eLearning is training or education delivered through digital devices and the internet instead of a physical classroom, using formats such as video lessons, interactive simulations, quizzes and virtual classrooms that a learner can access on demand or during a live online session. Also written e-learning or e learning, it is now the default way most companies and training providers deliver both compliance training and skills development.
This guide is the plain-English definition of elearning that the rest of our training-technology content builds on. It covers what elearning actually means, a short history of how it evolved, the six main types you will run into, concrete benefits for organizations and learners, common formats and examples, and how elearning differs from the learning management system that usually hosts it.
What Does eLearning Mean, in Plain English?
eLearning is any structured learning experience delivered electronically, most often through a browser, app or virtual classroom, rather than printed materials or an in-person instructor. It ranges from a five-minute compliance video to a multi-week certification course, and it is typically built, packaged and tracked through a learning platform.
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) defines e-learning as a structured course or learning experience delivered digitally, covering formats from lectures and video to quizzes, simulations and games, and it is explicit that this is different from just handing someone a digital textbook. Well-built elearning combines instructional design (clear learning objectives, practice and feedback) with technology, and it is usually packaged to standards such as SCORM, xAPI or cmi5 so it can be launched and tracked inside whatever system an organization uses. In short, elearning is the “what,” the content and the instructional approach, not the “where.”
Where Did the Term “eLearning” Come From?
The term “eLearning” entered wide professional use around 1999, but electronic learning tools go back much further. Sidney Pressey built an “Automatic Teacher” testing machine in 1924, and Donald Bitzer’s PLATO system, launched in 1960, is widely credited as the first computer-based education platform.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1924 | Sidney Pressey invents the “Automatic Teacher,” an early electronic testing machine. |
| 1960 | Donald Bitzer’s PLATO system launches as one of the first computer-based education tools. |
| 1969 | ARPANET goes live, the technical predecessor to the internet that later carries online courses. |
| 1993 to 1999 | CD-ROM based computer-based training becomes common in corporate learning, and the term “eLearning” enters wide professional use around 1999. |
| 2002 | MIT launches OpenCourseWare, one of the first large-scale free online course libraries. |
| 2008 to 2012 | The term “MOOC” is coined and platforms including Coursera, Udacity and edX launch, opening large-scale online courses to millions of learners. |
| 2020s | Roughly 90 percent of US corporations use some form of eLearning, and AI-assisted authoring tools start generating first drafts of course content. |
That history matters because it explains why elearning looks the way it does today. Early tools focused on testing and drill practice, the CD-ROM era added multimedia, the web era added scale and MOOCs, and the current AI-assisted era is focused on personalization and faster content production rather than just digitizing a classroom lecture. See a detailed timeline of eLearning’s history for the full list of milestones.
What Are the Main Types of eLearning?
The six most common types of elearning are self-paced (asynchronous) courses, instructor-led online training (synchronous), blended learning, microlearning, mobile learning, and social or collaborative learning. Most training programs combine two or three of these rather than relying on just one.
If you are building a training catalog rather than just evaluating one, our guide to types of eLearning for training providers goes deeper on mixing these formats for a paid course catalog.
Self-Paced eLearning (Asynchronous)
Self-paced elearning lets learners work through pre-built content, video, reading, quizzes and simulations, on their own schedule with no live instructor present. It is the most common and least expensive type of elearning to scale, because one finished course can serve unlimited learners without adding staff time.
The trade-off is lower built-in accountability and no real-time question and answer, which is why many programs pair self-paced modules with a live session or a coach check-in. See self-paced learning vs. instructor-led training for a full comparison of when each approach works best.
Instructor-Led Online Training (Synchronous)
Instructor-led online training, sometimes called virtual ILT, delivers a live class through video conferencing software on a fixed schedule, so it looks and feels like a classroom session minus the travel. It keeps the discussion, live feedback and cohort energy of a traditional classroom while letting learners join from anywhere.
This format works best for material that benefits from real-time back and forth, role play, negotiation practice, or complex Q&A, where a recorded video cannot adapt to what a specific learner is stuck on. It usually needs more staff time per session than self-paced content, since an instructor has to be present and prepared for every run.
Blended Learning
Blended learning combines self-paced online content with live sessions, either in person or virtual, so learners get independent practice time plus real-time coaching, discussion or hands-on practice. It is the most common approach in corporate onboarding and accredited certification programs.
A typical blended design has learners complete foundational material asynchronously, then attend a shorter live session focused only on discussion, practice and questions, sometimes called a flipped-classroom model. This cuts the live session time needed per learner without losing the benefits of instructor access.
Microlearning
Microlearning breaks training into short, single-objective lessons, typically 3 to 7 minutes long, that a learner can finish between tasks instead of sitting through a long course. It works best for reinforcement, just-in-time reference and mobile-first audiences with limited attention spans.
