Online Education - The New Normal

It was very much visible, the kind of exceptional career support, upGrad is offering,
through personalized career advice, one-on-one sessions, and employment opportunities.

Online Education - The New Normal

It's quite interesting to notice that there are ample amount of strong indicators that suggest it's truly the way education industry is going to shape up pretty soon; in fact, the whole process has already begun. 

Yes, you heard it right! Online education is the New Normal. By the way, let me also assert (whether you like it or not) that it's the future of education as well. 

I remember, during my college days, I completed a couple of online certifications and felt a little ahead of my peers as it was not a regular norm those days. Also, it gave me a sense of having a couple of extra stars on my resume.  

Recently, I conducted 'Train the Trainer' Employability Coaching workshop for the Career Coaches as well as Student Mentors at upGrad, Mumbai.

It was indeed an amazing experience training, guiding and teaching a super-enthusiastic bunch of participants for India's one of the top educational e-Learning platforms.

It was very much visible, the kind of exceptional career support, upGrad is offering, through personalized career advice, one-on-one sessions, and employment opportunities.

As the rapid spread of the Coronavirus continues; schools, colleges and universities across the country have been forced to close their doors. Most professors and students suddenly found themselves pushed to use technology as they teach and learn. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure has led many school systems to find innovative ways to reach and teach their students and one of the primary ways that's being done is through virtual, or say online, education.

Having done my own share of small research from various surveys and studies, I found some amazing facts to support my notion.

It's quite interesting to notice that there are ample amount of strong indicators that suggest it's truly the way education industry is going to shape up pretty soon.

Let's look at these facts one by one,

• A survey by the BBC in 2003 revealed that micro online learning modules can improve understanding, retention, and application levels by at least 30%.
  
• The total number of students participating in at least one online course has surpassed 6.7 million in the US, and the numbers are steadily increasing.
  
• 77% of academic leaders rate the learning outcomes in online education as the same or superior to those in face-to-face education.
  
• A Brandon-Hall Study reveals that learning online typically requires 40% to 60% less time than learning the same subject in a traditional classroom setting.
  
• E-learning helps participants learn nearly 5 times more material.
  
• Students in online learning conditions perform modestly better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.
  
• E-learning uses no paper, requires no traveling, and uses fewer resources, all of which saves a lot of energy.
  
• Online students are more responsible, disciplined, self - motivated and achieve more, plus they also develop better skills in time management.

As far as my experience with online education as an instructor goes, I must say that even way before Covid 19 outbreak, I've been delivering online training sessions to my learners (in US and Mauritius) and enjoyed the experience thoroughly. 

Also, online education gives an exceptional opportunity to trainers to reach out to wonderful learners across the world. 

Yogita, a working professional from Mauritius left no stone unturned to realize her true potential. She joined one of my online courses as a humble beginner and attended all the online training sessions with a curious mind and a positive attitude. 

Yogita (from Mauritius) joined one of my online courses as a humble beginner and
attended all the online training sessions with a curious mind and a positive attitude.

Glad to see her today as a super-confident individual and a successful professional.

If a learner is committed to learn and grow further; learning has no limits, no boundaries; and online education comes with many benefits both to the learners and instructors. Welcome to the future!

"Online learning is not the next big thing, it is the now big thing.” 

- Donna J. Abernathy

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