Considered as the Father of Modern Management, Peter Drucker has rightly said – “The future is outside the traditional campus, outside the traditional classroom. Distance learning is coming on fast.” Although this prediction, more of a prophecy, was made in the year 1997, today we see that e-learning is one of the swiftest growing sectors of the entire world, as a fulfillment of those wise words. In fact, e-learning is one of the boons and is about to revolutionize the education sector wholly. A great thanks to the many technologies that have made e-learning possible today to an unimaginable level.

An Overview On E-Learning

One of the major benefits of the availability of a number of new tools and the constant expansion of the internet worldwide has contributed to overcoming the barrier of ‘distance’ in almost every aspect of human life. You may wonder – “why distance?” Since long, distance has been a major barrier for effective communication. And e-learning has a direct impact on distance as it provides an immense opportunity for students irrelevant of where they are situated. This feasibility has indeed increased the demand and scope for e-learning. 

A recent Gallup poll states that only 11 percent of business leaders believe that graduates have the required skills for a successful career. What’s the reason behind such a statement? A list of reasons could be mentioned. However, the significant reason is that the required skills aren’t taught or made aware of to the students. 

Unfortunately, the student’s life of schooling, college, and graduation contribute very little, especially when it comes to practical knowledge in terms of career. So are the students or the teachers to be blamed? Definitely none. It’s the gap that exists between “what is needed and what we have.” It surely is going to take time to cover up this gap. But till then? 

Well, the right, feasible, and reliable source to overcome this issue right now is the implementation and adoption of e-learning platforms. Access to the right technologies and the right platform can definitely lead to an effective e-learning process. Nevertheless, the effectiveness also varies depending on the age groups of the applicants. Since learners use their senses to grasp any concept, making the learning process fun, engaging, and effective is crucial. 

E-Learning In Students’ Education

An article reveals that the Director of Education Research at Clayton Christensen Institute, Julia Freeland Fisher states – “Amidst debates about college access and affordability, we think the question of employer needs should sit at the core of higher education conversations. Without answering it, we risk pumping more and more students through a costly system that is not aligned in reliable ways to the job market.”

Don’t we all agree with her? It is because, when observed a few years earlier, a secured job along with a guaranteed pension was the only motive. But not anymore. Today, the era that we live in is of millennials, who are willing to step out of their comfort zones to experiment with new stuff for better opportunities. With such potential people, just the costly system that doesn’t contribute much makes no sense. 

The millennials are ever ready and never hesitate to make tough career choices or decisions if their aspirations do not match their job profiles. This has encouraged today’s youth to sign up for different e-learning courses. At times, they even take up these sessions of their interest simultaneously with their regular ongoing classes to develop skills. It indeed is the need of time that students are provided with the right tools to prepare themselves for a better future.  

Many still wonder if success through e-learning is possible? One of the best examples that can be mentioned is that how many of us thought even the regular schooling classes could be shifted to online? But the unanticipated pandemic has shown us that it is possible. In a few days or months, all the classroom activities are now online. And none of us have stopped our children from it. Refer to the following statistics for the same. 

Influence Of E-learning On Students For Excellent Career Opportunities

Ultimately, the motive of the student’s education is to be provided with a better career that helps them prosper. But what impact does e-learning have on this aspect? Well, here are a few undeniable impacts that e-learning has on the students in influencing and preparing them for the desired future career opportunities.  

#1. Real-Life Experiences

E-Learning puts forth a platform for the students to choose their field of interest in improving knowledge and especially to pursue them in their own schedule. This benefit further contributes to many internships and real-time experiences, which lead to enhance their existing skills as well as in developing the required skills of the career they want to pursue. 

And do you wonder how this contributes to better job opportunities? Well, there are many managers who are no doubt looking for traditional degree holders and graduates. But they don’t just need a “degree holder”; instead prefer someone with hands-on knowledge on the profile the candidate applies for. However, the hands-on knowledge isn’t completely provided and experienced in a traditional classroom setting. 

Added to this, students who sign up for e-learning classes out of interest while still continuing their regular schooling or college studies are considered a valuable asset to the employees. And this adds up to their ability and widens the career opportunities with a real-life experience, as with what they enter the workplace is not just theoretical knowledge but practical experiences that enhance their spirit, willingness, as well as their potential for growth.