Building and hosting bite-sized lessons usually means picking a module builder rather than a full course authoring suite. See our roundup of the best microlearning platforms and LMS module builders for options built specifically for short-form content.
Mobile Learning (mLearning)
Mobile learning delivers elearning content on phones and tablets, often through a dedicated app, so employees or students can train during commutes, shift breaks or downtime instead of only at a desk. It overlaps heavily with microlearning, since small screens favor short, single-objective lessons over long video.
Frontline and field workforces, retail staff, warehouse teams, drivers, are the biggest adopters of mobile learning, mainly because they rarely sit at a desk during the workday. A course built for a laptop does not always work on a phone without redesigning the layout and shortening each screen.
Social and Collaborative Learning
Social and collaborative elearning adds discussion forums, peer review, cohort chat or mentoring to a course so learners can ask questions, share context and learn from each other instead of working entirely alone. It is usually layered on top of self-paced or blended programs rather than used by itself.
This type addresses one of the most common complaints about pure self-paced elearning, that it can feel isolating and offers no way to ask a quick question. A discussion thread, a Slack channel tied to a cohort, or built-in peer commenting can close that gap without requiring a live instructor.
Match Format To Task Frequency
Do not standardize on one elearning type for everything. Save self-paced courses for material learners revisit often, use microlearning as searchable job aids for rare or high-stakes tasks, and reserve live instructor-led sessions for skills that need real-time feedback, such as negotiation or difficult conversations.
What Are the Benefits of eLearning for Organizations and Learners?
eLearning benefits organizations mainly through lower cost per learner, faster rollout and built-in tracking for compliance evidence, and it benefits learners mainly through flexibility, self-paced review and, according to multiple studies, better information retention than one-off classroom sessions. Both sides also gain consistency, since every learner sees the same version of the material.
The global elearning market is projected to grow from $275.86 billion in 2026 to $461.92 billion by 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 10.86 percent, and that growth is driven mostly by employers replacing recurring travel and instructor costs with reusable digital content. On the learner side, studies cited by DemandSage found that people retain 25 percent to 60 percent more information through online learning than through traditional classroom instruction, largely because self-paced formats let people revisit material and control their own pacing.
| Benefit | For organizations | For learners |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | No recurring travel, venue or instructor fees once a course is built | No travel time or expense to attend training |
| Speed and scale | One finished course can train 10 or 10,000 people without adding staff | Can start training immediately instead of waiting for the next scheduled class |
| Consistency | Every learner gets the same content, version and assessment | Clear, consistent expectations of what “done” looks like |
| Tracking and compliance | Automatic completion records and an audit trail for regulators | Visible progress and a personal record of completed training |
| Flexibility | Training runs across time zones and shifts without rescheduling | Learners can pause, rewind and fit lessons around work or life |
| Retention | Fewer repeat trainings needed when content stays available for reference | Better recall from spaced, self-controlled review |
Track Behavior Change Not Completions
A completion rate only proves someone clicked through a course. If you want to prove elearning actually worked, pair it with a manager observation, a quiz retake 30 days later, or a change in a real performance metric, not just an LMS completion report.
What Do eLearning Examples Look Like in Practice?
Common elearning examples include self-paced video courses, scenario-based simulations, gamified quizzes, live virtual classrooms, mobile microlearning lessons, podcasts, and SCORM or xAPI packages assigned inside a learning platform. Most organizations use several of these formats side by side rather than a single one.
- Self-paced video courses: Recorded lessons with a quiz at the end, the most common compliance training format.
- Scenario-based simulations: Branching decisions that mimic a real conversation or workflow, common in sales and customer service training.
- Gamified courses: Points, badges or leaderboards layered onto standard course content to boost completion.
- Live virtual classrooms: Scheduled sessions over video conferencing software with a live instructor and breakout discussion.
- Mobile microlearning lessons: Short lessons or flashcard-style review pushed to a learner’s phone.
- Podcasts and audio lessons: Audio-only content for commute time or hands-busy work.
- Virtual and augmented reality training: Immersive practice for physical or high-risk tasks, such as equipment operation.
- SCORM and xAPI packages: Standardized course files a learning platform can assign, launch and report on.
How Is eLearning Different From a Learning Management System?
eLearning is the instructional content and approach itself, the course, video or simulation a learner completes, while a learning management system is the software platform that hosts, assigns, delivers and tracks that content. You can technically have elearning without an LMS, a single standalone video, for example, but most organizations need one once they have more than a handful of learners to manage.
This split is echoed across the industry: eLearning platforms focus on content creation and delivery, while an LMS focuses on learner and course management at scale, with enrollment, reporting, certificates and integrations built in. For the full breakdown of what an LMS does, who needs one, and how it differs from adjacent tools like an LXP or a TMS, see our guide to what a learning management system is.
