Why Practical Learning with Virtual IT Labs Matters More Than Theory

Key Highlights:

• Evalvo Cloud offers access to virtual IT labs.
• Students can access the sandbox environment to gain practical industry-aligned exposure.
• The objective is to offer unrestricted exposure to students and make them industry-ready during their academic pursuits.

Only theoretical knowledge is insufficient in the current times – that is, when the industry is actively looking for candidates who can deploy and execute a project. While knowledge is wealth, practical exposure is the cherry on the cake. The world is now driven by technology, and candidates who are capable of solving real-world problems thrive better than others.

Evalvo Cloud assists students looking to break theoretical barriers. They get a soft-cushion, or a sandbox environment, where they can experiment and see the implications their project would have when implemented in reality.

Simply put, virtual IT labs by Evalvo Cloud align the experience of students with the industry before stepping a foot outside their educational institute.

All that said and done, it is important to know why practical learning is important. Needless to say, the comparison is drawn sharply against theoretical methods. It is simultaneously important to understand that theoretical knowledge lays down the foundation for the practical experience. Therefore, it should not be negated at any cost.

1. Conversion into Real-World Skills
Theory essentially instils a sense of understanding about the concept. To state a basic example, anyone can read a book to know how to create a new document in the computer. However, it is only after the practical work that the person feels confident about what he or she studied.

2. Better Problem-Solving and Critical-Thinking Skills
Stepping into someone’s shoes is how a person knows what the problem really is and what kind of solution is required. That’s what virtual training labs of Evalvo Cloud bring to the table. A practical experience takes students to the real-life-like situation where they better grasp the troublesome components that have to be dealt with.

3. Understanding Industry Workflows and Best Practices
Students who learn how the industry works are more prepared to enter the industry than those who have only studied it in theory. The cloud learning platform sharpens the knowledge by introducing industry workflows and its best practices in the early stage.

4. Prepares for Real Job Responsibilities
Students are well-versed to take on the real job responsibilities, given that they have accumulated sufficient practical experience during their academic pursuits. Real job responsibilities entail being accountable right from the start to the end of the process. Meaning, supervision and monitoring have to be a strong suit of the candidate in addition to curating and executing the project.

5. Encourages Experimentation and Innovation
Lab as a service by Evalvo Cloud encourages unrestricted experimentation and innovation. Students can work on their own and check what would happen in the real world. This includes troubleshooting and debugging skills without any limitation. Experimentation and innovation are known to have effects that may be positive or negative. If in the real world, consequences are severe. With Evalvo Cloud, everything can be tried and tested before jumping into the industry.

6. Stronger Portfolio and Experience
Relevant practical experience carries more weight than the relevant theoretical experience. Students not only have something to speak; they also have something to show – this impresses recruiters. Also, it is worth mentioning that students with stronger portfolios and more practical exposure are often allotted more points by recruiters.

Suffice it to say that practical learning has a lot to offer. This is not just academically but also professionally. Students gain exposure to the industry workflow, strengthen their portfolios, and get to stand out from the crowd to easily get noticed by recruiters.

The theory-only learning system comes with a list of drawbacks that need to be addressed for a better understanding. Challenges include limited exposure, difficulty in transitioning, and limited preparedness, among others – and as discussed below.

1. Limited Exposure
Heavy reliance on a theoretical learning system restricts the exposure of students within confinements. They are unable to go, or even think, beyond the line stretched in their textbooks. Such restrictions span across various segments, which eventually discourage students when they face real problems.

2. Limited Understanding of Practicality
Reading a concept is one aspect; however, understanding the same concept with practical implementation is another aspect. It is good to know how a project is architected. It is better to know how the project is architected and deployed on the floor. Theoretical models only inject the understanding of a concept.

3. Lack of Hands-On Problem-Solving Experience
When a project is deployed practically, it introduces students to tons of issues. Sticking only to the theoretical model keeps students away from such an experience. Thereby depriving them of hands-on problem-solving experience. This translates into lower confidence when students join the mainstream workforce.

4. Minimal Exposure to Tools and Technologies
Students who are more into theory are left behind due to their minimal exposure to the practical utility of tools and technologies. In other words, students start facing issues while transitioning from learning to implementation. They do land a job, but the difficulty level spikes up tremendously on the first day.

5. Less Preparedness for Workplace Challenges
Cloud labs by Evalvo Cloud ensure that students learn about workplace challenges and also solve them in real-time. The theoretical model, on the other hand, keeps students away from learning about the production environment. This prepares them a little to tackle the challenges in the workplace.

It would be wrong to completely negate the importance of the theoretical framework, given that it lays the critical groundwork in the minds of students. It would also be wrong not to consider integrating practical experience into their academics. Students transition better into the industry; they are ready to take on a challenge, and their problem-solving skills are top-notch, but only when they strike a balance between theory and practicality.

Virtual IT labs by Evalvo Cloud enable practical learning in multiple ways. It can be briefly explained by highlighting the fact that it provides a sandbox environment wherein students can learn, experiment, and deploy their projects. How this happens is a detailed version of how Evalvo Cloud enables practical learning.

1. Step-by-Step Guided Hands-on Labs
Evalvo Cloud offers a step-by-step guided hands-on labs experience to students. This refers to assistance at every point, no matter where students are on their project development and / or deployment. Evalvo Cloud sticks around from start to the end. Interestingly, the workflow still feels like a self-driving process.

2. Real Scenarios
Students not just get the feel of the real world – they also get to work in an environment that perfectly replicates the real world. Cloud labs for students on the platform are designed to ensure that students are introduced to industry scenarios as early as possible, which directly translates to undertaking real-world projects on a soft protective cushion.

3. Accessible Learning Environment
Learning environment here entails components that align with the requirements of the industry and have a simplistic set-up approach. The actual setup is costly, obviously out of economic reach for students. So are industry requirements at an academic level. Evalvo navigates around both these pointers to provide professional facilities during academic pursuits.

4. Learning Path to Pillars of Software Development
Pillars to software development are Cloud, DevOps, Full Stack, AI / ML, Data Science, and Cyber Security, among others. Evalvo Cloud, as a cloud learning platform, brings all of them under the same roof. Thereby, eliminating the need to walk point-to-point, searching for every component individually.

5. Exposure to Modern Technologies
Modern technologies indicate technologies that are currently employed by organizations. The tech world moves fast and technologies either become obsolete or require a hardcore update frequently. What someone learnt today may not be completely applicable tomorrow. Enter Evalvo Cloud, and it stays updated with the tech standards of the industry.

Evalvo Cloud brings the practical experience to the study table, not just closer to students. Their resume gets stronger with simple access to the cloud learning platform. Students gain practical exposure early on – getting to stand out in the crowd, which has students who solely possess theoretical knowledge.

Organizations now expect newly hired employees to pull up their socks from the first day. Those with only theoretical knowledge lag as compared to those who have already worked on practical, industry-aligned projects. In fact, students with access to virtual IT labs by Evalvo Cloud are better equipped to anticipate and solve the problems that may appear at any point.

With Evalvo Cloud, students are able to design a stronger workstream that serve benefits to them and the company in the long-term.