With internet access, you can sign up to learn about anything online. Plenty of virtual learning opportunities exist, from YouTube videos to Instagram lives. All of these provide the opportunity to join an online learning community.
If you’d like to take on a more in-depth online course, you’ll benefit from participating in something more personalised and tailored to your interests to maximise the experience. Apart from meeting learners from all over the world, there are many benefits to interactive online learning. This post will share a handful of the benefits of joining an online learning community.
Five Benefits of joining an online learning community
1. Active online facilitator
In a traditional learning environment, instructors might not feel accessible to us. At a typical university, many professors offer open office hours, but you might be nervous about chatting with them in person. This process could even be more difficult if you experienced strict and unapproachable teachers at school.
A virtual learning environment makes the relationship between an online facilitator and the learners more informal. You can message them anytime instead of waiting for a class or lecture, and they will reply when they can. The course facilitator acts more as a mentor or a guide than an authority figure.
An active course facilitator also creates a community. Facilitators differ from professors or lecturers, who tend to have a one-way conversation with a class. Interactions with an online course facilitator might be shorter but more frequent. Since you can access an ongoing discussion thread anytime, you don’t need to rely only on the instructor for feedback; all online course participants can contribute to forum discussions.
Virtual learning also allows facilitators to collect and analyse valuable data using tools like AI to ensure that the course content meets learners’ needs.
2. Ongoing Engagement
You don’t have to wait for a specific class time to engage with your peers; you can get to know them better anytime through online discussion forums, group conversations, or assignments.
No matter your time zone, you can receive a response pretty soon after posting a message or query or submitting an assignment. Regular online interactions can also help you stay more engaged with the topic you are learning about.
Building an online learning community is one of the most significant advantages of upskilling online. You get to build on your knowledge and engage with others without feeling self-conscious about putting your hand up in a crowded classroom.
3. Online learning portfolio for future employers
In a traditional classroom setting, you might have specific tasks to complete. These tasks can also include group assignments. With virtual learning, you get to put together an online portfolio instead. This portfolio provides evidence of your engagement with the relevant topics during the course.
A portfolio of evidence means you have solid evidence to show that you can apply these newfound skills, which you can share with future employers.
4. Asynchronous learning
Asynchronous learning means you can engage with the course content from anywhere and at any time at your own convenience. Instead of worrying about attending the required classes, you can work through the course content at your own pace.
Flexibility is a crucial benefit of online and asynchronous learning. With consistent access to resources, you can manage your learning schedule and take your time researching a topic without worrying about falling behind.
You’ll always learn from others since you can ask questions in the discussion forums throughout the course.
5. Cultural diversity
Studying in person offers excellent social benefits because it provides more opportunities for interactions outside of class. However, learning online also offers a chance to engage with learners from different backgrounds and can be more inclusive.
Online courses have no geographical limitations, so a virtual environment allows you to engage with more diverse people. Learners might live on another continent than you and could have opinions and experiences that differ from yours.
When learning about topics like human behaviour, business management, people management and coaching, these varying perspectives can add incredible value to your learning experience and personal growth.
Join the SACAP Global online learning community
At SACAP Global, we offer a user-friendly way to join a diverse online learning community.
Whether you’re interested in applied psychology, business management, or people management, we provide a wide range of affordable and accessible short online courses. Our course offering has expanded to include mental health, crisis and trauma, and counselling youth.
Some of our most popular courses include:
- Intro to Human Behaviour
- Building Positive Self-Esteem
- Fundamental Counselling Skills
- Counselling Children & Youth
- Intro to Crisis & Trauma
- Symptoms of Crisis & Trauma
These courses facilitate engaging and fulfilling learning experiences in an online environment. Browse our complete course list to learn more.