Free & flexible: More opt for online courses

PUNE: The last time Sonia Chand stepped inside a classroom was more than two decades ago. Last Friday, however, she logged in for a two-hour session for an online course on corporate social responsibility (CSR).
“I have recently been assigned the group CSR initiatives of the company and I wanted to enhance my knowledge in the field. With a weekly two-hour lecture session, this course is not too taxing on my schedule and I can plan my work around it,” she said.
In the web-based session, Chand interacts with other corporate professionals, NGO workers and research students — a diverse bunch of people who have as much to offer as the instructor. There are assignments, deadlines and a certificate to work towards at the end of the three-month course, but she is looking forward to all of that.
Other online courses have even greater flexibility on offer, a trait that attracts many to them. College student Aditya Majethia, for instance, didn’t even complete the online course he took to learn how to make Android applications. He had learned what he needed from the course and was able to develop two apps that he then posted to the company’s playstore.
“I learn better from the audiovisual medium. The video lectures take you through a step-by-step manner. It wasn’t a bunch of words in a textbook and most of the instructors have a sense of humour, which always helps,” Majethia said.
Pallavi Vishnoi, a psychology lecturer who took an online course in social psychology last year, recalled the unique way in which assignments were assessed by other students taking the course.
Most of these courses are available for free, with some charging fees that still work out to be less than a formal class. But to most people, the allure of online courses is the opportunity to attend classes at a world-reputed institution.
Arunava De is learning to play the piano and decided to enrol in courses that would help him learn how to read sheet music and music theory. “I’m learning from a piano teacher, but I thought it best to use the time I have with him to learn how to play. The theoretical stuff I could learn from an online course.”
The courses he has signed up for — introduction to music theory and songwriting — are offered by the Berklee College of Music, one of the premier music institutions in the world.
Depending on their area of interest, people can take up a course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University or Berkeley through massive open online course (MOOC) platforms such as www.edx.org
“Online learning is poised for a steep growth curve in India and globally. At present, India is leading the growth rate for online education with a significant 55%, followed by China and Malaysia. Short-term courses that fast track careers seem to be hot favourites amongst learners at the moment, but as the online learning industry evolves to garner a higher dimension, the products will become more and more niche and industry specific,” said Aditya Malik, CEO and managing director of Talentedge, an online course provider that has enrolled over three lakh students since 2012.
On the homepage of a popular website like www.coursera.org, the counter of the number of people who have registered for an online course changes by the second. According to the website, well over 13 lakh people have already taken its courses.