For last two hundred years, people believed education to be a institutional affair. We go to school or college to go through a vigorous program to undergo a schedule of learning modules and come out after going through a stringent test process. And we completely believed the story of this factory model of learning. Information assymetry existed. 1% of people hold 99% knowledge which existed at varying times. We called them experts, scholars, academicians and sometimes teachers. Others had less access to knowledge. It was not a level playing field. Going to Oxford or Harvard was considered as a matter of pride and it differentiated you from other people. It was branding.
What’s happening now. You and I have access to all resources in internet making learning a level playing field. Online learning programs make lives easier through giving all of us equal opportunities for learning. This never happened before. We have access to open courses in edx, Coursera, Udemy, Udacity, Lynda, Khan Academy, Future Learn and many more. It’s flexible, affordable, sharp and relevant courses which equip you with ‘new economy skills’. Get ready to learn online. World class universities have designed massive open and online courses which can change the way you learn. It’s increasingly getting accepted by employers as a serious platform for career building. And in the new world of knowledge explosion, we have to spend 2 hours everyday, for online learning. This is a must to stay relevant.
