Found! Education’s Missing Link

Before e-learning, organizations followed the tradition of providing copious amounts of long-winded manuals, obsolete presentations and overall unengaging content as training material at their new gig. Everyone has experienced this –pages upon pages of irrelevant content that make your manager remark, “Yeah, that’s outdated. We need to update that.” Imagine, instead, if the reservoir was infinite, every lesson within reach, courses and tests just a click away? In fact, one of the reasons why e-learning from third-party platforms has been so eagerly received is the nature of content – animated videos with examples instead of dull presentations.

The other is the sheer range – trainers from elite institutes like Harvard or Stanford University, access to material from all over the world, scientific papers, and textbooks hitherto unknown to you. The cherry on top is the spirit of community. The discussion boards acquaint you with other students, diverse in age, background, and even professions, seeking knowledge just like you. Like most things online, they kindle the spirit of collaboration. This cultivates a broad, empathetic mindset where a person actively helps co-learners learn concepts or clears their doubts, evaluates their examination, and becomes comfortable with feedback, both offering and receiving it. This also sparks leadership and teamwork, assets essential not just for success in a workplace but also in life. In many ways, it is the opposite of intellectual property, more along the lines of a conscious diffusion of knowledge.

E-learning is also right up the alley for start-ups and their fast-paced hustle culture. Several courses are walking one through the step-by-step process of becoming an entrepreneur, right from choosing the most lucrative or feasible idea from your passions, pitching to investors, to establishing a social media presence. Not to mention, working in a start-up demands the best of you, with the ones hired expected to ramp up at rocket speed, without the formal structures of a Fortune 500 or a big corporation. You’re a hamster on a spinning wheel, the learning curve is a cliff-drop, and everyone is handling a medley of responsibilities. The solution? E-learning. From learning to code on the go-to SEO or tax optimization, there are entire companies who would crumble if not for a treasure trove of knowledge offered freely for a small fee on the internet.

MNCs who have hopped on the E-learning bandwagon have hit upon something interesting – they’ve harnessed a little bit of the hustle of the start-up culture and imbibed it within themselves. It turns out, this magic mix of stability with growth is the winning combination employees are looking for. It is making stable, heritage organizations far more energetic, curious and interesting than ever before, attracting younger talent and keeping the experience challenging and rewarding.