In the past, the primary channel for learners to gain knowledge was through formal learning in schools and universities. They spent something like 90 % of their daily learning time in formal learning and very little in informal learning. However, learners’ learning patterns and habits have been evolving along with the continuous growth of technology and the Internet. Nowadays, learners are no longer solely dependent on schools or universities to gain knowledge on a certain topic (Cross 2011; Bell et al. 2009). As ASTD (2008) indicates "Informal learning is used to supplement or reinforce
learning from formal programs" (p15). Informal learning methods are easily accessible and available to learners via the Internet, resulting in a shift in the time allocation of formal learning to perhaps only 50 % of the learners’ daily learning time. The other
50 % (or even more) of the learners’ daily learning time is devoted to informal learning,
such as online learning, virtual classrooms, or other online materials. This trend is
moving faster than anyone could anticipate because there is an increasing number of
better quality learning contents/courses available on the Internet (ASTD 2008; Bell
et al. 2009; Conner 2008). With students spending less time in formal learning, it will
only be a matter of time before informal learning replaces formal learning if formal
educational systems do not change (ASTD 2008; du Bois-Reymond 2003). Traditional
formal educational systems desperately need to make fundamental change to strive for
a better survival of formal education