It is no surprise that the automation of work processes is increasingly changing professional activities and is also something that causes panic in many people, generating the following question: what will be the role of human beings in this scenario? According to research, human skills will be increasingly valued, hence the importance of having a specialization, especially with online courses.
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The machine depends on the human being
According to digital thinker and author of the book “You, Me and Robots”, Martha Gabriel, in a lecture given at IBM Think Summit Brazil, in São Paulo, new technologies are not replacing professions, but rather transforming them and helping to expand human knowledge.
For the speaker, critical thinking and accumulated experience will be what sets us apart from machines. Artificial intelligence is very creative with data and information, but it needs characteristics such as emotion, empathy and ethics to be fair and inclusive, which is why it needs human support in its processes.
Experience has become very important
With their environment becoming more digitalized, companies have been forced to start valuing skills such as agility and, mainly, continuous learning. For this reason, the importance of always innovating their knowledge has increased and, consequently, the demand for online courses has also increased.
Nowadays, online courses have already taken over a significant portion of the market. According to the Higher Education Census published in 2018 by the National Institute of Studies and Educational Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP), 21,2% of all higher education enrollments are in distance learning.
The number of students enrolled in this modality is already almost 1,8 million, with 17,6% more enrollments in 2017 than in 2016. The number of courses throughout Brazil was 2.108 in 2017, 26,8% higher than in 2016, when there were 1.662 courses.
Furthermore, the number of enrollments in distance learning is expected to continue to grow. A survey conducted by Sagah, a renowned online course provider, estimated that by 2023 there will be more students enrolled in distance learning courses than in face-to-face courses.
The vast majority of users of online teaching platforms are adults, since online courses do not require a time commitment, which does not prevent individuals from working and still increasing their knowledge in their free time.
Advantages of online courses
The main advantages of online classes are as follows:
- Practicality: There is no need to choose a day or time that will affect your routine, as classes can be held according to the students' availability;
- Quality: the teaching provided is of high quality and the student has access to support materials for learning, as well as video classes that facilitate understanding of the topics covered;
- Economy: not only does the price of the course tend to be cheaper, since there is no need to rent or maintain a physical space as is the case with face-to-face classes, but the student also saves on transportation and food, since they can take classes from home, on the way to work or wherever they prefer;
- Variety: There are course options for all tastes and preferences, which can help in the development of professionals in the most varied areas.
Ease of access contributes to this growth
According to the Higher Education Census, Brazil has around 2.364 in-person higher education institutions and/or qualification courses, while there are around 5.570 cities in the country, that is, 58% of Brazilian municipalities do not have higher education institutions.
With this, we conclude that, in addition to the issue of the need to increase knowledge, online courses are also growing because of the opportunities they are giving to people living in regions lacking institutions.
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