Distance Education in the Form of E-Learning in Chile: Training Human Capital for the 21st Century

Abstract

The requirements imposed in terms of professional competences, training and employability go beyond traditional education. The introduction of technology helps the process of knowledge and information acquisition, giving access to resources available in the system and developing the skills for research and learning by means of critical thinking. This does not only have an impact on students graduated from secondary school, but also people who live in isolated places because of geography, people who work and are heads of families, handicapped people, among others, giving evidence of a more inclusive and democratic form of education. Therefore, although e-learning is new in our country, it needs to be exploited in relation to its characteristics in order to progress according to the local and global context. Because of what was said above, this essay studies in depth the need for access, coverage and flexibility of the system, and the way in which education at a distance in the form of e-learning can be a contribution for the training of the professionals needed in the country.