E-learning as a new educational paradigm

E-learning represents a new educational paradigm that is changing the way we learn, teach and access knowledge. Unlike traditional education, which is based on physical presence and linear information transfer, e-learning enables a spatially and temporally flexible, interactive and adaptive educational experience. It is based on the use of digital technologies for content distribution, collaboration and communication, with the increasing use of multimedia, mobile learning and personalized approaches. E-learning as a paradigm emphasizes the active role of the student, encourages lifelong learning and supports the development of digital competencies needed in the 21st century. In this context, e-learning is no longer just an alternative form of teaching, but an integral part of modern education.

E-learning can be defined very broadly as the use of technology to shape the educational process. Although unfortunately very broad, this definition describes the full breadth of the entire educational process in an electronic environment. For narrower definitions, we can only use the different types of distance learning that arise and are defined according to the users they are intended for and the type of implementation of the teaching process. Roughly speaking, e-learning can be divided into distance learning and hybrid learning.

Although e-learning originally emerged as a continuation of distance learning, as the idea spread in a traditional environment, two forms of e-learning emerged: pure distance learning and hybrid learning, in which technology supports traditional teaching. The concept of distance learning appeared very early in the form of correspondence schools, most often for people who did not have an educational institution nearby and needed to study from home.

Of course, the term has remained almost the same, but its meaning has completely changed, especially with the popularity and availability of computers and the Internet. With the development of different generations of computers and the possibilities they offer, new forms of distance learning and computer-assisted learning have emerged, and the terminology has also changed. In most cases, to date, there has been a synergy of different forms, or types of learning, so the meanings behind different terms have changed and the vocabulary of terms itself has expanded. As technology is constantly improving, new forms always appear, which are assigned new terminology.