eLearning: The influence of ICT on the style of teaching Tatjana Šepić, Ivan Pogarčić & Sanja Raspor Business Department Polytechnic of Rijeka Vukovarska 58, 51000 Rijeka, Hrvatska Telefon:+385 51 353 753 Fax: +385 51 673 529 E-mail: tatjanas@veleri.hr http://www.veleri.hr / Summary - Learning and teaching make a synergic process we recognize as instruction or education in general. The realization of such a process presupposes a model in which the student and the teacher share the content and the goals of teaching and at the same time are defined by the context in which the model exists. In the process of teaching, the focus can be shifted to any of the above mentioned elements. From the historical point of view, the advancement and the development of teaching have been conditioned by its relation towards the focus of the model. The increasing involvement of information communication technology in the process has also changed the relationship between the elements in it. The teaching process is organized with precise goals and tailored to meet the students' needs. To a large extent it is also conditioned by the teacher, his characteristics and his style of teaching. The application of ICT in the instruction process, in particular in teaching, has considerably changed the above mentioned circumstances. This paper analyses to what extent the position of the teacher has changed, what are some anticipated advantages and disadvantages of eTeaching in virtual environment and how can these influence the style of teaching. I. INTRODUCTION Education as a process of acquiring knowledge and skills comprises five basic elements: the learner, the teacher, the content, goals to be achieved and the context or learning environment. The successful realization of such a process requires learning environment in which both the learner and the teacher would share the content and the goals of learning/teaching. Whether we speak of traditional and in particular of blended or online learning, the focus is nowadays put on the learner who has become the central figure that the other four elements, very often referred to as learning resources, are oriented to. In recent years the growth of e-learning, used here as an umbrella term for various ways of using computers and the Internet [1] particularly in higher education, has given rise to numerous studies dedicated to the e-learner: his needs, expectations regarding the content of the course, the best way of presenting and structuring it, testing students' knowledge and so on. A lot of attention has also been given to discussing all forms of e-learning in general, their benefits for the learner and the process of learning as a whole, as well as pedagogical aspects, methodological and technical problems encountered in an e-learning environment. The fact is that the application and the use of ICT in education have brought about considerable changes in all of the five elements mentioned earlier. eContext gives both the learner and the teacher more time and place independence provided that there is appropriate technical environment and IT support. Content together with the context has perhaps gone through the most extensive changes. Textbooks and other traditional teaching materials have been substituted by digital (multimedia) materials stored on the Web, easily accessible and with the possibility to be regularly updated. When creating and developing e-learning material different background knowledge, learning styles and capabilities of potential learners should be considered. As to the goals of e-teaching/learning the purpose is basically the same as in traditional face-to-face teaching, i.e. not only to transfer knowledge but also to motivate and help students to become successful e-learners The novelty here is promoting the student' s greater autonomy in learning which would at the same time prepare him for life-long education. It has already been mentioned that the new paradigm of e-learning is learner-centered paradigm which has shifted the focus from the teacher who is no longer seen as a central figure. Even so, his role, although changed, is still very important. New learning context requires not only new learning but also new teaching methods creating consequently new teaching styles more appropriate to ICT technology. II. TEACHING STYLE(S) There are various definitions and meanings of the term style depending on the context in which it is used. In general style (from Latin stilus – a pencil) can be defined as a way of a person expressing himself characterized by all those features that make him/her different from the others.[2] Style is also a manner, how a thing is done or the way things happen. It can also refer to the way something is written or produced in language, music, architecture becoming typical of an individual, group of people, time or place. Style can further on be determined by the character of an individual, a group of people or an organization if the activities are carried out in a group. The learning style of an individual is determined by his personality, way of thinking, his preferences for pictures, sounds or actions. On the other hand, teaching styles can be based and developed on teachers' personal experience – preferred learning styles reflected in their way of presenting the content of a course, their abilities, norms of