I remember sitting at the back of the class thinking, “I hope the teacher doesn’t ask me to answer that last question!” Not because I couldn’t answer it, or at least have a stab at it, but just like going on a TV quiz show, answering on-time and in front of an ‘audience’ is not always as easy as it seems.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t learn the subject matter – it was just that the environment didn’t work for me.

Considering this, I greatly believe in and support the new wave of training plans being offered, as they clearly support new ways of learning.

One of the best examples of this has to be the strategies being employed within the IT industry. Not surprisingly, using the latest technological assets to teach what can be complex skills and techniques, with a high level of success.

With the option of on-line and multimedia lessons, taught by leaders in their respective fields, students have high grade access to a vast array of learning material – whenever they want, and wherever they want it. True 24×7 learning and the option to choose absolutely anywhere to study; all contributes to the learning experience and ultimately improves learning success.

A long way away from the intimidating and sterile classroom experience of youth.

There are clearly other benefits: The ability to carry on study when the student may not feel wholly well, or during incapacitation. Training schemes are available to all, including those with disabilities who find it difficult to study at a centralised centre. The ability to carry on studying regardless of the weather outside, and the ability to study in the security of one’s own home.

Further advantages include a reduction in ‘down-time’ and cost; in terms of the journey time to and from the training centre, the issue of having to attend at a set time, and the money spent travelling there and back. All this supports the strategy of ’smart study’ – learning what you want, when you want it, at a place that suits you best, and in a cost effective way.

This method of training is not dependent upon the slow upgrades or revisions of books and reading material. Students are more likely to be studying the latest concepts and skills available, giving them an edge over their counterparts.

This doesn’t mean that you’re forced to study in isolation though. This new training philosophy understands that some people need to blend their study program with human communication. As such, a truly effective plan includes on-line ‘interactive’ support, and many students also set up their own study-buddy network, where they can discuss their ideas in a relaxed environment and review the concepts under study.

There has been incredible development in the field of IT and educational strategies. It seems natural that these two disciplines would come together to the advantage of the student, and create a training environment where the student is more in-control, making it more pleasurable overall. Surely that is one of the basic tenets of learning?

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