Education is one of the pillars of humanity. In fact, it is commonly said that we start dying the day we stop learning. In our digital era, the process of education has undergone significant transformation, with the advent of online learning reshaping education. In this article, we shall discuss the dynamics of online learning, looking at its rise, challenges faced, and the pivotal role played by user support in ensuring the usability of online learning platforms.
Centuries ago, only the rich and influential members of society were educated. Back then, families were known by a particular discipline, and had dedicated tutors educate their younger ones to prepare them for the future of their families and occupation. But as time went on, education became more accessible, with schools, training centres, and other forms of educational institutions set up for students. At this time, more people had become interested in gaining education, making the provision of educational facilities a welcome idea. Over all these years, the system of education has constantly evolved, coming with us into the digital age we find ourselves in today.
Over the past decade, online education has sprung as a transformative medium, restructuring how individuals of all ages access education and educational materials. With the advent of digital technologies such as applications, forums and educational websites, learning is no longer confined to traditional classrooms. With such tools and sites, learning has become possible, making education an accessible content for anyone with an internet connection. This accessibility, as well as the flexibility to study at a desired pace, has made online learning the future of education.
Online learning is not just a novel concept or a trend. It reflects a shift in human preferences, and our desire to access everything, including education, without restrictions. Today, we want everything with us everywhere we go, and the internet enables us to get just that. Online education now extends beyond locations and boundaries, allowing learners access learning resources and materials from anywhere around the world. But for this to have happened, there were obstacles to worry about. Let us discuss the challenges faced, and how they’ve eventually become tools that propagate the growth of online education.
Before the commonisation of the internet, online learning would have been impossible. But with the rapid evolution of technology, and the widespread availability of high-speed internet and smart devices, everything changes. These tech tools have made it possible for online learning to become a seamless and engaging experience for learners worldwide, transitioning from traditional educational systems, to modern multimedia-rich learning resources. Technological advancements have made it possible for learning to be possible using videos, interactive simulations, virtual classrooms, and other online and internet facilitating processes.
Another driving force behind the rise of online learning has been its accessibility and flexibility. With internet enabled devices and platforms accessible from anywhere, learners no longer need to be physically present in a specific location or adhere to rigid schedules. While this may have seemed like losing the essence of supervised learning, it instead democratises education with flexible options, making it ideal for individuals with diverse and unique needs. This flexibility now allows those who would have initially been unable to attend physical learning centres such as full-time working professionals, parents, special kids, etc, all have access to education, in ways that they can effectively organise for themselves.
As education spread, so did the interest in particular institutions rise. Scholars who eyed particular schools had to worry about things like distance, cost, living conditions, and other peculiarities attached to studying at their preferred institutions. But as online learning transcends borders, it allows learners access courses and expertise from institutions and experts anywhere around the world. This globalisation has broadened education, providing learners with diverse institutional preferences and choices. It has also created the room for collaborations between educators and institutions, leading to the development of high-quality online courses and programs.
Another significant hurdle online education had to overcome on its rise to prominence was the worry of accreditation and credential distribution. Initially, the worry of authenticating the course content made people sceptical about the quality of education available on the internet. But now, with many reputable institutions offering accredited online programs, it dismisses the worry of educational quality. These institutions have also eliminated the worry of credential possession, by legitimising and creating online diploma certificates for students who undergo their online programs.
Online learning offers a vast majority of benefits to students that traditional educational institutions cannot offer to them. From the elimination of time constraints, to the availability of personalised learning patterns, online learning brings about solutions to the limitations that challenge learning at physical learning centres.
1. Inclusivity:
Online learning democratises education. By erasing geographical boundaries, online learning makes education accessible to everyone everywhere. This is a powerful tool driving inclusivity, ensuring that more and more people are able to acquire knowledge. This serves as a major benefit, particularly for people from remote areas with barriers to physical learning. With their internet and internet enabled devices, they can access quality education, with less worries. This has proven to be very effective in increasing the educated quota of the world’s population.
2. Convenience:
One of the tenets of physical learning centres is the rigidity of learning hours and classes. Students would have had to create time to follow the academic institutions calendar, affecting students with other responsibilities. But with online courses, students are able to craft and personalise their learning schedule as they wish, giving them time for other activities like work, family, business, etc. This convenience benefits learners who are taking auxiliary programs, but still have full time commitments requiring their attention. Students can also personalise their learning styles, material options (eg: ebooks, video files, audio books, etc), and depending on programs, develop their own curriculum.
3. Diverse Course Offerings:
With online learning platforms, students are exposed to a plethora of course offerings for specific degrees available from its parent institution. This is a great benefit for students who plan to take up multiple learning programs at once, enabling them to maximise their time and learn at their desired pace. With access to the entire learning materials at their fingertips, students can take up multiple courses simultaneously, to improve their skills, boost their chances for higher employment, and satisfy other personal interests and goals.
4. Continuous Learning and Career Growth:
Online learning platforms offer simplified continuous learning opportunities, fostering a culture of continuous learning for personal development. For professionals in highly competitive and technical industries, this grants them the opportunity to constantly remain ahead of the curve, upskill at pace, and adapt to the changing standards of their industries. This is of great benefit career-wise, making dedicated students the most relevant in dynamic job markets.
5. Cost-Efficiency:
Another great benefit of online learning is its cost efficiency. Online learning very often costs just a fraction of the fees to be paid at traditional institutions, making them an ideal alternative for less expensive diplomas. Unlike learning at physical schools, online students also get to save on a lot of running costs including commuting, accommodation, and physical learning materials. This makes learning cheaper, and more affordable.
While there are a lot of platforms and their uniqueness, selecting the ideal online learning platform is more important than just taking the programs. One of the most critical factors to consider when making a choice is the level of user support provided to guide students.
For learning to be possible, students need timely and reliable assistance on their online education journey. User support helps them through technical issues like login problems and software glitches, to understanding usability when navigating platforms and through courses. A user oriented online learning platform should provide a support team to address these challenges, and ensure that students get necessary support to help their studies proceed smoothly.
Online learning platforms also need effective user support that offers guidance through communication channels. Whether students prefer live chat, email, or phone support, they should have a support team that can communicate with them in a way convenient for them. This flexibility identifies each learner's preferences, reaching them in ways that are comfortable for them.
Support is also needed for user education. Although learning platforms are expected to have FAQs and comprehensive knowledge bases within their platforms to guide learners, there is also a need for a support team that can offset the step-by-step guidance through the onboarding process and accessing of guides and FAQs. And when the challenges have become more personalised, user support then helps to provide one-on-one guidance. This creates a continuity in support, ensuring that online learners are not entirely defeated by whatever challenge they may face.
This tailored support addresses the specific needs of individual students, ensuring that no obstacles hinder their learning journey.
Orientation sessions, training webinars, and user cultivation are also roles of user support for online learning platforms. With a proactive user support team, students are assisted to interact with confidence, navigate the platform better, and communicate their observations and demands to the team. These activities are of great value for helping students make the most of their learning experience, and develop new tools to help them improve.
Conclusively, there’s no doubt that online learning has become an integral part of modern education. Its accessibility, flexibility, and other benefits have in fact made it the preferred choice of so many. However, it comes with its own set of challenges, one of which is proper user support to drive usability. This makes choosing the right learning platform a very important thing. Therefore, for online learning platform builders looking to grow and build towards user demands, it is important for them to incorporate user support teams in their plans. User support plays a pivotal role in ensuring that learners can harness the full potential of online education, satisfying their demand for an all round accessible education.
