A strategic unit of Tata Consultancy Services, ICS iON provides technology by means of a unique IT-as-a-Service model, offering end-to-end business solutions mainly to Manufacturing Industries (SMBs), Educational Institutions and Examination Boards.

If you take a look at people absorbed in their screens around you, can you tell who is doing what? You may assume that most of them are watching a movie, playing a game, and yes, tagging the latest post on Facebook.But what if you found out that one of them could be learning how to solve a Mathematics theorem, one of them could be learning a new trend in embroidery, one of them completely engrossed in a hectic code thon and so on.

As unreal as it may sound, that, in all probability, is actually what people and screens are up to. The Gen Y may be missing in the classrooms, the dedicated employee of yours may be skipping an office party, your own spouse may be assigning you a grocery trip – because, they all are busy, learning. Where? Not inside a concrete wall structure but on and around their devices. They are using the power of push-button revolution to study, learn, unlearn, re-learn, share, practise and experience education like never before.

Just a few years back, the concept of peer-based learning may have sounded outrageous or silly, but not anymore. Today, the very aspect of tapping a peer for amplifying fundamentals, seeking out clarifications, practicing examples, discussing and debating together has given an action flavor to an otherwise dull classroom.

Blogs, online forums, communities have replaced libraries. Peers and self-assessment have taken over conventional pedagogy. Videos, demos, real-world simulations and other digital wonders have wiped out orthodox and obsolete modes.This new Gen Y wants to go to a flipped classroom where using peers is more powerful than hierarchal system, where campus is not for teaching but for discussion, where they can find something that is convenient but at the same time cost/time friendly, and effective enough to show visible results and not just report cards.

A flipped classroom turns the traditional format of a class upside down in many ways. Here, a learner gets the content lined up in advance, the material is not a surprise element that will be revealed during a class but something the learner is pre equipped with and all that remains is to actually understand and apply what the material

teaches. This is a big transition towards outcome-oriented learning. In fact, the new generation of learners won’t be content with just the syllabus unless it leads them to a purpose-led outcome.

A learner gets the content lined up in advance,the material is not a surprise element that will be revealed during a class but some thing the learner is pre-equipped with,and all that remains is to actually understand and apply what the material teaches

The job market has undergone a drastic change. People are also changing what they learn, how they learn based on why they want to learn – the kind of work they will sink their teeth into. No wonder, digital learning or cloud-based tools are now dominant waves.

If we pause and think as to what could be driving this sudden surge and interest in a virtual classroom or course module, we might discover many big shifts that are actually re-defining the way people learn, when and why they learn.

Learners have changed. There’s no going back to the old ways. Their attention-spans, devices, tools, mind-maps, and even the purpose of learning have changed tremendously. Nowadays, you have segments like lifelong learners or independent workers or personal-interest learners on the rise.

People want to learn, but they want it to be self-paced, engaging, multi-dimensional, fast, outcome-based, and participative, accelerated, on-demand etc. Pew Research has noticed that 87 per cent of personal learners feel more capable and well rounded, 69 per cent opened up new perspectives about their lives, 64 per cent made new friends,58 per cent say it made them more connected to their local community and 43 per cent got involved in volunteer opportunities.

This dovetails with Gartner’s latest prediction on education sector that shows that senior education leaders are rethinking business models and considering a range of new technologies. At the last count, as much as $400 million had been injected into new-age learning providers like EdX, Khan Academy, Coursera, Udemy etc.

This is the age of exostructures, digital assessments, OERs (Open Reading Materials), and adaptive learning that dynamically shapes up the way instructional content is presented to students as per their responses or preferences. Nothing can be left closed or mysterious anymore, the demand for openness is seen across all dimensions of learning.

In short, education is now turning affordable, accessible, continuous and experiential. With this impetus for what a learner actually needs, it is also becoming granular, contextual and pull-based so that it is designed from the perspective of a learner and not based on what the instructor wants or knows. Knowledge has ceased to be a stock asset for this generation. They have made it fluid, personalised, blended, inquiry-based and consistent.

I am reminded of MIT’s motto here that best explains the shift that is happening: menset manus (mind and hand). The new ways of learning blend cognitive and practical/ experiential aspects tightly.

Yet when it comes to credibility of a badge, or course completion status; a lot remains raw and immature. There are a lot of areas where physical classrooms and digital ones have to complement and strengthen each other. Both sides would find gaps to fill in and a collaborative approach can equip both the genres strongly. We cannot just swipe away all the intellectual muscle, teaching think tank, legacy and experience that old-school formats have. We just need to find ways where the fork in the road ends.

Brick and Click have to work together to create maximum impact