Taking the online route to learning

At an age when everything under the sun is just a click away, education too has gone online. Not many people are aware that there are a plethora of courses offered online that one may never even have heard of. Mariam Fatima holds a Masters degree in Geography and Bachelors in Education. In her previous avatar, she was a middle school social science teacher. Her interest in web development bloomed when she shifted to the Silicon Valley of India. She wanted to build websites on her own. “The realisation of career disenchantment, even after seeking higher education for 6 years in traditional colleges and universities, leaves you in a difficult situation. If you still want to follow your passion, online courses have proven to be a good alternative,” she states.  

She came across the online courses available at Udacity, which offers courses designed to teach programming skills. Mariam continues, “I got enrolled for Frontend Web Development Nanodegree. The programme provided a comfortable learning environment. There was no  rushing to college on time, fighting traffic, finding parking spaces or missing important family time since there are no physical class sessions. The MOOC was compiled into a series of videos complemented with quizzes at regular intervals. The online course gave me an opportunity to plan my study time around the rest of my day and overall helped in balancing my work and family commitments”she says. 

There has been an astonishing evolution in online education in the past few years. Online courses are now available in a spectrum of disciplines. This has made it easier to reach out and take up a course across disciplines without making any relocation plans.