Is E-Learning Useless?

Prefix anything with an ‘E’ and it becomes ‘E’xtra cool. With new technologies we have evolutionised and electronified our rather old school innovations.

Mails became e-mails.

Books became e-books.

Commerce became e-Commerce.

Cigarettes became e-cigarettes (Why even.)

And learning became e-learning.

Sure, all of them sound cool but let’s look beyond their ‘prefix-value’.

The e-learning market is expected to hit a whopping $325 billion of worth within the coming 5 years. That’s a powerful number. And you know, with great power comes great responsibility.

Let’s analyze how good of a spider-man e-learning is turning out to be.

But, wait!

How boring does a ‘Dos’ and ‘Donts’ or ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ list sound? Let’s make it less of that and more of fun. We’ll go through the perks, drawbacks and fixes of one topic at a time so you get the full picture immediately.

Freedom

Treat: You do you.

A major good news that comes when enrolling in an e-learning course is that you can finally make your own schedule as per your convenience. You may be relatively more productive during odd hours in the day or night, or you’d rather study on Sundays and not Mondays. All of your demands are most likely to be met.

Hiccup: Oh no, I slept in the whole day.

Too much of anything is very harmful. The more freedom you get, the more you need to inculcate self-discipline. Initially, it may sound quite attainable but when you don’t have fixed study hours you tend to fall deep into the dark pit of procrastination.

Remedy: Zone out.

Whenever you see yourself getting distracted, make a conscious effort to zone out and see the bigger picture. The keyword here is conscious.

What is it that you’re doing and what should you’ve been doing?

You can’t be lying to yourself, so be honest and even reprimand yourself when needed. Works. Every. Time.

You are your best critic because you don’t feel judged.

Interaction

Treat: Always live.

Another great thing that comes with the e-learning package is that your tutors or trainers will be available for you online, which means that you can send them queries/doubts anytime of the day. or such programs

Hiccup: Face-to-face?

This may serve as a major setback for many.

Nothing digital compares in-person training. Agreed.

But would you rather join a mediocre or above average institute or a par excellence online program?

Remedy: Be choosy!

All you need to do is choose the right program. You could be sitting on your sofa, and there are online courses out there that would make you feel at class 😉

You can find for yourself such programs here.

DID YOU KNOW? E-learning increases learning retention rates by between 25% and 60%.

Transformational Power

Treat: Micro-study

This is more or less a subset of the Freedom thing we dealt with earlier. You could be having a busy day, but you can always make time for a 5–10 minutes video or lesson. Dividing your material and scheduling it accordingly helps you from burning out.

Hiccup: Self-motivation

Micro-study may save you from burning out but it may also keep you away from a powerful transformation. A rigorous learning environment with your mentors right there to guide and motivate you sounds far more powerful than just you and your screen.

Remedy: The right platform

It all boils down to finding that perfect digital space.

A space that will give you freedom but not so much so that you procrastinate indefinitely. A space that will keep the interactions lively and extend full support. A space that has the tools to transform the earnest learner in you into a proficient in your field.

Online Bootcamps (Bonus section)

If you’re interested in enrolling into a super cool online coding course, here are some of the coolest online bootcamps that you can enroll in,

Flatiron School

Flatiron School offers part- and full-time bootcamps in software engineering, data science, and UX/UI, in addition to a free coding foundation course. It is self-paced and also gives you access to an employer network which is going to help your career immensely!

Code.in

Code.in gives your coding journey the perfect kickstart. You will be spending 17 weeks and will come out as a world class product developer. They are not just about building code, they’re about building products.

Udacity

Udacity offers fully online courses, lasting six months on average. Subjects include growing technology occupations such as robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, programming, data science, and more. The stacks are taught in lightening speed which accelerates the subject development effectively.

Actualize

Actualize’s online bootcamp provides students the opportunity to learn coding remotely in a live, student- and instructor-engaged learning environment. It has an extremely well-planned curriculum and exemplary educators.

You can easily check out the programs these bootcamps offer and also apply for your desired course on Bootcamps.tech — The Google of Bootcamps.

Hope you find your match!

Yours technically,

Team Bootcamps.tech