I was surprised by the research that seems to show such a large interest and willingness considering the disadvantages. However, there are clearly pros and cons and this makes me want to dig into the advantages more deeply.
I'm not sure this will work on all of my classes because they st need to do the hand on wiring
Virtual Internships can avail of collaboration and team work from the daily technology used. As we have seen with the recent Pandemic, Zoom and other virtual environments means that support is often only a quick click away!
Virtual Internships offer both advantages and disadvantages. The social aspect and networking needs to be built in for virtual interns, as this is a very valuable aspect of an internship and the job world. Virtual internships offer opportunities for those who may need accommodations, as well.
As stated in the reading, there are so many benefits to VI and I wonder if we will continue to see this used as heavily once the pandemic is over.
There are many benefits to Vis, such as obtaining a larger pool of potential applicants, the intern does not need physical space at the company location, and the elimination of unproductive work hours. Of course, there are challenges with Vis for both the employer and the student. It is not always easy to track work hours and ensure the intern is being as efficient as possible. With increased competition it makes it harder for students to land one of the VIs as well. However, if the school can establish recruiting pipelines with companies that could help their students land these highly beneficial opportunities.
VIs are a big part of the future of internships.
I have always told our externship graduates to add that experience to their resumes to show experience in the field they are going into. It is good to see that companies ARE looking for that and are also encouraging the VI's to do so. The goal of most VI's should be to convert them to full time hire if its possible.
Virtual Internships (VI) are here to stay. I am writitng this post as the COVID 2020 pandemic is underway and people have been forced to do everything (well many things) virtually. I like how this module reminded us of the many perks of VI - for example, there can be less timewasted and it can also be vey adnvtageous for those with disabilities.
One thing that I found interesting in this module that I had not thought about was the fact that in VIs, interns do not have the ability to turn to a coworker when an issue arises. This adds a new element to the game. I also learned that ICT is often confused with IT. Truthfully, I have been intermixing prior to learning the difference.
