Seniors Online - Experiential Learning

"Experience is the teacher of all things." – Julius Caesar

Years ago, I was a government employee, a clerk. I can’t remember the exact details, but we followed a set procedure when teaching a newbie the job. It went something like this; show how the job is done, let them do the job, check their work. Show, do, check. The three words were different, you get the gist of it.

Experiential Learning

Show and tell

I first heard this term from Stuart Ross in one of his modules. In the old days when everyone headed to the central city for work, one on one, face to face training was much easier. If you made a mistake while learning the job, your teacher was right there next to you, to help you at that moment. 

It’s much different when it comes to learning a job, in this case, an online business is our job. A teacher is no longer on your shoulder, who sees your facial expressions, hears the tone in your voice, notices your body language, all of which projects your attitude to your work. The only judgement of your work is yourself. 

In this virtual technical world, we use screens, keypads and broadband to connect with our online teacher. A teacher who has recorded a video of the lesson to broadcast to thousands of people who have signed up to their course. We make notes or record the lesson to playback to help us learn. That’s the show and tell part of the online job/business. 

Do the work

No way around it, learning new online skills remotely is a challenge for many. I’ve been in the online learning stage for a year as of this month. The time has flown by. It has been filled with delays, frustration, wasted time and money, disappointment, backtracking, missed lessons and slow to complete assignments. Despite all that the excitement has remained. Excited for the small goals achieved, the new skills learnt, the inspiration from tutors and community and simply from doing. After all the learning, there is a ton of it, you must “do”, take every action step asked of you. Doing by completing your assignments, by being available to attend webinars, to be inspired by others who travelled and know your journey. Creating your own online content is the most satisfying part of doing. 

Check your work

The market is the only judge of your work. That’s how the online business works. Before that, the people you have invested in, to teach you the online business, will support and encourage you. They will share their experience, guide you and help accelerate your business. Their experience will be invaluable in technical, marketing and content support. Importantly, your mentors help you avoid mistakes and unnecessary expense. They will keep you focussed on your content creation, and help you promote it a way that will give you the best opportunity to succeed.

Final Comments

Experiential learning matters in building a successful online business. All the study and work aim to help you prepare your business for a successful launch. In the new virtual world in which we live, experiential learning, is the only way forward. Experiential learning is learning all you can from your virtual tutors, doing the work required, accepting counsel from your mentors, creating content and launching your online business. Go well out there.