The health crisis we are going through and the deep and rapid changes in the labor market are forcing many professionals to reinvent their ways of learning and training for a new profession. However, these transformations are good news for students ! They now have access to more diversified educational content, as well as less expensive learning opportunities, freed from all spatio-temporal constraints. Nevertheless, the digitization of training also presents a real challenge .. First, to find the shoe that suits you and make sure you can trust the teaching team. Then, to adapt to this new autonomy, which can weigh more heavily on the motivation and concentration of learners. In such a volatile and changing context, it is sometimes difficult to decide which online training course to choose!
To help you find your way among the dozens of digital schools and online training available, we suggest detailing the advantages and disadvantages of the main formats that exist today.
online formation
The MOOC (for Massive Open Online Course) is an online course format open to everyone. This new learning method experienced growing success in the 2010s. A few years ago, some even defended its ability to replace the traditional teaching sector!
The success of MOOCs can be attributed in particular to their financial accessibility. Their cost (if they are not free) is indeed lower than the registration fees of a school. Be careful, however, because the MOOCs allowing a diploma certification are obligatorily paying.
Learners are also free to complete the different stages of their training whenever they wish. The digital format thus makes it possible to consume the educational content at will! A very appreciable flexibility, but which is unfortunately felt on the MOOC completion rate . Learners suffer from the lack of support, which directly impacts their productivity. The contents of MOOCs are sometimes referred to as being cold and impersonal. Their nature thus tends to suppress interactions between learners, heavily affecting their chances of success.
The new “pure player” digital schools
Like many economic sectors, traditional training has been largely invested in digital technology. In particular, we have seen the appearance in recent years of new schools or 100% digital learning platforms , which often offer fairly condensed courses, to quickly train in a job, or acquire new strategic skills.
Players like Noé in Product Management , Emil for Data , or even Lion for entrepreneurship are dusting off so-called “classic” digital training. They highlight the mode of training by cohorts (or promotions). In doing so, they make it possible to maintain the social aspect and the emulation between students which promotes the assimilation of new skills and the consolidation of one’s professional network. And this, even when the training is done online and remotely
Much more focused on practice, and often taught by well-established professionals in their sector, the new 100% digital schools stand out by providing more easily actionable educational content .
Newcomers to the training market, however, these schools can scare students. Due in particular to less decline in the relevance of their educational content and their legitimacy . Indeed, in recent years, there has been more and more talk of the CPF scam . Some digital formations are thus simple smokescreens, created to defraud naive Internet users. Moreover, not all digital schools will open the doors to a recognized diploma.
Online courses for business schools
Business schools have also been offering distance learning for several years. An option which obviously has the advantage of making their courses more accessible to students , both in France and abroad. For students, it is now possible to follow these long courses at their own pace. All this while benefiting (unlike MOOCs) from an adapted pedagogical follow-up. Indeed, far from being left alone in front of their screen, these learners are accompanied throughout the training. This is the case with the online training offered by EDHEC: each program offers individual and group coaching sessions . The opportunity for participants to ensurethe success of their learning path but also to build their personalized career plan . Students can also interact with their teachers (permanent professors from business schools or recognized professionals) on a dematerialized campus .
The financial aspect will also not be neglected. Since remote registration is generally less expensive than for face-to-face training. However, this option opzns the doors to a business school diploma, a guarantee of academic excellence and international recognition .
As with 100% digital schools, online Business School training offers students the opportunity to join a class. In addition, most Schools provide access to a solid network of alumni . Unlike their young digital competitors, the Business Schools already enjoy a solid reputation and international recognition. A reputation that can work in favor of their students against some more “old school” recruiters .
Nevertheless, the flexibility of this digital format is much less important than for a 100% virtual course. Obtaining a business school diploma will generally take 12 to 18 months. This is, for example, the average duration of an Online Bachelor ‘s or Master of Science offered by EDHEC.
Choose the online training that matches your goals
Choosing online training can allow you, whatever your expectations or availability, to learn a new trade without leaving your home. It remains to choose which format and which methods meet your professional objectives!
