My team and I at GreyAtom spent months building some of the best online programs on Data Science, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Computer Vision. These programs comprised of hands-on coding assignments within a coding editor, videos and 175+ projects produced right from the scratch; and have been consumed by more than 100,000 learners across the world. Yet, if there is anything I have learned from all this, it is that content is NOT the king anymore.
Too many Ed-Tech companies still stand behind a podium, banking on content to drive learning. I believe it is time for us to realize that, first, there is no dearth of free good content on the internet; and second, that content is just not enough to produce real outcomes.
Think about it, you can already Google and find content on almost any topic under the sun. In this ocean of content, you may need some navigation skills but you will eventually find good content for free.
So, why pay a premium?
Ha! That is a question that most companies are struggling to answer today.
I have argued that it takes more than just content to drive real learning outcomes. It is also here where Ed-Tech companies can give their audience a real reason to invest in their services.
So, back to the question, when did content lose the crown?
Content alone fails to give learners the larger picture
I was recently discussing a new Full-Stack Engineering program with an undergrad, and what she asked struck me. She didn't ask what the content would be, or how would the course look like. Instead, her question, in her own words, was "So, by the end of the program, will I be able to deploy a full-stack app into production?"
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
Benjamin Franklin
Every year, we get a fresh batch of computer engineers who are frankly unemployable. They either fail to write production-grade code and if so, they most likely would fail to use their codes to produce a product. Then, they are also trained in outdated curricula.
Unfortunately, the same failed method of content delivery has been simulated with online microlearning experiences within a closed sandbox environment. While this definitely helps you get started, it does little to teach you to apply what you learn in a context.
So, beyond content, these programs have little to offer. There is no mentorship, no opportunity for you to apply learning in real projects, and no hackathon-style learning experience either.
Then how does the learner convert this — admittedly important — theoretical knowledge into a product?
Short answer: She can't because she doesn't know how to do that.
Because we have information overload
We can watch speakers any time, and, in more places than not, it’s free! We need the interaction, the engagement, and the experience. We can Google anything. We can find infographics on anything. We can find case studies on anything. We can find blogs, vlogs, podcasts, tweets, and sometimes snapchats on anything. It’s called the Internet.
We don’t have a content problem; we have a filter problem, an aggregation problem. We must filter that content through the context of whom we’re trying to connect with and teach.
Content is what we’re pouring into people. Context is everything that makes those people unique.
Another problem with content creation is how fast can one produce content in these times of changing technology. This is really a big challenge. If in the time and money it takes you to produce content, the content is outdated, what’s the use?
On the other hand, we leave the charge of content creation on millions of independent creators, and instead of just curate content from this vast repository to produce a program, we can update the program in no time and at little to no cost.
Curation of content in a context is the same as finding a new duet song under a playlist titled 'Romantic Duets'. And genuinely, curation/filter is the better half of the content. It gives content a meaning, a context, and helps the audience discover and engage with it.
Universities can also take a hint. They may release their faculties from their duty of lecturing and instead use class time for problem-solving and other activities.
Because People need People to Learn
A poor outcome of information overload is that it is hurting our ability to stay focused for a longer period. It takes an effort on learners' end to stay attentive to lectures (especially prerecorded lectures), and even then, they may not be able to focus for more than 15 to 20 minutes. This leaves out any room for old methods of long educational video lectures.
Then, it is only prerecorded/produced content. People need people to learn — a mentor and a learning community to guide and accompany their learning experience.
For instance, even when there is a solution to your problem on the internet, you may not always want an outright solution but rather a hint at it, which only a real live human being (a mentor) can give you. We started our lifelong learning community Gtribe with exactly that goal.
At GreyAtom, we did eventually move from content creation to curation. In fact, we built our Full-Stack program by simply curating open-source content. Our program is also opensource.
In this process, we also realized that in the time and money it took us to produce a course using original content, the course was outdated already.
Using open-source content, courses can be updated in no time to match the pace with which technology is moving.
Universities can also take a hint, and focus on using class time to train learners to apply their learning and to solve problems.
Bottom line: Content is not unimportant and definitely has its own place, however, it’s just not the king anymore because we don’t teach content, we facilitate and orchestrate learning experiences. That’s what we do, and that’s why we need to change our approach. We need to shift our mindsets from pure content creation approaches to content curation and creating connections, building valuable experiences for learners, and giving them solid community support for real outcomes!
The future of learning is exciting, hope to see a similar mindset shift across other the landscape.
Thanks, Shweta, for sharing.
I have been thinking the same. Your post resonates with me so much.