Am I a candidate for an online course?

Online academic methodology is different

Taking an online course is different than going to classroom. Online learning can be more convenient, but it is NOT easier!

Taking courses online means taking greater personal responsibility for your development. With the freedom and flexibility of online programs come more responsibility! It takes real commitment and discipline to keep on track. However, we will see continuously that largely, it will depend on the kind of online academic services you will have on the course.

Am I a candidate?

While there’s a definite increase in college-age students choosing online education, most Zigurat Global Institute of Technology online students are already career professionals. More specifically, 36% consider themselves “industry switchers” hoping to move from one career field to another, while the remaining 34% are “career accelerators,” or working professionals who want to advance their current career.

What kind of skills do I need to follow an online program?

Sooner or later you will have to start studying something digitally. Online methodology is challenging, and it demands some special skills and behaviors. You will need to analyze your personality and discover what aspects you will have to improve to be prepared.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

Study practices:

-         Do I plan my work in advance?

-         Do I have an appropriate place to study at home/office?

-         Am I willing to study 10-15 hours every week online?

Learning preferences:

-         Do I need a book to learn something?

-         Do I learn well on my own?

-         Am I willing to collaborate with people I might never see?

Self- Commitment:

-         Do I have a really good reason for taking an online course?

-         Do I finish the projects I begin?

-         Do I give up when things get tough?

Digital density:

-         Do I feel comfortable using internet and social netwroks?

-         Do I feel comfortable using digital platforms for project management?

-         Do I have experience in developing projects digitally (docs, power points, videos, charts)?

What kinds of online courses are there?

Online education is not a new activity for most of society. However, in Zigurat we see very low results when looking for personal experiences in complex collaborative programs. We need to understand what we are hiring, and why do we see different range of prices on online education. 

We could classify the online programs into three different types:

1 - Massive Open Online Courses (in Zigurat used for level up courses and dissemination of innovative topics)

• Self-study
• No feedback from the lecturer
• Self-appraisal
• Video-based teaching documents
• Specific topics (2-25 hours)
• Web

2 - Asynchronous learning (in Zigurat used for medium courses)

• Self-study
• Feedback from the lecturers through forums or email
• Assessment by individual projects and exams
• Teaching documents based on videos, pdfs, and other formats
• Comprehensive fields (1-24 months)
• Complex learning management systems

3 - Synchronous learning (in Zigurat used for the Master's programs)

• Live classrooms
• Direct feedback from the lecturers through video conferences and forums
• Assessment by collaborative projects and exams
• Teaching documents based on videos, pdfs, and other formats
• Comprehensive fields (1-24 months)
• Complex learning management systems
• Combined with International onsite Weeks (Zigurat)

 Finally, what do I need?

Based on your resources, capabilities and needs you will have too identify what kind of course is best for you. Industry switchers and career accelerators fully understand that efficiency and effectiveness are key aspects of their lifetime, and fortunately, we have nowadays a wide range of options to choose from.