The learnings of the modern generation aren’t in the textbooks that they read in class. Rather, they come from visual stimulation such as movies or videos, where words are said in context or in a catchy tune that you can’t get out of your head.
Don’t you sometimes feel that subjects would be learned faster if students were allowed to act them out, dance to or put a tune to? Visual medium is one of the strongest methods of learning that can be incorporated in the lessons of today. Comparing classroom learning and visual learning, it can easily be said that ideas and concepts are retained better when kinesthetic and auditory platforms are used. Studies state the fact that visual learning helps students retrieve more than 85% of what they experience, as they are easily able to put themselves in the place of the problem in order to solve it actively.
Here are a few points that support this study:
To fully tap into this visual grasp, pictorial mind maps or diagrams can be used to enhance the learning process. Visual aids such as videos and practical experiments are sure to help students effectively retain the information that they have learned.
Remember: While in school, we tend to remember how we’ve seen the information or where it was placed in the book while studying it. Be it formulas, data or text.
According to the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, today’s learner has an average attention span of only 8 seconds, making it harder and harder to keep them engaged unless the content they are working with is interactive and on demand.
So, this ease of learning anywhere has opened up a new path wherein it has become easier to modify your timetable and create them according to what is convenient for you while addressing the issue of shorter attention spans. It is also possible to make the flexible content only for the areas that you think need to be worked on for better understanding.
An effective learning experience uses practical work for specific learning objectives. The recollection rate is higher, and they stimulate recollection as well as enjoyment.
According to research, 80% of learners agree they would be more productive via gamification (eLearning Industry, 2014). Video games have been shown to increase the motor skills, reflex rates, and multi-tasking skills of the player, enabling them to use these skills in other parts of their life. With the visual stimulations that games provide, there is an increased mental flexibility seen in the learners, and the mental decline that accompanies aging is said to improve.
Remember: Learning with the use of practical work and physically experiencing a certain situation would make it much easier to retain information.
Controlling your schedule and being in charge of what you learn and when you learn makes visual learning a positive advantage when compared to classroom learning. Classroom learning involves set times that you may or may not be able to adhere to, while visual and auditory learning on the go puts you in the best position to judge which classes you need the most and educate yourself at the most convenient time for you.
Remember: Being in charge of your own study schedule puts you in the best position to judge your strengths and challenges both, in an educational setting and at work.
Since visual learning is always at your fingertips, accessibility is a major boon; all one requires is a simple internet connection and an economical phone or laptop, this also leads to saving time, and the saying “time is money” does have immense truth to it. Visual learning does not require one to physically carry books around; through dynamic searching and referencing; everything can be achieved quickly and easily. This is even more so the case for the modern youth to whom these tech-savvy skill sets are a given necessity in their day-to-day life.
In conclusion, visual learning has many advantages compared to classroom learning. Since our brain is mainly an image processor, and our cortexes are wired for vision, many studies have indicated that visual lessons stimulate your brain much more than rote classroom learning.
With a large number of institutions around the world campaigning to improve and innovate, a wide range of options is available when it comes to the virtual learning environment. The gamut of tools available in this form of learning, inclusive of video tutorials, Skype mentoring sessions, and interactive deductive gaming modules, are just scratching the surface of the future of modern education and learning visually.