#2. Enhances Student’s Ability For The Changing Needs Of Work Atmosphere

With the improvement that the world is facing each day, it is pretty evident that the world is moving forward at an increasing pace. This can also be witnessed in the workplace. The increasing speed at which the company grows indirectly demands a lot from its employees. Meaning the expectations are also subject to changing and endless. Even the employees who are working already are expected to undergo training sessions and classes for improved performance. Here’re the statistics for the same.

The idea is more evident when we observe the improvement in the ways a particular work is done. For instance, managing the employees’ information, payroll process, recruitment, accounting, salary disbursement, attendance, and leaves, etc., of the employees has gone through tremendous changes. Earlier, all these activities were manually done, while now everything is automated. This developmental change demands different skills from the employees, such as handling software compared to the earlier workers. 

Certainly, this too will develop further and experience new changes that will demand new skills, as growth is a continuous process. And e-learning plays a major role in enhancing your ability to grow. With the various opportunities that e-learning provides, it is possible for any student to learn what he or she wants to learn from anywhere and anytime. Unlike the regular classes that demand your presence in the classrooms at a specified time. However, the flexibility in e-learning helps the students adapt to the changes easily as well as be acquainted with them faster, which is kind of observed to be lacking in the otherwise case.   

#3. Instant Placement Offers

Another significant influence of e-learning is the number of instant job offers that are referred to the students instantly. It is important to be aware that many of these e-learning platforms and digital classrooms are partnered with other career consultancies and corporates for their mutual benefit. Therefore, either during the course or towards the end of the course, these signed platforms refer to jobs and provide contacts of many reputed companies as well, who are looking for new and talented hires.

At times, these great job offers during the course turn out to be the driving factors to encourage the students to successfully complete the course without dropping out in between. And these companies, when they observe and find out that there are suitable people signed up for the class, do not hesitate to conduct interviews or either start a follow-up process to inform them of their proposal of hiring the students on the completion of the course. 

Isn’t it a fabulous experience to have your dream job with you even before you could complete the course? And won’t this motivate you to complete the classes with flying colours and start your dream career? The answer to both the questions above is indeed a ‘yes.’ And that’s the platform that e-learning puts forth right in front of the students.

#4. Highly Interactive And Delivers Updated Content

According to e-Campus New, about 52% of students claim that traditional lectures are unengaging. This scenario of conventional learning of the lack of student engagement has also paved the way for online learning to increase its scope by solving the loophole of “student’s disengagement. Thus making e-learning a more effective platform for the students to achieve.

Today, many e-learning platforms are more interactive and come up with new ways of engaging the students to learn by conducting quizzes, interactive sessions, discussions, etc. Two-way communication is a major advantage of e-learning that contributes to a better understanding of the concept. And once the understanding of a particular topic is seamless, then it helps you remember the same for a relatively more extended period of time, which in the end becomes a prerequisite for a successful career.

Not only are these courses interactive, but also the content delivered is made sure that they are updated to meet the current requirements of the companies. As discussed earlier, the changes are bound to happen. And being updated with them is not anymore a choice, but a need of the time. When employers find a candidate updated with required skills, they are most likely to choose them than the one who lacks the current knowledge. Thus, the e-learning platform’s interactivity and up-to-date content can help the student find the right career path.

#5. Cost-Effective And Affordable 

Many students are not aware that e-learning provides an opportunity to accomplish their desired course at a far lower price compared to the regular and traditional classes. Some of the familiar e-learning platforms, which include OEBD, Lynda.com, MIT OpenCourseware, edX, etc., provide excellent classes, courses, and programs. These classes are delivered by some of the highly expertized professors either for considerably less fees or, at times, even for free.

Apart from the reduction in the cost for the classes, there is considerable money that is saved by the students spent on commuting, rooms, etc., Along with time. This is exclusively due to students being able to learn faster through e-learning. It indeed requires 40-60% less time to learn compared to a traditional classroom setting. 

It is because students can learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading, skipping, or accelerating through concepts as they choose, without any cost. Thus students can study and complete their dream course with limited expenses, less time, and with a real-time experience of the work and career, they wish for.  

Winding Up

The need to improve oneself professionally is more among the millennials, and e-learning provides the best platform for the same. It helps in enhancing the right skills and prepares one for the constant changes that occur. E-learning is now the norm, and it is a powerful tool for keeping up with demands that are constantly changing. Since the very reason of the e-learning concept is not just the present but the ultimate desired future of every student in building their career, If there’s a perfect platform placed right in front of us with an assurance to achieve our goal, then why wait? Or what’s stopping us? Worth thinking