eLearning offers practical and cost effective ways for K-12 schools, higher education institutions as well as academic institutes to manage the delivery of education over the web and manage managerial / administrative aspects of education at the same time.

A Caterpillar University Study conducted in 2005 indicates how, compared to traditional learning methodologies, eLearning is less costly at all levels of learner population whether small or large. However, the cost savings increase as the learning population increases.

The following table summarizes the cost savings achieved when utilizing eLearning rather than instructor led training/education:

eLearning uptake around the world is increasing at a very fast pace, as new technologies are being introduced everyday and effectiveness of this non-conventional method of learning is being proven through successful case studies and international statistics. For example, according to an Australian national survey published on www.flexiblelearning.net.au on 29 September 2005, 85% of teachers and trainers in Australia's vocational education and training system are using eLearning.

In their study entitled "Achieving Success in Internet-Supported Learning in Higher Education" (2005), the Alliance for Higher Education Competitiveness (A-HEC) outlines the results of a set of surveys and interviews conducted with twenty-one higher education institutions of various types that consider their usage of e-Learning as successful. The surveyed institutions include reputable name like University of Florida, University of Baltimore, Michigan State University and Kansas State University.

The following graph shows the employment ratios of each type of eLearning within the 21 higher education institutions being surveyed.

http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/newsandevents/news/september_05/benchmarking.htm

Some of the statistics of this study were:

• "A major¬ity of the institutions (59%) believed that their courses or programs were of higher quality due to the e-Learn¬ing initiative. A slightly smaller majority (54%) felt that they had revolutionized the teaching process. A larger majority (68%) felt that e-Learning providing students with two distinct advantages over the classroom experi¬ence: The ability to cover more material and the ability to be more participative in the learning process."
• "The Vir¬ginia Tech Linear Algebra Course is a hybrid program with online course materials supplemented by live in-person tutoring and access to computers at a center near campus. The students served are undergraduate, residential students in the Engineering program. Over 12000 students have successfully completed this course. There has been a 75% reduction in costs of delivery per student while maintaining equivalent quality to the lecture-based course and achieving a 33% reduction in failure rate."
• "These successful [participating] institutions are doing better than they expected with respect to e-Learning, significantly exceeding expectations between 20-25% of the time and exceeding expecta¬tions about 25% of the time"

We at eKnowledge aspire to leveraging the use of eLearning technologies within the Middle East region to match those international rates and we are trying to achieve this through offering innovative eLearning technologies at affordable costs.

At eKnowledge, we provide eLearning solutions that range from online teaching and learning, managing learning communities and student services, integrating Web-enabled student services and back office systems to support administrative staff.

We want learners to enjoy the following qualities of eLearning:

• Better interaction among students and instructors
• Accommodating different learning styles of different students
• Self-paced learning whereby students can learn at the rate they prefer
• Convenience for students to access learning material any time, any place
• Promoting the use of the worldwide web as students learn to find information that is relevant to their learning material
• Teaching students how to take responsibility for their learning and building their self-knowledge and self-confidence

We want instructors to cultivate these benefits of eLearning:

• Permits instructors to develop materials using the huge world-wide resources of the Web
• Allows instructors to communicate information in a more engaging and interactive way than in classroom discussions as eLearning offers a wide-range of text, diagrams and images with video and sound
• Convenience for instructors to access or modify any time, any place
• Retaining records of grades, assignments, discussions and other learning material to allow for later reference

We want academic institutions to reap the benefits of deploying eLearning solutions that help them:

• Maintain an efficient, collaborated and seamless operations and administrative tasks
• Achieve enormous cost savings
• Sustain a good image and build goodwill among students / parents
• Involve parents, students, faculty and staff in the educational process
• Focus on core issues like improving the quality of education, school infrastructure, etc.