I must say that the last few days have flooded me with a plethora of information pertaining to teaching or learning online. It is imperative at this juncture to acknowledge the professors, the techies of the incubator center, and the research scholars all from IIM Bangalore, who have been patient enough to explain to me how online education works. I am reminded of what Mr. Kettering said “People are very open-minded about new things - as long as they're exactly like the old ones” We had a hearty laugh at that specific line and were indulging in the pleasures of victuals until it actually occurred to me on what I was doing, which was exactly the same thing. I was shutting myself out of learning about the online education because it never conformed to the norm that I knew all along. Education was ‘brick & mortar’ and maybe ‘correspondence’ but online how? How many emails do I get for every lesson? Well, I guess I have indicated how naive I was with this and now its ‘settling scores’ let me show you how much I have learnt in the last few days. It’s a whole new world and before starting to praise the new found learning I have decided to enroll myself in a online program to reap the benefits.
My biggest problem was that I am stuck catering to the demands of my professional life for about 12 hours every day and have to traverse traffic for about 2 hours. When I am finally done with all that and reach home there was only one learning left to do, which side of bed do I crash? There was not a program of study that I could do at 11.00 pm. Yes I could study a while then but no place to go and study (no, night school is not an option for I need advanced learning options). This Online education sounds like a plan to say the least. I am intentionally avoiding the term ‘new’ for I am given to understand that it is not new but has been implemented for a while now, close to 10 years, beat that all along I was living like a frog in the well blissfully unaware of the whole process. For me online started with e-mails and went offline immediately right after.
There are numerous courses that are available online for all levels of learning, associate degrees, bachelors, masters, even Phd’s. With so much available there will also be a bunch of folks just waiting to lighten your wallets and make a quick buck out of you quickly become a fool of sorts. So please be wary of ‘non accredited’ degrees and/or fake degrees that are available, the technical term used for something you should avoid is “degree mill”. I will detail in my next post the online process with as much as I know and in the meanwhile to give you an idea of what a genuine online MBA degree is, you can look at the Andrew Jackson University. I will also add more names as I learn more about then and am sure that they are genuine. I mentioned this one name because they also have a strategic partnership with an enterprise in India and hence can be physically met if needed.
Showing posts with label Online Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Online Education. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Versatility in Education - III
The paradigm of education has always been looked at as a one way street (i.e.) What our mentor has to offer to us. How can we in the true sense of the word “Know” what is being told? What does it mean to know is a question in itself, in a MBA program everybody hears terms such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL etc is knowing just what SWOT stands for and what needs to be filled in each column? If that is so then what is hearing, understanding or even comprehending? To say “I know something” is to accept great responsibility of being able to mentor based on that and actually accepting that we know without stopping to learn.
More often than not, we hear about all this in class in the case of conventional education, books in the case of correspondence education and are mentored in the online classroom. Can we at that point in time hear what is being said, relate it to something that we have done in the past, and to learn how differently we could have done something if we were equipped with this new found knowledge. If we can get past doing all this and do the entire process more than a few times then perhaps we are a step closer to knowing.
Characteristically when we work we implement what we know that that is what we think is perhaps the best perspective, when we learn we acquire new perspectives, even great ideas which sad but truly are not implementing right away and then the spark dies. So the value addition of practicing while learning is eliminated. To quote Albert Einstein who said “The only source of knowledge is experience”, in perspective can we use the information we learn while being educated in the University of Life and at about the same time implement it with work to have “knowledge” or for us to be able to know. Most traditional forms of education do not offer to us the flexibility of being able to implement what we learn as and when we learn it.
I have been reading and have been impressed by the new methods of learning Online sounds like a plan. We have the doyens of the industry contributing to the industry on the likes of Jack Welch. Jack Welch has initiated his own program, so has Brian Tracy so has Ken Blanchard. What draws these management gurus to actually do all of this? In the previous post we discussed about the luminaries spreading the ‘Cheer of knowledge’, lo and behold we have it here. These distinguished personnel are leveraging on the world space (no, not the radio) but the internet. A global platform, a world leader, an established ‘guru’ brilliant! If this doesn’t sound like a plan then what else will. Online education is perhaps what the Wright brother did to travel, what ford did to automation. Will there be a method, a process, a something better than this? Perhaps yes but as of now this stands as the most likely success scenario for these luminaries to teach all of us. I am due to read and have more discussions with some of the leading brains in the industry from entrepreneurs who have taken cognizance of this to the professors, some from the IIM. All excited that I am about the prospect of learning so many things about this from them, will update this blog most likely sooner than expected.
