The Personal Learning Curve

As a child, I used to sit at the back of the class and will the teacher not to ask me the answer to any questions. This wasn’t because I couldn’t answer them, or at least have a stab at them. I likened it to going on a TV quiz show, where answering on-time and in front of other people is not always as easy as it might seem.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t learn the subject matter – it was just that the environment didn’t work for me.

Considering this, I greatly believe in and support the new wave of training plans being offered, as they clearly support new ways of learning.

One of my favourite examples of this is a strategy being employed within the IT industry. Not surprisingly, it’s using the latest technological tools to teach comparatively complex skills and techniques, with a great level of success.

With the option of on-line and multimedia lessons, taught by leaders in their respective fields, students have high grade access to a vast array of learning material – whenever they want, and wherever they want it. True 24×7 learning and the option to choose absolutely anywhere to study; all contributes to the learning experience and ultimately improves learning success.

A world away from the sterile, intimidating experience of the classroom of youth.

Other benefits clearly become apparent: The ability to carry on studying regardless of the weather outside, and the ability to study in the security of one’s own home. Training schemes are available to all, including those with disabilities who find it difficult to study at a centralised centre. The ability to carry on study when the student may not feel wholly well, or during incapacitation.

Further advantages include a reduction in ‘down-time’ and cost; in terms of the journey time to and from the training centre, the issue of having to attend at a set time, and the money spent travelling there and back. All this supports the strategy of ‘smart study’ – learning what you want, when you want it, at a place that suits you best, and in a cost effective way.

This method of training is not dependent upon the slow upgrades or revisions of books and reading material. Students are more likely to be studying the latest concepts and skills available, giving them an edge over their counterparts.

That’s not to say you’re forced to study in isolation though. This new training philosophy recognises that some people need to have human communication built into their study program. To this end, a truly effective plan includes ‘interactive’ on-line support with real people. Many students also set up their own study-buddy network, where they can exchange their ideas in a relaxed environment and discuss the concepts they’re studying.

Incredible developments have occurred in the field of IT and educational strategies. It seems a natural progression that these two disciplines have come together for the advantage of the student, and created a training environment where the student is more in-control. This makes it more pleasurable overall, and is surely one of the basic tenets of learning?

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