E-learning helps balance study and work

Over 3 crore students prepare for competitive exams every year in the country. A considerable percentage of them pursue a full-time job as well. In such a scenario, most of them either join evening or weekend coaching classes. This involves travelling to the institute every day after work, or setting aside time for the classes on weekends. This is usually in addition to other work one may have on their day off, and may force the student to cram on the weekends instead of preparing in a systematic manner.

Especially with regards to competitive exams, studying while working can be difficult, and requires immense hard work and perseverance. However, with determination and the right resources, students can achieve exceptional results.

Over the last few years, the advent of new and advanced technologies has led to the rise in the number of Edtech platforms in the country, which offer specific courses to cater to the working population. By offering live online courses, these platforms are helping working students prepare for competitive exams.

Real-time interactions

Live online courses provide students with a classroom-like virtual environment, which includes interactive live classes with a structured study plan and robust methodology, designed and delivered by expert faculty. Moreover, these classes enable student-teacher interactions in real-time from any location. Studies have revealed that Live classes are more effective in engaging students, with four times higher engagement compared to recorded videos and lectures.

While recorded lectures are available online in abundance, this format essentially leaves it up to the student to figure out what is being taught and how to go about understanding and retaining it. It makes for one-time consumption and each lecture is limited to what has been recorded and uploaded, often leaving students with additional questions or doubts, which they have to figure out themselves. This takes up much of their time, making it difficult to set aside additional hours after office and keep up a good pace of preparation.

With Live classes, however, students can get their doubts cleared instantly through Live chat with the teacher before, during or after a session. They also present greater scope for an in-depth understanding of the subject matter as, with the open forum for discussion, students often learn more from each other’s doubts and questions as well. With an expert mentor available to them at any time, they can monitor students’ progress and help them get through the course material with minimum hurdles.

Let us look at some of the challenges Live classes are addressing for working students:

Quality of preparation: After a hectic workday, time-management becomes essential for aspirants. Therefore, working students need to make optimal use of their time by planning a strategy towards achieving their study goal. To that end, Live online courses save this extra effort by providing students with structured day-wise study plans, dedicated mentor support from experts in the field, and performance analysis.

Additionally, students learn through a method of continuous evaluation as they have the option to take tests, quizzes and assignments, all of which are carefully integrated into the study plan and contribute towards effective preparation for the exams.

Solving accessibility issues: Live online classes are available in the comfort of one’s home, on a computer or a smartphone with an internet connection. In addition to solving doubts instantly over the duration of the class, students also have 24x7 access to support from their mentors and they don’t have to wait for the next class for the information. This helps students keep up with the pace of the class as well. Some Edtech platforms have specifically designed Live course schedules starting at 7 pm, keeping in mind that the average workday can accommodate this start-time.

Cost of preparation: Live classes are more affordable when compared to offline coaching, where students usually have to pay exorbitant fees. Moreover, given that these classes can be accessed anywhere, students don’t have to travel all the way to a coaching centre and back.

All of these factors combined have made Live classes a preferred medium for working students. These classes provide all the necessary material online in an organised manner, saving students from having to worry about the relevance and accuracy, as well as planning it out.

Further, access to expert mentors during and after the classes ensures that the quality of delivery and doubt-solving is enhanced. With the holistic experience that Live classes provide, working students are able to effectively prepare for tests, enabling them to ace the exams along with fulfilling their responsibilities at their workplace.

(The writer is with Gradeup)