Why should Students of CA, CS and CMA Courses Learn from Online Video Lectures?

Live online classes, pre-recorded video lectures, pen drive lectures, physical coaching … which of these is best for study for professional courses like CA, CS and CMA?

A good question. With multiple correct answers depending on your situation.

But all things considered, we think that pre-recorded online video lectures hosted on an appropriate e-learning app/platform is the best option. Especially for people who take professional courses like CA, CS and CMA. Indeed, specifically in a country like India.

Why?

Why indeed?

We hope that this post will convince you as to the reasons why.

Why should Professional Course Students Learn From Online Video Lectures?

Introduction

A brief overview of coaching classes, pen drive classes and e-learning apps

Advantages and Disadvantages of Coaching Classes

Advantages and Disadvantages of Pen drive Classes

Advantages and Disadvantages of Live Online Classes

Advantages and Disadvantages of Pre-recorded Online Video Lectures

Why is the option “pre-recorded online video lectures” the best?

Features of a well-designed e-learning app

Some Final Comments About e-learning apps

Introduction

There are many ways to go about studying for the professional courses like CA, CS and CMA. You could try physical coaching classes.  You could try pen drive lectures. Or you could sign up for live online classes hosted on an e-learning platform of your choice. (We will talk about what an e-learning platform is later in the post).

You could buy online courses that comprise of pre-recorded online video lectures hosted on an e-learning platform. (For the sake of convenience, we will refer to e-learning platforms/portals as e-learning apps from now on.)

Or even some sort of combination of all these options.

But with these many choices available for you, which is the best? As we said earlier, for the motivated student it appears that pre-recorded online video lectures is. Especially if the e-learning portal upon which the lectures are hosted has certain features.

Before we go through all the advantages/disadvantages, let’s get an idea of what coaching classes, pen drive classes and e-learning apps are all about.

A brief overview of coaching classes, pen drive classes and e-learning apps

Coaching classes are physical classes in coaching centres. Students travel to these centres at fixed times to learn from teachers in a traditional classroom setting. The class sizes vary from about 20 to up to even 500 students!

Pen drive classes are essentially course material sold on pen drives. The material can contain anything from video lectures to study notes to a combination of these. You can buy such classes online.

An e-learning app/platform is sort of like an online coaching centre. But you are not limited to what you can host upon it. You could host live classes that try to bring in the physical experience to the online world. Here, students login from wherever they are at a specific time. The instructor(s) then will conduct a live class where these online students can interact with them in real-time.

You could also host courses on your e-learning app that comprise of pre-recorded video lectures. You could also have associated study notes. Or even interactive quizzes! It’s the same sort of thing as in pen drives. But instead of the material hosted on pen drives, it will be on your portal.

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So, that’s the overview of these options.

Now, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each option in turn.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Coaching Centres

As we mentioned, a coaching class comprises of instructor(s) teaching students in a classroom setting. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a type of instruction.

Advantages:

• Familiarity: We human beings are creatures of habit. Since our childhood, we are used to being taught in a classroom setting. So, if you sign up for coaching at a centre, you feel secure. Just because it’s in a familiar setting.
• Easy access to Instructors: Depending on class size, you can interact with your instructor easily. Have a doubt? Ask him/her in class directly. Or approach them right after class. You don’t have to wait for a reply.
• Peer Interaction: There is no getting around the fact that we humans are social. And many of us learn best in a collaborative environment. With coaching classes and centres, you can make friends and study together in a group.
• Disciplined Study: Because these classes start and end at fixed times, they will instil a sense of disciple in your study. You don’t have to worry about organising your own schedule. It’s done for you in a sense!

Disadvantages

• Very Expensive and Time Consuming: A major disadvantage of online coaching classes is that many of these are very expensive. Both in terms of cost, as well as time. If you live far from a coaching centre, you will have to spend money and time on travel. Not only that, the classes themselves, are in general expensive.
• Cannot study at your own pace: If you are a fast learner, you might find your instructor’s pace a bit slow. Conversely, it may be the case that the pace might be too fast for you in places.
• Inflexible Schedule: In general, coaching centres are traditional places. Also, there is an inflexibility in schedule. You have to attend your classes at fixed times. So, you must plan your day around your coaching class which may not be possible at all times.
• Does not take advantage of technology: Many coaching classes and centres don’t take full advantage of technology. Why should they? Most are bound by inflexible tradition.
• Limited Instructor interaction in case of large class size: If you are in a large class, you might not always be able to have good interaction with your instructors.

Now, let’s move on to look at the advantages and disadvantages of pen drive classes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Pen Drive Classes

As we said, pen drive classes comprise of courses sold on pen drives. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of pen drive classes.

Advantages:

• Study at anytime and anywhere: Once you buy the pen drive, it’s yours. You are not time or place bound to study. You can study at anytime (early in the morning or late at night) or anywhere (in your home or any where else.)
• No dress code: You do not need to dress up to study. You can lounge in your jammies in the comfort of your own home while studying
• Cut down on travel costs: You will save money on travelling to and fro from coaching centres. Especially if you are far away. (In a big country like India, this is a big advantage)
• Enhanced learning experience: Pen drive classes can combine the latest in technology to provide you an enhanced learning experience
• No need for internet connection: You do not have to be connected to the internet in order to access the course material
• Motivates self-discipline: If you are a self-motivated student, pen drive classes can be useful. You will have to make up your own schedule and follow it to get the best results

Disadvantages:

• Need to be self-motivated to study: You can look at this both as an advantage or disadvantage. If you are not used to making your own schedules, you might face difficulty at first.
• Little or no access to instructors: You are limited to the course material on the pen drive. If you have any doubts about it, you may not always be able to reach out to the relevant instructors
• Limited peer learning: You cannot take as much advantage of peer learning as compared with offline coaching centres
• Outdated content: Content may become outdated whenever the syllabus gets updated (happens quite often in professional courses, especially the ones dealing with law)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Live Online Classes

Live online classes try to mimic the familiarity associated with physical classes. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with this type of online education.

