintaining their identities. Therefore, E-learning offers a collaborative process that helps learners connect with one another despite cultural, racial, and geographic boundaries.

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