Rising trend of Online Legal Courses - Reality Bites
Online Legal Courses continues to evolve, as more students seek flexible alternatives to traditional, on-campus courses. INTRODUCTION Online education has radically changed the landscape of modern education. We’re learning in a new and more fluid environment, one ripe with opportunities for students of every kind. These emergent approaches to content and curriculum are part of a whole new… Read More »
Online Legal Courses continues to evolve, as more students seek flexible alternatives to traditional, on-campus courses. INTRODUCTION Online education has radically changed the landscape of modern education. We’re learning in a new and more fluid environment, one ripe with opportunities for students of every kind. These emergent approaches to content and curriculum are part of a whole new wave of learning opportunities distinguished by web mediation. Online education continues to evolve,...
Online Legal Courses continues to evolve, as more students seek flexible alternatives to traditional, on-campus courses.
INTRODUCTION
Online education has radically changed the landscape of modern education. We’re learning in a new and more fluid environment, one ripe with opportunities for students of every kind. These emergent approaches to content and curriculum are part of a whole new wave of learning opportunities distinguished by web mediation. Online education continues to evolve, as more students seek flexible alternatives to traditional, on-campus courses. Among other trends, 2017 saw the proliferation of smaller credentials beyond online degrees, rising online course enrolment at non-profit universities and the use of big data to track student performance. As these trends demonstrate, online education is producing a whole new set of strategies for improving engagement, retention, and mastery.
In a growing market, purchasing patterns for legal education are changing. In-house teams are looking for pragmatic, industry specialists who are tech-savvy and can offer more than traditional legal studies that include alternative or non-traditional legal education providers, Integrated cross-border learning, Use of technology, regulatory and global compliance learning, Fixed fees, value pricing and greater transparency.
ADVANTAGES
Online degree programs increase their use of modern technologies to enhance their curriculums. There will be a greater emphasis on using remote technologies, such as video conferencing and robotic telepresence, to allow for more face-to-face interaction among students and instructors who are spread across the country.
Many students complete degrees online because they plan to either accelerate or switch careers but still want to keep working full time. “Industries are looking for institutions that not just have students that come out with knowledge but the ability to have applied that knowledge in multiple ways. It’s much deeper knowledge than just reading, writing an exam, writing a paper.”
“The road to mastery on any topic gets faster through the help of bite-sized learning modules that make education more time-efficient, engaging, useful and fun.”
The standard mode of learning is accelerating because the longing for lifelong learning is colliding with the desire for instant gratification. Add the “I’m so busy” syndrome, short attention spans, and propensity for distraction, and you can see why light-speed learning is in demand. “As automation increases, people hungry for more personal and authentic experiences begin to put a premium on advice, services, and interaction involving actual humans.”
Online learning doesn’t have to be impersonal, and it definitely shouldn’t feel like “distance learning.” You want to connect with your students and help them feel like part of a learning community. That’s why videos are so important. Students become more engaged when they see the faces of their instructor and get a sense of their personality. “As a consequence of eroding trust in media and institutions, people are engaging in a personal quest for the truth based on direct observation and face-to-face interaction.”
Many conventional classrooms have long operated on a project-based model, where instead of reading chapters, answering questions, and taking tests, students work on subject-specific educational projects such as building a greenhouse, designing a website, or debating the specifics of the French Revolution — possibly in era-accurate garb.
Collaborative learning
sometimes known as “learning communities” or “cooperative learning” — refers to the common-sense notion that we often learn best by working with others as a group. Collaborative learning applies a deliberate goal-oriented focus to these exercises so students are not just working together on an activity, but are also actively learning from each other, through each other, and about each other, all while completing assignments together. In online education, collaborative learning is powered by a wide range of social media technologies including video conferencing, texting, email, teleconferencing, and workflow programs such as Trello and Slack. Each of these applications has helped to make the world a smaller place for students, making global collaboration a real possibility.
Hybrid or blended learning
Where students utilize a mix of online and on-campus resources — is an attractive option for many students, especially those who live within a reasonable distance of campus but still require the flexibility that comes with online classroom attendance. By taking a combination of both online and in-person classes, you can balance the convenience and accessibility of online attendance with access to campus resources, including professors, libraries, and your fellow classmates.
CHALLENGES
For many online students, isolation can be a serious challenge. They may drift collectively through their studies as strangers who never truly engage one another. These online schools have faced dropping enrollment and criticism in recent years for questionable recruitment practices and low graduation rates, among other things.
Cost remains the students’ biggest obstacle as they choose an online education program. Estimating annual costs and applying for financial aid are identified as students’ two biggest challenges.
Students struggle to find the right online education program. In fact, this challenge was the most identified challenge. This might be due to the increase in younger students who may not have identified goals or chosen a career path.
Schools’ biggest challenges when it comes to offering online education programs include marketing new online programs to prospective students and meeting recruitment goals and meeting cost and management demands required by new online programs.
CONCLUSION
Online learning doesn’t have to be impersonal, and it definitely shouldn’t feel like “distance learning.” You want to connect with your students and help them feel like part of a learning community. Associations must play the role of information curator for their members. Help members filter out the junk and tame their overwhelming information stream. This is a natural role for associations since you already have a relationship of trust with members. You can gain the trust of the rest of your professional community as a reliable resource if you provide this indispensable service. Online education continues to evolve, as more students seek flexible alternatives to traditional, on-campus courses.
– Samriddhi Pandey
Gujarat National Law University
