E-learning presents an entirely new learning environment for students, thus requiring a different skill set to be successful.
Critical thinking, research, and evaluation skills are growing in importance as students have increasing volumes of information
from a variety of sources to sort through (New Media Consortium, 2007). In addition, particularly in courses that are electronic,
students are much more independent than in the traditional setting. This requires that they be highly motivated and committed
to learning, with less social interaction with peers or an instructor. Students in online courses tend to do as well as those in
classrooms, but there is higher incidence of withdrawal or incomplete grades. E-learning can be viewed as computer assisted
learning, and as pedagogy for student-centered and collaborative learning. Early developments in e-learning focused on
computer assisted learning, where part or all of the learning content is delivered digitally. More recently, the pedagogical
dimension of e-learning has become prominent. E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and
teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to
implement the learning process. (Abstract by authors)