Professional career courses (Masterclass) Vs. Online Training courses

When you think about the difference between professional (traditional) career courses and online training courses then terms such as instruction and social interaction are worth considering. Shown below are some of the key differences between the way these two courses can be learnt.

Difference between Professional (Traditional) and Online Education

When students from the AEC industry consider opting between online and traditional education, they might only think about the most obvious difference of classroom versus computer. There are several other differences that could significantly influence a student’s capability to succeed. Also, before selecting between education options, one must consider factors such as classroom setting, styles of learning and technology.

Styles of Learning

Typically, Autodesk Revit online training courses tend to favour independent learning styles, especially visual learners. In addition to depending upon the technology, online programs expect students to be self-directed in achieving their academic goals while balancing other responsibilities. Though there are still misbeliefs that online CAD training courses are easier and take less work, most online programs have moved to active learning environments that includes activities, student-instructor interactions and peer-peer communication.

Professional or traditional courses frequently cater to collaborative learning styles, particularly for kinaesthetic and auditory learners. Similarly, conventional learning environments provide opportunities for face to face interaction in and out of the classroom.

Classroom Setting: In-Person vs Virtual

In a conventional course, several students gather to learn at a particular time and place. Students might attend lecture discussion sessions, independent study groups with peers, or interact with the instructor after the completion of class or during office hours. At traditional classes or institutes the instruction style is most often teacher driven, in that the knowledgeable instructor lectures on the subject of his/her expertise.

With online training courses the students get the flexibility to choose the place and time to learn that’s most suitable for them. Also, in online programs, the style of instruction is more user driven. Depending on the course, students might experience varying levels of control over the pace of learning and when they attend the class. With prevailing technology and student learning styles, instructors have had to adapt both their teaching styles and the way they present information to online students.

Technological Concerns

Online CAD courses depend on such technology as web pages, email, software programs, message boards, chat rooms, webcasts, webinars, search engines as well as social media. To do well in such courses, students need to understand how to utilize these various resources. Similarly, teachers also need to understand the ways to include these resources into lessons, and they must be able to offer instruction on the ways students can use the resources.

While professional career courses might take place in the classroom, faculties and students still need technology skills for conducting internet based research, document creation programs, and using other technology resources. Thus learning courses through both ways can help students garner good knowledge provided they devote complete attention from their side.

Author Bio:

Prabhat Singh heads XS CAD India’s Training and Recruitment Centre, one of the leading centres for AutoCAD courses in Mumbai (http://www.xscadtraining.com). He has been instrumental in leading the Training Centre for Online Revit Training classes (http://www.xscadtraining.com/online-cad-training/), conducted for students and working professionals.

Prabhat Singh heads Grey Edge, a leading Autodesk Revit MEP Training Centre in Mumbai. Prabhat has been instrumental in designing many types of curriculum related to domains, such as architecture, interior design and web designing and development.