Carmine

If it seems to you that the number of web sites that offer some form of e-learning is on the rise you would be right. Even in the midst of the hot and heavy battle for technological supremacy where companies start up - and fail - on an almost daily basis, e-learning institutions are enjoying a spectacular growth in popularity. They are clearly outperforming other technology-oriented players in the industry and the boom shows no sign of stopping and very little signs of slowing down.

There is perhaps no better time for e-learning to come to prominence as with the relatively recent explosion in e-business and the subsequent growing demand for continued professional development, there is clearly a market for the various services that e-learning programs are well equipped to provide.

In spite of the massive growth of the e-learning industry, many members of the educational sector remain hesitant to fully embrace the concept of e-learning. As we mentioned earlier in this article, the number of students who enroll in online courses is noticeably increasing but the rate of increase has slowed down somewhat.

Much of the success of these e-learning courses can be attributed to the standards of education that are in place in these online schools. Online learning institutions can now proudly claim to offer a level of education that is equal to or even better than the ones that traditional learning institutions are able to offer.

The effectiveness of the e-learning method is evident in the large number of companies who have adopted this method as a means of training for their company employees. In a recent survey of companies who utilize e-learning courses on a regular basis, over 60% consider such programs a crucial part of their company's long-term organizational goals.

The reports of this study as well as similar ones, shows that the majority of people who sign up for e-learning courses are adults or those belonging to the non traditional learners group. This in itself is a clear indication that e-learning courses serve to fill a need that more traditional forms of educational instruction cannot address.

In spite of all this however, there is still noticeable segment of the educational community who do not consider e-learning a significant tool in the educational process. A survey of academic experts conducted recently shows that as little as 25% of educators view e-learning as a legitimate and valuable instruction method. Throughout a series of four surveys conducted, this rate of acceptance has surprisingly remained constant across the board. An interesting fact uncovered during this series of surveys is that of all the learning institutions that were asked to be a part of this study, it was the private nonprofit educational institutions that were the least enthusiastic about the value of e-learning programs.

While there is still a healthy degree of criticism to contend with especially from the established education sector, many students clearly feel that e-learning has many advantages to offer over traditional schooling methods.

To learn more about online education - please visit http://education-degrees-online.org - a resource site for online learning education