E-Learning as a Development Tool

Abstract

In the modern world, there is a need to organize learning quickly and effectively. Due to the current economic climate, competition in the educational market, and demographic decline, there is an increasing interest in e-learning at all levels of education but especially in higher education. E-education provides the opportunity to attract students from abroad, those with disabilities, and those who cannot give up their professional work but want or should continue their education. This way of acquiring knowledge is of interest to various people who want to complete their higher education or gain a new profession. The article attempts to answer the following questions: which form of education is more attractive for students, stationary or remote; how do they assess the effects of both of these forms; which of them would they prefer in the event of further learning; and what suggestions do they make to improve distance learning? The article also contains a description of the project of changes undertaken by the State Vocational University in the Masovian Voivodeship (Poland) towards adapting to the requirements of digital reality. The aim of this article is to determine students’ preferences in terms of forms of studying and the university’s response to students’ needs in this area. It also discusses the specifics of the recent popularity of a new teaching model called connectivism. It presents what education based on this method is about and explains how it differs from previously functioning models such as behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructionism. The publication also contains a critique of connectivism and an attempt to indicate what risks and doubts arise from the dissemination of this type of education.