Have you ever wondered about the types of skills you gain and the benefits of online or virtual learning? Discover the reasons why the e-learning industry has grown by 900% since 2000.
Online or distance learning tends to involve a teacher who knows a lot about a topic creating pre-recorded videos for students to watch in their own time. Topics of these videos are unrestricted and can include anything from baking, photography and dance to maths, chemistry and engineering. There is also the option to participate in online video tutoring, where the lesson is conducted in real time rather than through pre-recorded content.
Distance learning is a new, up-and-coming way of learning due to its cost effective, environmentally friendly nature. It allows students to take charge of their learning experience, motivate themselves to achieve their own goals and connect with teachers from all over the world, regardless of timezone or geographical location.
You do not just gain new skills as a result of the knowledge you require from the lessons within the course that you choose. Online learning also has many benefits of its own.
Want to find out more about some of the skills you could gain with online learning? Here are some examples.
Time management skills
Online learning is extremely flexible. You can decide when you want to learn and make your own schedule. It is one of the most flexible ways of learning. Students are therefore encouraged to organize their schedules regarding education, which can improve their organization skills. Students must effectively plan when to watch the pre-recorded video lessons and when to participate in live tutoring calls in combination with their personal arrangements.
Personal Drive
There are no teachers to force you to do your homework and study for exams with distance learning. Students have to motivate themselves to continue learning, participate in the lessons and set their own goals. The initial drive to find a topic or hobby that interests them and sign up to classes also requires a great deal of self-motivation. Online learners show dedication, ambition and even success upon completion of the course or achievement of target goals.
Skills with Technology
Online learning inevitably develops a user’s knowledge of technology and how to use it. Technology is indispensable in many career fields, with 44% of businesses increasing their technology budget. Distance learning helps to update existing knowledge to be applicable to the current job market and develop a hands-on experience with technology during the learning process, which is required to understand the plethora of new applications and websites that are used in many industries.
Communication Skills
This is prominent in one aspect of distance learning which is the live tutoring videos or calls. This teaching method connects people of different ages, cultures, backgrounds and ethnicities. In order to communicate effectively and learn from someone that you have not met before, communication skills are essential. The interaction between teachers and students also allows the individuals to potentially obtain a greater understanding of the difference between their cultures, which is hugely beneficial for the development of interpersonal skills.
Confidence
Online learning is an active method of education that does not merely involve students listening and absorbing information. The possibility and indeed the necessity to ask questions or initiate discussions during distance learning also helps students to improve their confidence. This may allow them to assert their ideas and communicate with colleagues more effectively.
Are you ready to start yet?
Online learning can improve your skills directly through the lessons that you choose to participate in, but what is amazing about it is that you can also gain covert, subtle skills from the process of learning itself.
You can find your passion, explore different topics or activities and develop your skills all at once.