Lessons, a click away

Updated on: Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Education couldn't get any easier. Now, anyone at home with a computer and a broadband connectivity can enrol for a number of courses offered online.

Ankit Fadia, cyber security expert and ethical hacker, runs one-year PG diplomas and two-year master programmes, all through the Internet via video conferencing. It's a familiar classroom scene, in a virtual setting. And, the computer screens are the blackboards.

Eliminating barriers

The Internet has eliminated physical and language barriers in the world of teaching.

All you need to do is log on and explore the world of online education.

For housewives, working women looking for part-time assignments and students, there are a plenty of options to learn as well as earn.

One area with potantial is online translation. You can reach out to websites such as www.proz.com and www.translatorscafe.com to scan opportunities in your areas of interest.

Lyric Labs, an online translation agency, has a network of thousands of freelance translators, chosen from across the globe and involved in the online translation of segments such as IT, pharmaceuticals, health and more.

Online language courses are a big hit too. The Alliance Française network — with the support of the French Embassy — has designed an e-learning website for beginners (level A1). It is just like a regular class at Alliance Française. ClickOnFrench.com offers 25 step by step lessons that include oral comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and culture, all based on the communicative approach.

There are online music courses and certificate programmes too.

More on music

If you want to learn to play the piano, but live too far away from a music teacher, you can log on to http://www.gopiano.com/. It gives you keyboard and piano instructions for the basic levels.

For young professionals who have joined work early but still want to continue their education, online education gives you the option to move up the career ladder quickly and safely. You can walk out with a degree without a face-to-face interaction.

Reputed institutes such as the Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade are also offering a number of e-learning courses. Learn all you want. Just log on to the World Wide Web and explore.

Lessons, a click away

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