Learning isn’t just about getting the right grades anymore. While that will help you stand out in school, it doesn’t do much for you in the real world. This is a concept core to the rapid rise and development of online learning platforms worldwide. Not only are such platforms being used for imparting training and knowledge in the academic world but they are also increasingly being used for corporate in-house training programs.
E-learning platforms have increasingly gained acceptance by the masses owing to a number of different factors. The key aspects however, revolve around their ability to help people overcome traditional obstacles associated with conventional schooling and traditional learning methodologies.
1. You Can See Change Everywhere
There’s a saying that “Change is the only constant there is.” That is extremely evident today. Wherever you look, you can see things changing – whether it’s industry, agriculture, services and now, even education. There is widespread evidence that online schools are changing the very manner in which we impart education to our students.
Of course, there are different ways in which one can choose to respond to such changes. The more common approach is denial along with the need to hold on to conventional ways of doing things. The more logical and often harder way of approaching such a scenario would involve analyzing the existing situation and focusing on changing trends.
Taking stock of where we stand today and then evaluating possible paths toward a brighter future is what online schools are all about. They help students as well as their parents look at the current methodologies we use to impart education in a more analytical way. This can then be compared and contrasted with those being used by online learning platforms.
If you are able to take your mind off the fear you feel even for a little while, it is plain to see how our education system is changing. While this may prove to be a long, drawn out process, it is nevertheless an important one. Change can be hard but in some cases necessary. Without constructive change, we stand to fall behind in terms of our global counterparts.
2. Our Failing Education System
There have been several incidents where renowned professionals, both from academic and non-academic fields, have cited that our current education system is failing our children. In the wake of rapid globalization, a high school diploma is no longer enough. Where it was once enough to land you a decent, well-paying job, it now serves as merely a starting point for those wishing to build a successful career.
Our current education system was primarily designed to churn out employees required by corporations. While this worked for the baby-boomer generation, it is proving disastrous for the ones who came after them. Off-shoring of jobs has been a major contributor to the loss of employment in the United States. While this has resulted in the availability of cheaper goods, it has also resulted in the reduction of blue-collar and white-collar jobs.
Our traditional schools are still churning out employees who will end up looking for jobs after they graduate with their high school diploma. For those who go on to pursue higher education, the story may not be much different. They will be more specialized but they will still be looking for jobs – jobs that may not exist when they graduate. While it is important that we have specialized professionals working for corporations, it is also vital that we have more entrepreneurs to set up new corporations that will create jobs for such people.
With online schools, the primary focus is on learning as opposed to just getting good grades. With technology being the cornerstone of virtually every industry, it is vital that our students focus more on the learning process as a whole. While traditionally it has been perceived that our learning process stops once you graduate with your high school diploma, that view can no longer be accepted.
3. Technology – The Core Foundation
As technology changes, employees as well as business owners are being forced to rethink and reevaluate business strategies to help them cope with rapidly changing circumstances. E-learning platforms are revolutionizing the way companies impart training to their employees. Not only are they more cost-effective but they are also much easier to develop and distribute.
With the help of such online training programs, refresher courses are becoming more and more frequent due to the constant need of ensuring that employees stay updated with the latest technologies. On the downside, staying abreast with changing trends is also becoming increasingly difficult since the frequency and pace at which those changes take place has increased significantly.
This has also made adapting to those changes much more difficult. As human beings, we take a certain amount of time to adjust to change both mentally and emotionally. Additionally, it also brings about certain changes in the processes being followed. With the help of e-learning programs, this entire process has been customized according to each person’s individual needs and capabilities.
4. How Online Learning Can Help Us Cope
Online schools adopt methods that foster independent learning. This process helps students develop their own skills that help them learn independent of a teacher. This skill is absolutely vital once they graduate with their high school diploma.
Social networking platforms have revolutionized the way our children search for and absorb information. E-learning platforms have sought to leverage this phenomenon and develop courses that are tailor-made to help students learn in this manner. Not only are children more comfortable learning this way (since they are already accustomed to it) but they also prefer it because it allows them to do things their own way.
The objective of online schooling is to help each student learn in a manner that is conducive to their personal growth. Since each student has different abilities, it provides for each of them to explore their course material in their own way at their own pace. This has proved to be immensely beneficial in our pursuit to help our children cope with the numerous changes that are headed their way.
