Ulleo and the rise of online education

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With the impact that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has held on learning institutions across the globe, there has been a great push towards digital learning initiatives.

As online courses can be conducted with minimal physical requirements and overheads, these courses can be valuable learning opportunities for students from a diverse array of professional backgrounds as well as students with select availability.

Organisations like Ulleo have been looking to make their contribution to the ongoing digital transformation of the education industry, providing modern learners with versatile resources and digital environments that are most suited to their personal learning needs.

But a quick skim through their streamlined site may rapidly reveal that there are a few things that differentiate Ulleo from the countless other online course developers out there, with their penchant for sustainable development being the tip of the iceberg.

Here are just a few ways that Ulleo stands out from other online course providers.

Ulleo's course handbook is just as streamlined as their overall web presence, with the organisation currently boasting three unique courses:

Their Dog owner's masterclass short course is the most recent course to join Ulleo's little bundle of online courses. With the addition of this new course that offers students a particularly versatile skill set that they can apply to both their personal and professional development, it's clear that one major element to Ulleo's course development is ensuring that all their course materials provide their learners with the opportunity to learn practical skills.

The prioritisation of picking up new and practical skills with the completion of any of their courses ensures that Ulleo students can actively apply their skills in real-time and in real settings despite engaging in their learning online.

The ability to learn dog ownership skills from the comfort of their own home has also undoubtedly opened possibilities of dog ownership for many students who may have previously felt ill-equipped to take on that new experience.

Students with rigid work commitments or students with dependents can find it difficult to prioritise their own learning, or even attend classes regularly on campus.

The development of online learning initiatives through tertiary institutions was originally intended to provide mature age students and individuals that may be time-poor with alternative learning opportunities that can suit their changing needs.

Unfortunately, budget restrictions inhibited a great portion of universities from being able to provide students with online course alternatives to on-campus learning, which resulted in just a fraction of courses being offered digitally.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, however, tertiary institutes across the globe recognised a growing need to invest in digital learning infrastructure and materials, acknowledging the benefits that virtual learning may hold for students from specific backgrounds.

Ulleo's course development system is geared towards catering to these students as well, effectively ensuring that any potential learners that are influenced in their courses, will be able to comfortably absorb course materials and complete the courses alongside their own work commitments and day-to-day responsibilities.

Naturally, quality control is always an issue when shopping around for online courses.

It can be tricky to know if you're getting what you pay for with the costs of enrolment, and some course providers may also prove themselves to be disreputable by offering courses that are taught by 'experts', only to discover the experts in question haven't even held work in the specific industry they're supposed to be experts in.

There's an inestimable value in taking on a course that's being coordinated by genuine industry professionals and leaders, which is precisely why Ulleo takes great care in sourcing the facilitators of their courses.

With a small scroll through their website, you'll be able to see the qualifications of the consultants and coordinators credited with the creation of each one of their courses. Having access to this information effectively reassures learners that the course they're about to undertake is of indisputably high quality, and that course materials are guaranteed to reflect learning opportunities in real-world contexts.

Of course, if you're feeling cautious, it's still best to do your own independent research. Looking into course coordinators and materials prior to enrolling into any online course is recommended for any new learners, just to make absolutely certain that you'll be getting value back for the cost of your admission, and that you'll be developing skills most suited to your personal and professional needs.

Finally, one other element that you may recognise when scrolling through Ulleo's site or exploring their wider digital presence, is their emphasis on staying aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As miseducation surrounding resource consumption has played a major role in the development of the globe's climate crisis, the UN firmly believes that education is our best defence for minimising the more devastating lasting impacts of climate change.

In order for these lasting impacts to be mitigated, however, the world will naturally require a global effort that starts from the ground up. Educational institutes across the world are revisiting their own development plans and incorporating elements of the SDGs into their own organisation's growth models moving forward.

Ulleo is no exception here, with sustainability being front and centre both in their course materials, as well as in their organisational operations.

Their dedication to achieving carbon negativity by the end of 2022 and their goal to plant half a million trees on behalf of their students are likely to be just the first of their organisational initiatives.

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It's refreshing to see a short course provider with a selection of multi-faceted ambitions.

Providing high-quality online courses to a wealth of students, supporting the development of practical skills, and also simultaneously prioritising the UN's SDGs is no easy task, but Ulleo has achieved a balance between these elements and has ultimately set an example for other tertiary institutions across Australia.