I spoke with the teachers of the "Networking Academy"(by the way, our training center turns 25 on August 30th!) to find out what they think about learning at home, and collected all thoughts in this post: was it really a time of opportunity? What will help learning if everything around interferes with the process? What and where to study online? They gave their recommendations and talked about worthy educational platforms.
By the way, our teachers themselves had to urgently rebuild the educational process during the quarantine, reformatting it online. So they know very well what it is like to be torn between work, life, household and monitoring the news, while closely following the concept of lifelong learning.
Don't be discouraged that you are not as effective as everyone who talks about it.
not to say that in quarantine everyone has gone into self-development. Of course, someone had to urgently retrain so as not to be left without a piece of bread. But many people simply did not have enough time for training. According to our internal surveys, only one in ten employees has less workload, the rest continued to work in the same or increased mode. Free time for self-isolation also turned out to be a pleasant illusion. The time saved on the way to the office has been consumed by many households and children.
However, this does not mean that studies should be postponed until later. When asked about the benefits of distance learning, our teachers noted psychological and practical aspects. They are worth remembering if the second wave of the pandemic really hits us and again we have to isolate ourselves.
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Let's say you're ready to put your energy into learning. There are many destinations and everything is so delicious. If there is no urgent need for specific knowledge and skills, our teachers recommend taking a closer look at courses that teach that:
- may come in handy at your current job;
- required in the future (for further professional and career growth);
- interesting to you personally (for example, computer graphics, design, self-development, health, etc.);
- just appeared (new technologies).
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Among the entire stream of online courses, trainings and webinars, it can be difficult to find something of high quality, because many decided to make an educational product on the wave of hype. If the instructor has little experience in conducting specifically online classes, at best you will just have a good time with a nice person. If distance courses do not meet the principles of pedagogical design, methodology and andragogy , then you are unlikely to master the material in full. And if there is a lot of "water" in an article or textbook, it is difficult to isolate the essence from such material.
However, in teaching, all sources are good: books, articles, online courses, online events, and chatting with like-minded people on the forums. They cannot replace each other, but they complement perfectly. Do not forget aboutcompulsory practice of practical skills.
Our teachers do not have a single opinion on how to look for quality sources of distance learning. Most advise you to listen to the reviews of colleagues and acquaintances, take a closer look at your reputation in the market and, of course, rely on your personal feelings: if the first half hour did not take you, then you probably should not continue. You should like the style of presentation of the material by a specific author - the way he can formulate and convey information, the pace of his speech, the absence of "water" in the presentation. It is especially good when the teacher gives a positive teaching material and is open to any questions.
Interactivity is also an important part of a good course. If you do not have the opportunity to test the acquired knowledge in practice, to receive feedback and recognition from colleagues and bosses, then it will become unbearable to just listen to lectures at some point. Therefore, online learning requires medals and new levels, just like in a computer game. However, do not get carried away with overly gamified courses: in the pursuit of medals, many deviate from the main goal and work. Therefore, choose not games with educational elements, but learning with elements of involvement .
Online education does not stand still, and this idea is reflected in the development of adaptive learning, when the system adapts to the listener. When the pandemic started, we went through thisa course on improving the efficiency of remote work (by the way, it can be taken now, and the principles of its construction are applicable to remote study). In it, the system takes into account not only the level of knowledge before the course and memorization of the material in the learning process, but even the degree of confidence in the answers and how much it corresponds to the really correct answers. Unfortunately, there is still little adaptive learning, but if the platform is able to make such adjustments for the user, the course authors will definitely point this out.
“Quality material is the most important criterion!If it is video, then high quality video and good sound. If an article or a book, then high-quality illustrations and design. A visual structure, a well-thought-out methodological component (practical consolidation of course materials, intermediate and final control, etc.) are important for the course. "
“A big plus is the non-standard, memorable presentation of the material that distinguishes this course, article, etc. from similar ".
What specific courses and educational platforms did our teachers recommend?
Online courses and comprehensive programs:
- Coursera – 4000 , , . – , .
- Udemy – 100 000 - - .
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- 4brain – soft skills – , .
- edX – 2500 , , .
- Lynda, LinkedIn Learning. 4000 , , , .
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Articles:
- Theory and Practice is an educational media about personal and professional development.
By the way, Dmitry Sharabin wrote a lot of useful information about the selection of resources and building a self-learning strategy in his article “Do you want to
How do you get started? Just get started. How do I proceed? Remember the goal
Starting any new business is always difficult, even on Monday. And even more so to start learning when there are no normal conditions for this. Absolutely everything prevented self-isolation - work, household members, animals, a disturbed daily routine and a bunch of pleasant distractions (social networks, films, etc.). If you are still staying at home, do not neglect strict organization and planning.
- Set a goal and a goal for yourself. It is they who will save you when the first fuse passes. You will ask yourself, have I become closer to the goal? Where am I from? Why so cocky?
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- Remember to practice what you have learned.
“It is very important to discuss the knowledge gained, for example, with colleagues and friends, and be sure to immediately use it in practice in order to consolidate and not forget”.
If you feel that procrastination is overwhelming, try to inspire your sports excitement - "I will become one of the 3.5% who take online courses to the end!" It is useful to compare the effect of learning and the effect of entertainment - which is more valuable for life? New film or new training course? To overcome momentary weakness, sit down to study and do not stop until you have completed the planned amount of material.
What if you are a manager and decide to organize training for your employees
Due to quarantine, some companies did not have time to implement their plans to train employees, someone temporarily abandoned them. For example, 15% of old LANIT Networking Academy clients have postponed professional development of employees until they return to full-time format and are now trying to catch up. Someone transferred corporate training online or initially preferred this form. Some organizations took the opportunity to take online courses for employees temporarily left without full workload. So, in our training center, the demand for distance learning has grown 11 times, while the share of corporate customers in this surge in activity was about 20%.
Any format has its pros and cons. The main thing is not to forget to discuss the past training with employees, hear their assessment, learn about plans for using the learning outcomes in practice. There will be feedback, useful information for the future, and +10 to loyalty. And of course, upgrading your qualifications online is much better than not upgrading at all.
“Someone will take advantage of this opportunity, will then be grateful to the employer and continue to work. Well, and it is useless to force those who do not use it - not the fact that he wanted to work in this area. "
“In any case, the employees have either what they lack knowledge / skills, or what they would like to learn additionally. And then there is an opportunity for professional and personal self-development. Even if these are the skills of communication, resistance to stress, maintaining and improving health, reading speed, developing memory and attention. Well, another idea is to organize the communication of employees so that they can discuss what they have learned, you can even make a kind of competition - who has moved on. "
What's the bottom line?
Everything has already changed. Yes, we are gradually moving back into offices and into the big world, but not all, not all at once and not completely. We do not know what surprises await us in the fall, and therefore we must be prepared for both a return to a past life and a new self-isolation. Personally, I made a discovery for myself in quarantine: it turned out that doing yoga on Skype is quite possible, quite convenient and very effective, although before I believed only in face-to-face classes, which I could not get for more than a year for various reasons.
Try it - maybe it will seem easier and more convenient for you to study online than always waiting for the right moment to enroll in full-time courses.
Come study with us!