Ted Talks does E-Learning

Interesting TED Video by Daphne Koller and online education. The talk starts by explaining the state of education in poor countries such as South Africa and how there was a shortage of University placements within the country and how recently a mother was trampled to her death while queuing for a place in a university.

Koller continuos with the introduction of Coursera which is a FREEEEEEEEE online education provider who's goal is provide the best course from to best universities to EVERYONE Worldwide.

Coursera is currently in over 190 countries around the world with over 640k students, providing world class university courses and reaching people who previously would not have the opportunity of an education.


The online course moves away from the traditional hour long lectures and broken down into small bite size modules which are easier to digest and to maximise learners attention spans, with the option of additional modules and pre lesson information.

Through the online learning questions are frequently asked to all students to access learning, the benefit asking questions in an eLearning environment compared to a traditional lecture is that all students have to participate and answers instead of the usual one "SWOT" at the front of the class, with the rest of the class not interested or on Facebook.

Another benefit highlighted from the video is that there is always someone around the world to answer your questions, no matter where you are and whatever time. All learning can also be recorded for the benefit of both the student and the teacher, so assignments can be tracked and students participation   monitored.

Overall, a good video highlight many benefits of eLearning and online education and how this may be the way forward within education.