The year 2020 brought with it a wave of changes in the way we develop and learn. Life in all its aspects economic, social, health, etc. made us take the phrase “if you don’t adapt, you’re extinct” literally; including the way we conduct education.
In our show guild, deficiencies were revealed and it is incredible to think how our main way of transmitting knowledge remains exactly as it was for our parents or even our grandparents, which is contradictory. It’s not all bad, but brings to mind the phrase “when something works” why change it? Change is a positive thing, and even if it comes to us abruptly, we should take the time to analyze the benefits of change.
Knowledge comes everywhere
Living in Latin America and having difficulty acquiring a certain knowledge is a reality with which many of us must forego every day, but it is thanks to virtual education that several of us have been able to access knowledge and experiences of professionals in certain areas that we thought we would never be able to develop. New technologies, theories, and different knowledge that before we had to wait months, years, or sometimes it never reached us. Now we can find them just a click away and oftentimes even for free, thanks to different sponsorships and distribution formats. This is how I use all kinds of geographical or language boundaries.
Large companies expand their market to a global one, the virtual one
As we mentioned several fields were greatly affected this past year and economics one.
Companies saw losses reflected when certain equipment and services no longer as necessary, instead, they noticed how others became real priorities. Then the strategy had to be changed, and if we can also include large companies in the educational aspects since they provide us with much of our raw material work, the team with which we develop it.
These companies had training and teaching formats in place, and showcased their new products at conferences or exhibitions and provided in-person training, and were able to answer specific questions … But, what if there wasn’t a store that distributed that brand in your country? Or if the training tour didn’t make it to your city. So many factors often limited our ability to resolve doubts, acquire equipment, or train properly.
Companies during COVID had to cancel their in-person training and demos and gave rise to globalization, becoming much more public and opening up their market.
Now through different distribution platforms or social networks, you could reach many more people at the same time and at a much cheaper cost. Thus, the more people know, and know how to manage their equipment, the more they will buy them.
Prestigious schools and universities opened their doors to everyone
The first few months of confinement were undoubtedly the hardest, since the pace of life that our show guild was used to was quite hectic, and in the vast majority of its facets were paused.
But it wasn’t worth stopping and burdening ourselves with something that was out of our control, so, it was time to keep preparing us, studying. And schools knew it.
While it’s true that online education isn’t new, we have to admit that it had its “boom” this season, video conferencing platforms like zoom or google meet became the “top” in downloads. Live streams from Facebook, Instagram, and educational channels on YouTube from the most used tools.
Procrastinating was no longer an option because we could find courses on the subject with the specialists and the institutions that we wanted, these have already been adapted. Every day there are more options and many are amazingly free.
It’s time to undertake, share your knowledge!
We’ve been discussing adapting, it hasn’t been easy, job opportunities were reduced or did not exist, and while it was tentative to continue training, it wasn’t profitable. In the area of education, while they say “the one who teaches learns twice”. There is always someone with whom we can share our knowledge and grow the network.
The greatest advantage of undertaking courses, training, and general education is the ease of reaching many people from many parts of the world with various tools, like being able to use video conferences, videos, live broadcasts, etc… being able to keep secure from home and the best part is knowing that we share a little of ourselves with others.
Education was, is, and will always be the pillar of our advancement as a society, I am not talking about an academy education. I am referring to the importance of training and knowing how to develop everything professionally. It is important to always renew, just as we keep up to date in our professions, so we must do so with education itself. Accept the changes, and gladly adopt a new educational reality.
Maria Fernanda Medina is from Tegucigalpa Honduras. She has a BA in Acoustic Technology and Digital Sound at the Galileo University in Guatemala City. Mainly working in the live audio field as a freelancer, and with audio rental companies. Maria also handles Backline, Stage manager, and Production for both international concerts and national festivals. Currently, her
passion is for audio and social commitment.