Online learning is the umbrella term for any educational experience delivered over the internet, encompassing self-paced video courses, live virtual classrooms, cohort-based programs, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), and hybrid models that combine these modes. It is a broader and more neutral term than e-learning, which in corporate contexts often implies a specific SCORM-packaged module architecture. The distinction matters when talking to clients: a founder building a live tutoring marketplace is doing online learning but may not think of it as e-learning. For engineers, the main architectural split is between asynchronous delivery — video on demand, static content, and assessments with no real-time requirement — and synchronous delivery, which demands WebRTC infrastructure, low-latency media servers, and session-state management. The two tracks have largely separate technology stacks and vendor ecosystems. Online learning also carries a network-quality dependency that physical classrooms do not: a learner on a congested mobile network in a low-bandwidth region needs adaptive bitrate streaming and offline caching that a campus course never requires. Practically, when a product manager writes "online learning platform," engineers should push back and ask: synchronous, asynchronous, or both? The answer changes the architecture more than almost any other requirement.
The handbook · 7 volumes
Fora Soft Video Engineering Handbook
Online learning covers everything from self-paced video to live virtual classes, and each mode puts different demands on the video stack behind it. Our seven-volume handbook covers that stack from pixel to production; start with Volume 3 on players, ABR, WebRTC for live classes, and QoE, then Volume 1 on encoding and Volume 4 on clear voice and captions. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Planning an online learning product and unsure which video stack fits your course formats?
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