How Effective are Online Courses?
Online courses have made it possible for many working professionals and other aspirants to take up higher education, reskilling-upskilling courses and executive programs from the comfort their homes while still being able to meet their personal and professional commitments and not having to uproot themselves for education. The reason is that with the advancement in technology and the internet, it has become possible to remove the classroom from physical boundaries of a room, a university and even cities and countries from and recreate it online.
Online courses also enable cost-saving- courses like distance MBA and online entrepreneurship courses have lower fees compared to the on-campus courses. Even when fees are similar, there will be saving on costs of transportation, accommodation, printing, visa fees (for international courses) and so on. It has reduced the distance from the education dream for many.
How effective are online courses?
Online courses are quite effective. Research and data suggest that online learners study a lot more than traditional learners would and that their test scores are equal if not above traditional learners.
Why are online courses effective?
Better control over learning: For online courses, there is flexibility for learners to set their own pace since it includes both lecture and self-study components. They can schedule their study time and a convenient location to study. This gives learners a better control over their learning path.
Industry consultation for curriculum: The best online courses are designed in consultation with the industry to incorporate the best practices in the curriculum. So, they add as much weight as an on-campus, full-time course to your resume.
Digital classrooms: Instead of having just pre-recorded lectures, it is now possible to have live and interactive lectures for online courses too. So, classroom discussion, practical exercise, case studies, etc. are done in these digital classrooms making the course more effective.
Hands-on pedagogical methods: How will online entrepreneurship courses and online MBAs and cybersecurity courses be effective, if these are only theoretical? This is why online courses incorporate a hands-on pedagogy through the use of extensive classroom activities, practical simulation exercise, case studies, etc. along with infographics, videos and other visual aids to enable effective understanding by the participants of core concepts and their practical application. The best online entrepreneurship courses include on-campus modules to give learners both practice pitching and opportunities to actually pitch their ideas to the mentors and industry experts.
Networking opportunities: The best online learning platforms provide networking opportunities to learners through online communities and forums for peer discussions, mentor support and opportunities interact one-on-one with the faculty, opportunities to interact with industry stalwarts, etc.
Student support: The best online education platforms provides dedicated student support to get their doubts and queries solved.
A word of caution…
The flexibility provided by online courses can be a boon and a bane. We have discussed why it is a boon earlier. It can be a bane if the learner does not have self-discipline and does not schedule the studies properly, procrastinating and piling up assignments to the last moment. For online courses to be effective, the learner must have self-discipline.
The verdict is that online courses are very effective if the learners are focused, disciplined and self-motivated.