More often than not, we hear about all this in class in the case of conventional education, books in the case of correspondence education and are mentored in the online classroom. Can we at that point in time hear what is being said, relate it to something that we have done in the past, and to learn how differently we could have done something if we were equipped with this new found knowledge. If we can get past doing all this and do the entire process more than a few times then perhaps we are a step closer to knowing.
Characteristically when we work we implement what we know that that is what we think is perhaps the best perspective, when we learn we acquire new perspectives, even great ideas which sad but truly are not implementing right away and then the spark dies. So the value addition of practicing while learning is eliminated. To quote Albert Einstein who said “The only source of knowledge is experience”, in perspective can we use the information we learn while being educated in the University of Life and at about the same time implement it with work to have “knowledge” or for us to be able to know. Most traditional forms of education do not offer to us the flexibility of being able to implement what we learn as and when we learn it.
I have been reading and have been impressed by the new methods of learning Online sounds like a plan. We have the doyens of the industry contributing to the industry on the likes of Jack Welch. Jack Welch has initiated his own program, so has Brian Tracy so has Ken Blanchard. What draws these management gurus to actually do all of this? In the previous post we discussed about the luminaries spreading the ‘Cheer of knowledge’, lo and behold we have it here. These distinguished personnel are leveraging on the world space (no, not the radio) but the internet. A global platform, a world leader, an established ‘guru’ brilliant! If this doesn’t sound like a plan then what else will. Online education is perhaps what the Wright brother did to travel, what ford did to automation. Will there be a method, a process, a something better than this? Perhaps yes but as of now this stands as the most likely success scenario for these luminaries to teach all of us. I am due to read and have more discussions with some of the leading brains in the industry from entrepreneurs who have taken cognizance of this to the professors, some from the IIM. All excited that I am about the prospect of learning so many things about this from them, will update this blog most likely sooner than expected.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Versatility in Education
It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into the world of thought - that is to be educated. – Edith Hamilton.
There is conceivably no greater transgression than to stand between a person and his development. The thoughts that govern your action, values and your inherent success in life are those that we have derived from education. Education is not only about learning but also about un-learning and re-learning to adapt our ways to the transient moments which as a collection make up our lives in its magnificent entirety.
To surround this level of importance in a brick and mortar school and adding the burden of fixed time, fixed schedule and fixed dates is perhaps akin to expecting absolute freedom flourish in the rigid realms of dictatorship. This though has been thought over innumerable number of times by the great leaders of the past who evolved the concept of distance education (a.k.a.) Correspondence education in the Asian context with the limitations that were then in force. The critical link between correspondence learning and the inherent amount of knowledge grasped is the mentor.
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. When Sir Winston Churchill said this he more than likely meant the incredible amount of knowledge which is passed on by virtue of living life itself aptly encapsulated in the word ‘Experience’. Instruction ends in the class, but education ends only with life and mentoring shows us what is between the lines of text, hidden between the words, the inexplicable formula for success.
Having said all that has been said is there a process where the learner can actually learn at ones own pace, at the time when the person deems fit, maybe after work , maybe before or for all the reasons in the whole wide world even during work. And more importantly can there be a mentor to guide the person when the person wants to learn?
There is conceivably no greater transgression than to stand between a person and his development. The thoughts that govern your action, values and your inherent success in life are those that we have derived from education. Education is not only about learning but also about un-learning and re-learning to adapt our ways to the transient moments which as a collection make up our lives in its magnificent entirety.
To surround this level of importance in a brick and mortar school and adding the burden of fixed time, fixed schedule and fixed dates is perhaps akin to expecting absolute freedom flourish in the rigid realms of dictatorship. This though has been thought over innumerable number of times by the great leaders of the past who evolved the concept of distance education (a.k.a.) Correspondence education in the Asian context with the limitations that were then in force. The critical link between correspondence learning and the inherent amount of knowledge grasped is the mentor.
We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. When Sir Winston Churchill said this he more than likely meant the incredible amount of knowledge which is passed on by virtue of living life itself aptly encapsulated in the word ‘Experience’. Instruction ends in the class, but education ends only with life and mentoring shows us what is between the lines of text, hidden between the words, the inexplicable formula for success.
Having said all that has been said is there a process where the learner can actually learn at ones own pace, at the time when the person deems fit, maybe after work , maybe before or for all the reasons in the whole wide world even during work. And more importantly can there be a mentor to guide the person when the person wants to learn?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)