It was interesting to see what people choose to learn during the pandemic. Who was choosing what to learn was even more interesting! Sharing my observations thus far..!
Most of the academia have opened up courses that people can choose to learn for free!
For IT professionals
(Learning work-life-balance during the crisis, loss of personal time, extended time with family)
- EdX – was mostly online, some paid and some free content. Now these have expanded. Are all the titles available currently for use – or would they be deferred after enrollment, we need to wait and watch!
- Pluralsight – Free during the month of April
- Shaw Academy – 60 days free
- Zoom – An easy to use video platform has now taken over the world! Many small and large businesses are trying to set up their operating models including Zoom – from prayer services, schools, organizations across the globe
- Oracle – Free online courses around Oracle cloud and Autonomous databases till May 15th
- Udemy, Coursera, Udacity have their promotional schemes as well
Students
(Learning more outside of school than during teleschool hours, technology exposure significantly increased)
- Epic has over 40,000 eBooks – Read free for 30 days
- Bookful – App brings stories to life for kids under 10, with 3D and AR (Artificial reality)
- Chegg Study pack – Helps students tackle hard homework with step by step problem solving, helpful videos
- Go Noodle – Parent favorite
- Amazon Audible – Huge collection of stories in different languages
- Khan Academy – https://www.livescience.com/coronavirus-kids-activities.html Has a list of virtual tours and activity sign ups. Very interesting!
- New video games and app downloads
- Good compilation of virtual summer camp activities by Logo Design https://www.logodesign.net/virtual-summer-camps-graphic-design-covid-19
Leaders across organizations:
(Learning on the job, listening to Federal and global organization news, regulations, client demands, geography concerns, Being in the moment is key)
- Learning about economy
- Learning how to divert part of their staff to relief or support efforts and still remain profitable
- International management
- Internet security & compliance
- Focus on mental health
- Leading with a purpose
- Federal (National) and local regulations and how it impacts global workforce and deliverables
- Leading from the middle (now that country leaders and world leaders have their guidelines), organization leaders are needing to listen and adapt
- Federal (National) and local loans and financial help available and how to leverage them
Managers
(Learning is more to upskill from current level, looking for leadership opportunities in their communities / cities and upskill for next potential job opportunity)
- Learning about managing work remotely
- Status reporting in multiple ways
- Delivering higher productivity with less resources
- How to setup an alternate income source
- How to lead in a crisis
Grandparents
(Learning is from old books, religious groups, youtube, learning new technology for video conferencing etc)
- Sewing masks
- Brushing up and sharing home remedies
- Sharing good old traditional recipes with children and grandchildren
- Suggesting a daily routine that one can adopt
- Brushing up on religious practices and sharing with family and community
- Learning technology
Entrepreneurs
(Learning is more Agile, on-the-go, adaptive leveraging resources and technology skillset as they need)
- Aligning their purpose and goal first
- Learning a new skill (different line)
- How to be useful during the crisis?
- How to increase our personal & brand reach to a larger population
Religious Institutions
(Learning to operate virtually, leverage social media, setup virtual groups and communities to stay connected)
- Youtube channels – Normal videos and live channels
- Whatsapp groups
- Facebook pages
- Special events
- Keynote messages
- Weekly, monthly and special services
- Telegram, Zoom based services
Home makers
- New recipes
- How to cook with minimal ingredients
- How to cook with same ingredients without repeating a dish
- Planting seeds to grow or nurture their garden
- Brush up on home remedies to ensure they do their bit for the safety of their family
- Delegating responsibility around chores at home
What I learned in the process is – News, Music, Movies & Food seem to be the common elements across segments 🙂
If you see any others in your community, do share it in the comments below 🙂
