Why do they enroll? Answer: we never fully will know. And it does not matter if they enroll IRL, or digitally, we still will not know. But this thing we do know: Great parties are great, and can be a starting point for something bigger, enrollment for instance. And new possibilities on the E-learning market.
If I claimed the most important reasons why we enroll into education being; 1. Learning the content 2. Getting the exam/credentials 3. Meeting and socializing with people…would you then call med crazy, or unusually smart? The answer is “neither”. Because this is something you already knew.
But which of these components is actually the horse, and which is the carriage? What drives what, and in what way?
Why do Alumni head back to their old university?
In order to meet their old teachers, and chat about the content they ones learned? Or, in order to meet study-buddies and remember the old days?
All universities all over the globe know the value of the social aspect. It is one of “The” most important reasons students even enroll.
At the same time, this is also one of the obvious aspects in life that we tend to relate to when talking about IRL-education, compared to digital education. We might claim that we want, even need, to meet “In Real Life”.
But in what way is that actually needed?
You use Tinder for dating. And huge amounts of marriages start off online. Marriage is love, and love is an advanced, even complicated “product”. If you then don´t find Tinder advance enough; try E-Harmony. Developed by a clinical psychologist. Takes 30 minutes of questions to even get started. Unusually great in not only marriages, but also long, happy ones.
Do actually universities need campuses in order to handle the social aspect of education? Do actually conference-centers need to have a physical room in order to create a great conference?
And; could it be that Corona-times now have changed how we as human beings answer these kind of questions?
Have you noticed that the app called Houseparty seem to do extremely well during this Corona-moment? 2 million downloads in a very short time is a big thing. They organize exactly what they are called, but digitally, of course.
Should we then be surprised if Houseparty soon also would launch courses? Why not? At least they obviously have big plans for what they are up to next.
Maybe this question is unusually interesting at this Corona-moment in time:
Is it easier for a newcomer on the business landscape of education to start off with “content and exam”, and then add the “social aspect” afterwards…or, is it actually easier for a newcomer to start off with the “social aspect” and then add “content and exam” afterwards?
Maybe the answer could be found if looking on Glassdoor, the job-site.
Glassdoor actually started of with something completely different; as a kind of gossip-central. People posting what salary they had at a certain job, so you in return could know what also you might get if you start working there. Anonymously of course. Or, you could also find reviews on the company, based on others already working there. Is it a good company or not? Then…when Glassdoor had created big traffic on their site, they added jobs into their service. And today; they are a rather big job-site. The social aspect first, the product second.
Who said “Education” have to start with its content, when it can start off as a great house party instead?
Disruptive Education 