The traditional higher education system is more suited to an industrial age in which it supplies graduates fit for one career for life, says Sam Paddock, founder of GetSmarter, an online education company based in Cape Town.
But nowadays a job for life is seldom an option. Fast-changing technology is leading to the creation of jobs that did not exist until recently. Social media managers, professional bloggers and app developers, for example, were unheard of as career choices a few years ago.
Online education is making it easier than ever before to get a booster shot for mid-career training to ensure an employee's skills remain relevant. Or to try out a new occupation through completing a short course online, or even to make a drastic change in professional direction.
No-one is quite sure where online education is going. But it is attracting growing interest, trying interesting experiments and introducing new buzzwords such as Moocs,(Massive open online courses) flipped classrooms or BYOD (bring your own device).
Students using smartphones and tablets can take courses, download textbooks or listen to podcasts and they are part of the BYOD movement. This can align with the idea of the flipped classroom, where students review the course content in their own time so that class time can be used for deeper discussion.
The Moocs movement took hold in 2011 when Stanford University signed up about 356,000 people from 190 countries for three free online classes on artificial intelligence; About 43,000 people completed at least one course. Coursera, the main Moocs platform, has since worked with over 60 university partners, offering more than 200 free online courses to over 3m users.
Though students doing Moocs follow a programme, have their work assessed and are issued with certificates on completion, few of the courses have been accredited. But Paddock says people want recognised certification of the skills acquired online.
He says for this reason, GetSmarter was the first SA online education company to be accredited by the sector education and training authority as a training provider. The company has teamed up with the University of Cape Town to offer credit-bearing online courses and will soon offer post-graduate diplomas.
The most popular courses, ranging from eight to 10 weeks, are in social media, Internet marketing and project management. The average age of a student is 38. Last year, 5,000 students signed up for GetSmarter courses. Though not cheap, ranging between R7,000 and R11,000, the courses generally cost less than attending a traditional training institute.
Paddock says the primary reason students take a course is to advance their existing careers or to realise a dream by studying something like creative writing or photography.
"It's more about mid-career advancement and career maintenance than changing careers," he says.
Online courses also cater for another buzzword - the "slashers". This has nothing to do with horror movies but refers to what is more formally known as the portfolio career. So someone who makes a living through various channels might refer to themselves as a reporter/ photographer/Web editor.
Paddock, who has a business science degree with honours in information systems from UCT, first delved into online businesses when he co-founded Paddocks, a property law education website, with his father Graham in 2005. The 29-year-old went on to set up Getwine, an online sales company, before starting GetSmarter in 2008.
The company, which he manages with his brother Rob, has grown to 100 employees and 40 outsourced course instructors.
According to Paddock, there is little competition in accredited online education in SA. But it will certainly grow.
As more South Africans pass through the school system and seek higher education, demand for tertiary education will increase, putting strain on existing structures. Added to this is the need for continuous professional development to keep skills current. Digital and online education could be key in meeting this increased demand.
Source: The Financial Mail via I-Net Bridge
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