E-Learning Industry

E-learning is the process of teaching and learning using electronic media, generally distributed over a network. For a thorough coverage of e-learning, see Anderson and Elloumi (2004). The market for e-learning is the market for the provision, delivery and administration of learning services through the use of new media and network technologies. Following the success of e-commerce, e-learning provides an effective pathway to bring education and training beyond national borders. With the deployment of technology, e-learning can make education and training accessible to even more people and more places around the world. E-learning also is a large information industry that has shown continuous growth over the past few years and is now a key e-commerce-based market. The e-learning industry has gone through many of the development cycles as other high-tech industries, and suffered from the dot-com boom and bust of 2000. It has now entered a period of steady growth, and the future bodes well for its development as a key element in the support and delivery of education and training.