Learn English via Skype, listen to lectures by a teacher from Harvard while in Chelyabinsk, solve problems in physics in a group chat… Just 15 years ago, this seemed impossible. The world of new technologies is changing not only the way we learn, but also ourselves. What will be the person of the future who received distance education, says psychologist Denis Makarhin.
More and more education services are moving from full-time to virtual, and we are talking not only about additional courses, but also about full-fledged university education.
“The Russian market of distance learning services in 2016 amounted to 20,7 billion rubles. According to analysts, this figure will grow to 2021 billion rubles by 53,3,” says engineering psychologist Denis Makarhin. “Despite the fact that so far only two dozen Russian universities are fully involved in this market, while in the world the practice of online learning is developing by leaps and bounds.”
Perhaps there are still many resources in traditional education, and it is not worth rushing after Europe and America? What are the pros and cons of both forms?
Online: pros and cons
For the assimilation of the material, the development of imaginative thinking, distance education is more effective, the psychologist is sure. In addition, we can receive knowledge in the world’s leading universities without leaving the walls of our home.
“It gives me a tremendous amount of choice in getting the kind of information I need. There is no need to wait until a professor from Harvard arrives in Kaliningrad or Rostov, which is almost unrealistic. I can listen to his lectures now. All the leading universities in the world have their own online education programs on educational platforms.”
But before making a final decision in favor of distance learning, it is worth weighing the pros and cons. This form of education has both advantages and disadvantages.
Online education provides an understanding of new competencies and technologies
It’s good if the policy of the university provides for a proctoring system: when you can listen to the theory from the best teacher at another university, pass an exam remotely, and it will be credited at your institute. Choosing the best and most interesting presentation of information is the first advantage.
The second plus is communication with like-minded people. “We not only listen to class professors, but also communicate in private chats. We are led by tutors who help to deal with materials and assignments. We talk and exchange experience with colleagues from any city in the world. For us, this communication means openness and security. Imagine if a group of psychologists or programmers from the same city gathers in an audience, they will unwittingly become competitors to each other. In remote communication, I and a psychologist from Sydney or Paris are not competitors, ”comments Denis Makarhin.
And the third, perhaps the most important advantage of online education. It gives an understanding of new competencies and technologies. For example, psychologists are increasingly turning to counseling via Skype or Zoom. Online learning provides skills that will be useful to a specialist in the future.
But there is a point that can be counted as both pluses and minuses. Effective distance education is impossible without such important qualities as discipline and dedication. If we come to a lecture in the classroom according to the schedule, then this somehow organizes us against our will. In online learning, it is important to organize yourself.
“You yourself form the habit of solving tests every day, doing assignments. Accuracy, curiosity, responsibility, willpower are developed — four important components of the success of a modern person, the psychologist explains. “If you don’t form the habit of online learning, it will be hard to force yourself to take tests and listen to lectures.”
If something doesn’t work out, it’s easy to quit and leave. You need to form the habit of studying in this mode, be patient and ask for the help of a tutor, if it is provided for in the program.
Where are the emotions?
Some students who have tried online education complain about the lack of emotional connection with a group or teacher. In the classroom, the atmosphere itself often sets one on interest in learning. But here it all depends on the form of the distance course.
“Three types are mainly used,” says an engineering psychologist. – Individual training via Skype: the teacher and the student talk live, they have direct contact, they see emotions, gestures, hear intonations, they can ask clarifying questions at any time. In my opinion, this is the most efficient way.
The second type is slide courses. The material is given in slides, sometimes accompanied by a voice-over. Often such courses are universal, they are not tailored to a specific specialization and target audience, and this is their minus.
The third type is massive online courses. This includes video lectures, tests. Large educational centers can afford it. As a rule, a venerable charismatic speaker is recorded, an interestingly arranged course is given.
The man of the future will be multi-communicative
Alas, only the first option involves an emotional exchange between the teacher and the student. Sometimes the lack of an emotional sphere is made up for by classmates with whom paired tasks are worked out, or by a tutor. But is it worth putting this particular aspect at the forefront — isn’t the knowledge gained more valuable?
After all, there are other places and areas of life for emotional nourishment. Or do we become robots without emotions? How does distance learning change our psyche?
Digital DNA
Nowadays, more and more business communications go online. We hardly talk on the phone — we exchange letters, text and voice messages.
“Learning online forms the necessary competencies for our adaptation in the modern environment.
What will the person of the future be like? Multicommunicative.
On the one hand, there is a risk that he will go so far into online contact that he will be too lazy to go outside, meet real people, drink coffee with friends. Even food can now be ordered online. You can exist at home offline without going beyond it.
On the other hand, there is a second extreme: a lot of those. who denies virtuality and continues to live exclusively offline.
We need to find a middle ground. We must be integrated into the global economy. We have to study via Skype, communicate with colleagues, advise others like a pro and take advice from various specialists via the Internet,” says Denis Makarhin.
Modern technologies, whether we like it or not, are developing and putting us in new conditions. We either get into this future, picking up its requirements, or remain outside of it. The generation born after 2000 has long been actively using the possibilities of the virtual world. And we can communicate with children and educate them through the same social networks, throwing off useful links, publishing posts that will teach them more than notation in the kitchen.
The man of the future is the one who understands what the digital world is, he forms other programs for the perception of information, behavior, interacts with technology. The digital world pervades our lives. We communicate with others in virtuality, we build relations with the state there, paying bills, taxes, filling out applications and purchases.
“We are actively integrating into virtual communication. There is such a thing as digital DNA. These are our personal data and our behavior in the online world: what we buy, what resources we use, what requests we make in the browser, what we click on when we get to a website or social network. On the one hand, thanks to this, we can better understand ourselves and others. On the other hand, there is a danger that large corporations, having this information, will impose certain algorithms of behavior, beliefs and choices on us. And you have to be ready for that.»
Curiosity allows us to look for something new, constantly improve
And the better we will master the skills of web surfing, the better we will be savvy in matters of security.
“One of my mentors formed a hypothesis: a person has 4 main personal strengths — accuracy, will, curiosity and responsibility. Communication on the Internet forms these qualities. If you can’t master new technologies, you won’t be able to communicate. The will allows us to study every day, to perform some actions, it forces us to leave the house. Coming up with an idea for communication is also work, also a volitional decision. We are responsible for decisions and actions: complete and turn in a task on time or watch a movie. Accuracy is a broad term that includes the accuracy of the wording we use to communicate with others. How do we write messages, how and when do we go online? Curiosity allows us to look for something new, to constantly improve.”
These important qualities are formed in communication on the Internet, and we can transfer them to real life, relationships and work.