Advantages:

• Login from anywhere: You can log in from anywhere and are not bound to any location. But you will still have to login at a fixed time

• Cut down on travel costs: You will save money on travelling to and fro from coaching centres. Especially if you are far away. (In a big country like India, this is a big advantage)
• Possible to interact with instructors: Because these online classes are live, you can interact with your instructors in real-time. You don’t have to wait to get your doubts cleared.
• Enhanced learning experience: Typically, the instructors are well versed in technology. They can use it to bring about an enhanced learning experience for you.
• Wear what you want: Because you don’t have to be physically present anywhere, you don’t have to worry about what to wear. All you need is an online presence, and you can turn off your webcam if you wish!

 Disadvantages:

• Unfamiliarity: If you are used to physical classes, the experience takes some getting used to
• Internet speed and connection important: Your experience is dependent on quality of internet connection (Although this is not so much of a disadvantage now that internet penetration and speeds are improving in India)
• Limited access to instructors: You have less access to instructors as compared with physical classes
• Less peer interaction: You cannot take much advantage of peer learning as compared with physical classes
• Inflexible timings: You still need to login at fixed times because the classes are live

Advantages and Disadvantages of Pre-recorded Online Video Lectures

Pre-recorded online video lectures are lectures recorded earlier and spread to students via e-learning portals or streaming video sites. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of such a mode of learning.

Advantages:

• #studyanytimeanywhere: You can access the content from any where at any time
• No need to travel: You don’t have to travel and so you save time and money that way
• More cost-effective: This is actually a portal dependent feature. But all in all, pre-recorded online video lectures do give you the best bang for your buck. In other words, you get the best ROI!
• Enhanced learning experience: Instructors have an option to use the latest in technology to bring about the best learning experience for you.
• No need to dress up: No dress code because you are at home while studying
• Motivates self-discipline: Because there is no fixed schedule, you’ll have to draw up your own. This will help in installing a sense of self-discipline
• Real-time syllabus update: Depending on the e-learning portal, the video lectures will get updated to reflect changes in the syllabus

Disadvantages:

• Need internet: You will need a good quality internet connection. Although this is not so hard nowadays with the rate of internet penetration in India
• Limited instructor-student interaction: Because the lectures are pre-recorded, there is no live interaction between instructor and students
• Self-motivation required: You need to draw out your own schedule and be self-motivated to learn
• Limited peer learning possibilities: Because the classes are online, you may not even meet any of your peers. As such, there are limited opportunities for peer learning

Why is the option “pre-recorded online video lectures” the best?

Now that we’ve gone through some of the advantages/disadvantages of each option, do you see why we think pre-recorded lectures are the way to go?

It’s because the other options have one main disadvantage each that cannot be overcome easily. For coaching classes it’s the fact that they are expensive, and you spend a lot of time travelling. For pen drive classes it’s the fact that the material won’t be updated to reflect changes in the syllabus. And for live online lectures, it’s because you are constrained to participate at a fixed time.

All in all, these seem to be serious disadvantages, right? That’s why, for a self-motivated student, pre-recorded video lectures are the best way to go.

And if you think about it, the disadvantages associated with pre-recorded video lectures can be overcome. Especially if the e-learning portal on which the videos are hosted is designed well.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at some of the features of a well-designed online portal.

Features of a well-designed e-learning portal

A well-designed e-learning portal needs to have the following features:

• Incorporate the latest in teaching methodology and technology
• Frequently update the syllabus
• Cover the entire syllabus
• Employ different modes of presenting information to students
• A way to facilitate student-teacher interaction
• A way to inculcate self-discipline among students
• Cost-effective

(Exercise for the reader: can you think of other additional features? Tell us in the comment section below!)

In other words, the portal needs to minimise disadvantages associated with online learning and maximise the advantages!

Now, all these features can be incorporated into an e-learning app that hosts pre-recorded online video lectures.

Indeed, the incorporation of the first three features is obvious. It may be difficult to do depending on resources but in principle, can be done.

That is, you can certainly design the lectures using the latest tech. And you could use the latest teaching pedagogy. Whereas frequently updating and covering the entire portion is feasible if you have the right resources.

What about presenting the same information to students in different ways? Well, if the platform allows you to download study notes complementing the lectures, that would be great, right?

And of course, you could provide a forum (or some other online means e.g. email, discussion boards, etc.) to help students to connect with the relevant faculty.

Cost-effectiveness? That’s easy enough, we suppose. The very nature of it being an online platform should offset associated costs. But of course, within e-learning portals offering pre-recorded online video lectures, there is a degree of variation in the costs.

For inculcating self-discipline, perhaps you could have a set time limit in which students can access a lecture.

Some Final Comments About e-learning Portals

Clearly, there are other solutions/features that we haven’t discussed here. But you get the general idea. The disadvantages associated with an e-learning platform offering pre-recorded online video lectures can be mitigated if the platform is designed the right way.

Convinced about the fact that pre-recorded video lectures are the best? Try out LearnCab for free! And see how our platform with its unique credit-based system helps to overcome the disadvantages we talked about, as well as bringing you the most effective lectures at the most cost-effective prices!