Some put it more grandly.    So online learning is "the use of digital networks, either synchronous or asynchronous, for the delivery and tuition of courses" [1].

One author gives an extended definition which manages to include "learner-centred", "integrates", "blending", "technology" and "flexible", see [2].    But the central idea, of learning using the web or the internet, is the same.

• Web-based Learning (WBT)
• Web-based Instruction (WBI)
• Web-based Training (WBT)
• and Internet-based Training (IBT).

Some authors try to differentiate between these terms (see, for example, [3]) but any distinctions are slight and hardly deserving of a special terminology.

Some extend online learning to include not only interaction "via the Web" but also by "other electronic means", making effectively indistinguishable from e-learning [7].

Others argue that e-learning is broader, and includes learning using, for example, a local or wide area network as well as the internet [6].

Some even equate online learning with distance education [8].   But that, in part, reflects the confusion surrounding distance learning itself.

Some argue that online learning should be used only for a complete package, that includes online enrolment, assessment and administration as well as teaching, [1].

Others are happy that simply "some or most of the interaction takes place via the Web" [7], or that the web should be at least the "primary delivery mode" [9].