Interest in Online Ayurvedic Education
Interest in online Ayurvedic education has been growing steadily since the start of the millennium with continual advances in technology that make the process both more enjoyable and more effective. In addition, the Covid pandemic brought an urgency to schools to create even more effective models of online education. Due to the pandemic, students as well as schools learned to adapt to various online platforms. As a result, more students than ever are making online Ayurvedic education their first choice in pursuit of their practitioner certification. Below, we explore the online platform for Ayurvedic education at the California College of Ayurveda.
Online Synchronous Education
Synchronous education refers to the time that a student spends with a teacher. CCA offers online students the opportunity to have the same contact time as our students who are physically in the classroom by broadcasting our classes live over the internet. This offers students the opportunity to see the instructor’s presentation live and ask questions just like any other student who is in the classroom. In addition, online students engage in regular classroom discussions.
Online Asynchronous Education
Asynchronous education refers to an education that is received without direct student-teacher contact. This includes watching videos, reading, performing projects, etc. Asynchronous education offers students the greatest amount of flexibility in determining the best times for engaging in their studies.
Hybrid Online Ayurvedic Education
Hybrid models of Ayurvedic education blend both synchronous and asynchronous methods of education. At CCA, while students can perform most of their Ayurvedic Health Counselor Program through an asynchronous model, we also include a limited number of required online contact hours with an instructor. This helps a student to stay focused and on track with their educational goals. In addition, we offer students the opportunity to engage with an instructor to ask questions.
As students progress through higher clinical levels of education, students are required to come to campus for short intensives to learn certain skills that require hands-on training. These skills are mainly diagnostic and include pulse, tongue, and abdominal examinations.
Concluding Thoughts
Online education today is more sophisticated than ever and offers students the opportunity to receive an outstanding education from the comfort of their own homes. The online program at CCA has been refined over the past 15 years. We began by broadcasting our classes in 2010 long before the Covid pandemic back in 2020. We also developed an outstanding system of independent study going back to 2007. Today, these programs can be relied upon to deliver the same outstanding content that our classroom programs offer while upholding the same high standards of competency that the California College of Ayurveda is known for.
