The past decade has been redefining online education in India. Students who are seeking skill-based education and courses online can take advantage of even the remotest locations in India.
MOOC has been transformational for urban and rural India alike by making it a viable tool for learning, especially since it brings international standards to education across geographies.
According to a recent study conducted by the Bainbridge Education Practice Group, HR professionals have started noticing MOOC experience on candidate resumes, with 54% of respondents claiming to recognize MOOC experience.
HR professionals feel that MOOCs could enable the organization to add the bonus to their current skill sets.
Relevance of MOOC in India
The temporary closure of colleges in the country following the Covid-19 pandemic reignited the need for MOOC or online learning, with many innovative solutions innovated.
Conversely, the demand was so sudden and unexpected that it was a short time to address the digital divide that initially had a particularly disabling effect on learning, especially for students based in remotely located regions of the country.
In 2020, more than 400 million people didn’t have access to the internet. However, since 2020, several measures have been undertaken to address this gap.
NEP and online Learning
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 offered several reasonable and reformative steps in this direction.
The NEP has been striving in the direction to create a disruptive change by considering the issues of equitability, inclusivity, accessibility, exploratory and experimental — ingredients required for transforming education and employment.
The NEP 2020 has a progressive approach formulated to support the more sustainable and long-lasting initiatives introduced to tackle the issues of imparting education during the pandemic.
Adaptive implementation of the education policy holds the potential to propel the education ecosystem of India in the right direction and radically transform it.
Personalised Learning
Students who are looking for skill-based education and personalized learning have a variety of educational programmes through MOOCs.
Higher education institutes have their focus on instructional approaches, in-depth learning experiences, and academic support strategies.
This approach is further aligned to the learner’s distinct needs, aspirations, and interests. A large pool of education programs to pick from across streams, subjects, skills, and competencies has been possible because of such online platforms.
Higher education institutes especially understand the need of the hour and are equipped with strategies for both online, offline and blended methods of learning and education that redefine the education system in a way that caters to different needs of students and equips them with the credentials required to remain relevant in the industry.
Employability in education is further bolstered by imparting required employability skills and credentials, making education and skills learned by online learners relevant in the industry and fungible across sectors.
New-age Students and their Demand from MOOC Courses
What should a new-age student demand? When students choose an online course, they must choose courses that offer flexibility and hands-on skill enhancement.
The course should extend with assignment and project support to meet their objective of getting a placement and jobs.
Although MOOC is free, the learning solutions should come with a quick return on time invested and be relevant to the current working landscape.
According to University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations in 2020, the top 100 universities in the country are allowed to impart distance learning and online programs without prior permission.
This flexibility given to institutions has opened new avenues to students seeking skilled and vocation-based learning.
Online universities are removing the barriers of cost, location, and access, providing the highest-quality, stackable learning experiences including new-age and innovative programs. MOOC is designed to support educators and learners while entering the job market, changing fields, seeking promotion, or switching fields. Online universities deliver education for curious minds on topics ranging from science to entrepreneurship, leadership, and communications.
Popular MOOC Platforms
In addition to older and most popular global platforms like Coursera, edX, FutureLearn students in India can learn from SWAYAM, India’s national MOOC platform with over 2,150 to offer which is being taught by around 1,300 instructors from over 135 Indian universities.
SWAYAM is different from the other MOOC providers because it also allows students in India to earn academic credits online.
In a bid to support the Skill India and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan movements, AISECT has also come up with its own MOOCs and has tied up with renowned Ireland-based online course provider, ALISON to offer more than 2000 courses to the learners and also provide online certification for skill training.
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