Any of the top elearning companies in India will say that elearning is the process of learning by utilising electronic mediums to access any kind of educational material outside of traditional classrooms. Elearning companies in India provide e learning materials as courses, programs or degrees that are delivered completely online. However, over the years there are quite a few types of elearning materials that are sometimes classified as per the learning tools or their learning content. They are:

1.Linear elearning – These were probably the earliest forms of elearning which were entirely one way communication. The material was made by the teachers and sent through television or radio programs to the students without any knowledge or realisation of their retention levels or usage.

2.Interactive online learning – This opened up one of the earliest forms of having a two way communication through messages sent between groups of students and teachers. It was considered more popular than the linear method as teachers could communicate with the student and change their content accordingly to an extent.

3.Computer managed learning – These are computer managed learning systems that operate through an information database. The student has to go through a set series of ranking parameters contained in these databases to be deemed as passed by the computer. The process keeps getting repeated until the student achieves the predefined satisfactory level. The system can be individualised as per the preferences of each student to an extent as they work on standalone computers.

4.Computer assisted instruction – This system uses the computer along with traditional teaching. This is the most common elearning used that uses text, sound, video and graphics in order to enhance learning. The primary value in it is interactivity where students become active learners. It uses a variety of teaching and testing mechanisms to gauge the skills and knowledge of the students.

5.Fixed elearning – The content in such elearning does not change and all students receive the same content in the same sequence which is predetermined by the teachers. It does not adapt to the preferences of the students at all. It follows traditional classroom learning and is usually not the preferred method anymore for most elearning environments.

6. Adaptive elearning – This is the latest kid on the block of elearning types that adapts and redesigns the material as per each individual learner. It takes into account a number of parameters like student’s goals, skills, performance, abilities, etc. and adapts the tool accordingly to be more individualised and student centered.

7.Synchronous online learning – Such learning is like a group activity where learning activity happens at the same time from any place in the world. It involves videoconferencing and online chats as tools that allow the instructors and participants to interact. They are slowly coming back into use once more after kind of a hiatus in the last decade or so. Many of the top elearning companies in India are starting to see them as tools that eliminate some of the disadvantages of elearning like poor relationships between teacher and student and other kinds of social isolation.

8.Asynchronous online learning – This is similar to the synchronous online learning but the groups of students study independently without any real time communication. Most of the elearning companies in India provide such elearning content which is much more flexible and provides control to the student towards their learning. They are generally preferred for self paced learning like in the case of higher education and adult learning.