A World Bank report early this year stresses that traditional education still has the upper hand against online courses and learning. However, online education and its institutions are noticing areas to improve from student experience to facilitating online education. The improvement of online education might render traditional universities all over the world obsolete in the next century.
University and traditional learning’s obsolescence might not come too soon as this report admits. Online education is evolving at a steady rate and has produced positive results according to some students.
If you plan to take a degree, diploma or vocational electrician’s course online, it pays to know these seven facts before beginning your journey.
Growing Quality Of Online Courses
The World Bank report cites investigator reports about the closing down of many universities and learning institutions all over the world. The number could see acceleration by 2040. The online learning revolution would force traditional universities from the United States and the rest of the world to transition to the world’s biggest communication medium, the Internet.
South Africa only has a few universities. However, many electrical and roofing trade schools exist. Online institutions with premium education will prove effective for South Africa and the entire African continent’s educational system.
Institutionalizing online education in South Africa is a possible task, but not one without its challenges. Gradually, online courses would evolve into university-level education, which would be beneficial for aspiring electricians and other willing learners.
Primarily For-Profit
Private companies and organizations own most online institutions today, which means these universities intend to make a profit.
For-profit schools have some advantages. Accredited for-profit education graduates who wish to take another degree could have the prospective institution credit their courses.
Online education offered by these institutions is a mix of degree and vocational knowledge. Private schools have instructors with years of experience teaching lessons and skills, relating their lessons to real-life situations with proper application creating an engaging learning environment.
However, materials and other requirements are a premium for for-profit online universities. Earning your physical diploma or certification online, for example, would require a hefty payment from your end.
Requires Lots Of Discipline/ No Direct Accountability
One lesson traditional university teaches students is discipline. Professors would have students who fail to perform adequately in class exposed to discreet stimulation such as class recitation and discussion. These invitations to participate actively in class stimulate students’ brains while homework and reading materials improve the knowledge the class stimulation ingrained in them.
Voluntary education with online universities requires self-discipline and deep interest in the subject. Electronics and electrical education, along with other technical lessons, could prove boring or troublesome. Most online classes would tackle mostly academic areas of this field, which could prove insufficient without any proper hands-on or closely observed lessons from educators.
Not Effective With Community Colleges
Another study from California shows online courses lacking student stimulation and improvement in community colleges. A study by University of California-Davis researchers found that most students studying online versions of their courses had failed to finish or pass their course. Researchers concluded with extensive analysis that students perform better with traditional teaching.
In California, similarly with South Africa and other African countries, community colleges educate half of the population (while these educational institutions educate more individuals in Africa). The research showed online schools have failed to bring in graduates.
One reason is that students prefer to take mathematics and technical subjects, essential subjects for would-be electricians, in a traditional classroom. According to the researchers, an online presentation with a voiceover is ineffective brain stimulation for technical courses.
Not As Mobile As Most Think
As online university students fail to invest enough time to perform for the online university’s requirements, other researchers focused on finding areas to improve online education.
Existing studies stress that Millennials use their smartphones and tablets in learning skills essential for their goals or their work. More schools are using technology to facilitate learning and taking cues from online marketers on the use of visuals to educate students.
Online universities are not quite mobile; presentations with voiceovers are poor mediums to educate online students. Online electrician degree-takers could use an app simulation designed to emulate the experience of a hands-on experience. The real hands-on learning experience would outdo the app at any rate, but developing interactive mediums is a great start.
Efficacy Could Bounce From “YouTube-Learning” to University Level Realizations
As educators save lectures and presentations and upload them as reviewable videos, students feel they can access the content at any time. Some lecturers even download YouTube videos to supplement their educational material.
However, YouTube’s tutorial videos and recorded lectures perform better than most online educational lectures captured on video. In fact, Internet schools do not save to file an educator’s entire lesson. In some cases, lecturers use teaching materials prepared by third parties with teachers facilitating the learning process
If an aspiring electrician taking an online course dedicates him or herself to the curriculum and invests time, the efficacy of online learning could go from YouTube-style learning to university-level lessons. The educational institution, whether online or offline, only makes up half the educational experience; the student’s motivation is always the focal point of improving the learning experience.