To deal with the frequently changing work environments students need new life skills like creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making. Blended Model will focus on how students benefit from online courses. But what do these online courses do for you? How can you benefit from them and what value do these add to your overall learning?

• With technology and education coming together to give learners a platform to skill up and learn anytime anywhere, online learning has significantly grown over the last decade, states a Forbes article on The Rise of Online Learning.

• According to MIT News, researchers have found that online classes are as effective as traditional classroom courses. Online Courses have the potential to exceed the standards, expectations, and learning goals of traditional class-room based learning system.

• With the help of technological innovations, online learning has become a resourceful tool for learners globally. There are several online learning platforms that offer a host of courses online. A large number of top tier universities are democratizing the entire learning process for learners all over the world by making courses accessible via online learning platforms.

• Many premium colleges/ universities offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) i.e. large scale open courses offering unlimited participation through the web. Some of the promising online learning platforms include NPTEL, Coursera, Udacity, edX among many others.

How can students be future ready? The answer is simple: Helping students learn & develop the skills that they will need in the coming future. Take a look at the skills in the image below: So, what are the benefits of online courses for students? To cope with the constantly changing environment, possessing workplace skills have become essential for students. Students need new life skills like creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making, the ability to communicate and collaborate to lead a successful professional life in the 21st century. Let’s see how learning/ developing skills helps some young students:

• Enables them to find new ways of thinking and problem solving.
• Helps them learn the ability to understand the complex and challenging business environment
• Empowers students to be more agile and adaptable to different roles and working environments
• Instills in them the potential to lead by influence
• Builds confidence in communication and networking
• Develops a deeper sense of self-awareness; strengths and weaknesses alike
• Fosters readiness and flexibility to various jobs in diverse workplaces

Below are the Courses offered by various platforms for school students

• iDX
• Coursera
• edX