Discussions between the supporters of traditional education and those preferring digital educational methods have been ongoing for quite a few years. On one hand, education is about much more than teaching and learning processes. One of its unquestionable benefits is that it equips students with socializing, communication and other soft skills that are crucial for young adults entering a real-world professional path. Moreover, ties and connections built during the university or college times most likely will stay throughout the whole life and will contribute to future professional networking.
On the other hand, the younger generations appear to be coming into this world already with a tablet or smartphone in their hand. They are so used to having technology present in every aspect of their life that they probably won’t accept the traditional education as we know it. And concrete figures speak louder than general words: over 40 percent of students claim that online classes provide higher quality of education if compared to conventional schooling.
Like in many other situations, the truth is somewhere in the middle. There is no even slightest doubt that the traditional offline education will undergo substantial changes and won’t be like anything we knew before, because of the rapid advancement of online education. Yet, digital learning won’t be able to completely replace the conventional methods. Instead of competing, these two methods will merge to offer students totally new unprecedented educational options leveraging the powerful advantages each of the two has. So, what exactly can we expect from the integrating of digital techniques and tools into the education process?
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Practice-Led Learning
A growing number of business and industry experts opine that practice is more important than theory. To be successful and able to land a dream job, a fresh graduate should not only possess theoretical knowledge about their area of expertise, but also be able to do real practical things with minimum supervision.
Potential team leaders are not really interested if the candidate knows the history of marketing, rather they need a hire that can plan and implement efficient marketing campaigns for their company. Moreover, today companies expect fresh employees to have a rather broad skill-set that may not be directly connected with their field of study. For example, the use of various diagrams, graphs and charts is getting more and more popular in the business environment.
A successful candidate is expected to be able to professionally deal with multiple tasks, even if they don’t have a background in graphic design. For example, creating invitations, cards or posters can become an easy thing to do if using a nice A4 template design delivered by free and helpful graphic design software. And that’s exactly what different online courses with their learning-by-doing principle can help with. At the same time, traditional education can feed in some important theoretical fundamentals to complement the practical part.
Flexible Training
We are all unique and individual, which is perhaps the most powerful potential of mankind. When it comes to education and learning processes, different people find different formats most suitable for their needs and preferences. While some are more into reading theoretical bases and looking into a broader scope of subjects, others may prefer a more practical narrow-field approach. When combined with traditional schooling, online classes can ensure a high level of flexibility so that every student can find what is right for them. Modern education means adapting and offering more flexible courses that are available during the time slot that is convenient for the student, in a format that the student finds comfortable and on devices that suit the student best.
Step-by-Step Learning
The majority of experienced teachers can tell us that people in general are more efficient at learning little-by-little. Even from the psychological and motivational perspective, a ceiling-high pile of big books doesn’t look very encouraging, especially to a freshman. An education system empowered by digital solutions that allows students to learn in small portions is much more effective and efficient. Firstly, it fits perfectly into a present-day student lifestyle. Secondly, it doesn’t put unnecessary pressure on students. Such companies as Samsung and Google are offering their employees a wide range of short training courses. Also Read – 5 Tips for Nontraditional College Students
Accessible Education
Truth be told, traditional education doesn’t come cheap. Even taking into consideration available scholarships and other funding possibilities, attending a university still remains unaffordable for many people. Digital education enables many learners to get new knowledge and professional qualifications regardless of their country of origin, income or geographical location. This opens up formal education to those people who otherwise would never get a chance to receive professional training. It may sound pompous, but online learning helps make our world a better place.
Final Words
Interactivity, personalization and effective communication are key ingredients for successful learning. You can’t beat the classroom as an environment for providing valuable feedback. Of course, emerging online courses don’t announce that the traditional education is approaching its end; still it’s inevitable that many changes have occurred in the learning and teaching industry and for sure we will see even more of this happening in the years to come.