How Does eLearning Compare With Instructor-Led Training?
eLearning is typically cheaper to scale and more flexible than instructor-led training, while instructor-led training usually wins on live interaction, immediate feedback and complex hands-on skills. Most effective training programs blend the two rather than replacing one with the other outright.
Cost is the clearest difference: once an elearning course is built, adding the next learner costs almost nothing, while every additional instructor-led session still needs a trainer’s time. Completion and engagement patterns differ too, live sessions create a scheduled deadline that boosts attendance, while self-paced elearning depends more on the learner’s own motivation and reminders. See ILT vs. elearning for a full breakdown of cost, completion rates and when to use each.
Is eLearning the Same as Online Learning, Internet Education and Electronic Learning?
Yes, in everyday use. E-learning, e learning, electronic learning, online learning and internet education all describe the same basic idea, training delivered digitally rather than in person, though each term carries a slightly different connotation depending on who is using it.
“Electronic learning” is the full expansion of the “e” in elearning and shows up mostly in older or more formal documentation. “Online learning” is the phrase used most often in K-12 and higher education contexts, describing full degree programs as much as single courses. “Internet education” is a broader, older term that predates widespread use of “elearning” as an industry label. “e-learning” and “e learning” are simply spelling variants of the same word, hyphenated or not, and search engines and vendors use them interchangeably.
What Tools Do You Need to Build and Deliver eLearning?
Building elearning generally takes two separate tools: an authoring tool to create the actual course content, such as video, quizzes and interactions, and a learning platform to host, assign and track it for learners. Smaller teams sometimes use one tool that does both; larger training operations usually keep the two separate for more control over each.
An authoring tool is where instructional designers actually build the course, screen by screen, add narration, branch scenarios and export the finished package in a format like SCORM or xAPI. The learning platform is a separate purchasing decision focused on enrollment, permissions, reporting and integrations with your other business systems, and it is worth evaluating that decision on its own rather than assuming your authoring tool’s built-in hosting is enough once you have more than a small number of learners.
Conclusion
eLearning is not one product or one platform. It is an umbrella term for any structured training delivered digitally, and the right mix of self-paced, instructor-led, blended, microlearning, mobile and social formats depends on what your learners need to do differently after training, not on which format happens to be trendy this year.
If you are choosing how to deliver training inside your organization, start by auditing your current content type by type: tag each piece as self-paced, instructor-led, blended or microlearning, and flag whichever one or two formats are causing the most drop-off or the most repeat questions. That gap, more than any single definition, tells you whether the fix is a different elearning format or a different platform underneath it.
Once you know which format is missing, the comparison pages linked throughout this guide walk through the cost, completion-rate and use-case trade-offs in more detail so you are not guessing.
FAQ
Q1. What is eLearning in simple terms?
eLearning is training or education you complete on a computer, tablet or phone instead of in a classroom, using formats like video lessons, interactive courses, quizzes and virtual classrooms. It can be self-paced, live with an instructor, or a mix of both, and it is usually hosted and tracked through a learning management system.
Q2. What are the main types of eLearning?
The six most common types are self-paced (asynchronous) courses, instructor-led online training (synchronous), blended learning, microlearning, mobile learning and social or collaborative learning. Most organizations combine two or three of these rather than using just one format for every training need.
Q3. Is eLearning the same as an LMS?
No. eLearning is the instructional content itself, such as a course, video or simulation, while a learning management system is the software that hosts, assigns and tracks that content. You need elearning content to have something to teach, and typically a platform to deliver and report on it at scale.
Q4. What is the difference between eLearning and e-learning?
Nothing. eLearning, e-learning and e learning are the same word written three different ways, all meaning training delivered electronically rather than in person. The capitalized “eLearning” and hyphenated “e-learning” are the two most common spellings in industry writing, and neither changes the meaning.
Q5. What are examples of eLearning?
Common examples include self-paced video courses, scenario-based simulations, gamified quizzes, live virtual classrooms, mobile microlearning lessons, podcasts, and SCORM or xAPI course packages assigned through a learning platform. Most training programs use several of these formats together rather than relying on only one.
Q6. What are the benefits of eLearning for a company?
eLearning typically costs less per learner than in-person training once a course is built, since there is no recurring travel or venue expense, and it scales to any number of employees without adding staff. It also gives consistent content, automatic completion tracking for compliance, and flexibility across time zones and shifts.
Q7. Is eLearning better than instructor-led training?
Neither is universally better; they solve different problems. eLearning is usually cheaper, faster to scale and more flexible, while instructor-led training gives real-time feedback and works better for complex hands-on or interpersonal skills. Most effective training programs blend both rather than choosing one exclusively.
