September 9, 2021
Why online learning in higher education is here to stay: A trends assessment
Major world events are often an inflection point for rapid innovation. The 2020 pandemic created sudden dramatic shifts in how we live, work, and learn. Through a global stay-at-home order, social distancing disrupted the traditional campus-based model, effectively remapping the landscape of education by forcing a near-absolute adoption of online learning.
But even before the pandemic hit, the education revolution was well underway. Driven by technology, changes in student behaviour and broader societal shifts, the e-learning industry grew by 900% over just two decades. And while some higher education institutions were shifting in the direction of online content delivery before Covid-19, the pandemic both accelerated and forced a more universal move.
As vaccination programmes gain traction and lockdown measures ease, the resumption of in-person classes at universities and colleges are expected to resume. In the UK, for example, education secretary, Gavin Williamson, recently suggested that he expected British universities to offer face-to-face classes and tutorials from Autumn 2021. However, it remains to be seen how educational organisations will respond to a ‘new normal’. The disruption to learning models, as well as their associated business models, experienced over the last 18 months will have a lasting impact on higher education institutions and the sector itself.
Online education gives students access to world-class teaching from the comfort of their own homes and greater flexibility in their education. Learning institutions, in turn, gain access to a broader range of global students. There’s no doubt remote learning is here to stay.
So how will colleges and universities continue to improve and adapt their online education offerings to remain relevant in a post-pandemic future?
Digital technology is shaping the future of education by changing how content is generated and distributed, how learners engage with the material, and how their educational outcomes are evaluated. With the increasing reliance on digital learning tools, tech adoption is rapidly accelerating in higher education and the global EdTech market is expected to be valued at USD 377.85 billion by 2028 – this according to research by Grand View Research.
Enhancing student engagement is emerging as a prime concern for educators, and one of the most effective ways to encourage students to interact with educational content is through gamification – using game elements in non-entertainment contexts to promote learning. Gamification can help to make e-learning more enjoyable, immersive and accessible, resulting in higher uptake and ongoing participation. Typically, as a “game” progresses, new concepts are introduced. Students must then apply these concepts to increasingly challenging problems and new situations.
Integrating virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in EdTech solutions is another strategy to boost student engagement. These immersive and interactive experiences allow learners to explore and seamlessly connect with abstract concepts – turning them from passive observers into active participants.
While VR and AR are closely related technologies, they have different use cases and opportunities and can be defined as:
AR and VR are expected to become a significant element of online education in the near future, with VR in education predicted to become a $700 million industry by 2025.
With the surge of big data, the e-learning space will increasingly rely on machine learning and analytics to measure student performance and assess the next steps of their curriculum. Thanks to hyper-personalised content on-demand provided by companies such as Netflix and Amazon, students, like consumers, have come to expect a tailor-made digital education experience. Learning analytics allows educators to measure and report on student learning to optimise their training and tailor it to their specific needs.
Blended learning combines online and face-to-face instruction – a self-paced hybrid curriculum that gives students more ownership over the learning process. With access to digital learning resources, collaboration tools and virtual classrooms, face-to-face interaction between learners and educators is qualitative – focused on clarifying issues and exploring new ideas.
Technological innovation is fundamentally transforming education, but those who don’t have access to the necessary tools struggle to participate in digital learning. This widening gap is particularly evident in lower-income countries and previously disadvantaged communities. By mid-2020, less than half the population in 71 countries had access to the internet for remote learning (UNICEF). And according to OECD data, only 34% of students in Indonesia have a computer to use for their schoolwork, compared to 95% in Switzerland, Norway, and Austria.
For many students, their smartphones are their only computing device. In the United States, several universities have turned to mobile technology to provide learning access to their students during the pandemic. Some administrators deployed devices and academic infrastructure to support student access via smartphones and tablets. Others expanded wireless connectivity outdoors, creating makeshift campus workspaces. At Michigan’s Montcalm Community College, students can use Microsoft Teams to join classes via mobile, and Canvas (a mobile-friendly Instructure app) to access course content, assignments, discussions, and quizzes.
For those who have access to the right technology, online learning can be more effective than in-class instruction. Research has found that students retain 25-60% more material when learning online. In contrast, information retention rates of face-to-face training are much lower at only 8% to 10%. Plus, students can learn faster online than in the classroom. E-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting. This is because students can learn at their own pace, going back and re-reading material, skipping sections, or accelerating through concepts as they choose.
Since the start of the pandemic, millions of students have discovered first-hand that online learning is an excellent alternative to traditional in-classroom study and want more from their current or future universities. Others may have found that remote studying has unlocked new opportunities in the job market and are reluctant to return to campus full-time.
While most countries slowly return to business as usual and begin in-classroom studies again, higher education institutions must not only embrace emerging trends to appeal to students but recognise the opportunity in leveraging EdTech to deepen the learning process.
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The future of work: how universities can prepare students for an uncertain future
More people than ever are going to university. In the UK, well over a third of all 18-year-olds (37.8 percent) enrolled on a full-time undergraduate course last year, according to UCAS. And, while some students are drawn to higher education to increase their academic knowledge and enjoy the university experience, most will also be looking to improve their employment and earning prospects. Government figures for 2020 show a graduate employment rate of 86.4 percent, with median graduate earnings standing at £35,000 (£9,500 more than their non-graduate counterparts).
Creating a rich social and cultural experience for online degree learners
Much of the discussion around the recent global shift from campus-based to remote-learning models has centred on the quality of online programmes of study – more particularly on how universities can effectively motivate, support, and assess individuals as part of a dispersed student population.
Breaking the bias: addressing the higher education gender pay gap
As participation continues to widen in the UK’s higher education sector with increasing numbers of applications from previously underrepresented sectors, many gender-based anomalies remain. For example, while women are much more likely to go to university than men (as well as to complete their studies and to achieve a good degree), figures show that women graduates cede their professional advantage in a matter of months.
EdTech: How technology is empowering universities to deliver high-quality online programmes
When universities were compelled to pivot from providing primarily campus-based programmes of study to delivering remote-first instruction, teachers and students alike found themselves navigating systems largely designed to deliver a facsimile of the traditional classroom experience, relayed via videoconferencing and other related connectivity tools.
Successful strategies for designing and delivering high-quality online learning
As demand grows for online learning options that are as comprehensive and effective as their campus-based counterparts, forward-thinking higher education organisations are exploring strategies that will help them deliver high-quality, full-featured programmes of study in remote, blended and hybrid formats.
The great unbundling: diminishing or democratising higher education?
Back in 2011, academic eyebrows were raised when news of a ‘no-frills’ higher-education path in an offshoot of Coventry University emerged, offering degree-level qualifications for around half the price of traditional universities. Students at the Coventry University College (CUC) were promised modular study routes in a variety of professional programmes, with part-time, full-time, and accelerated options, as well as the opportunity to pay in instalments.
Taking the lead: tackling the challenges of moving campus-based courses online
Events of the last two years have heralded unprecedented developments in the higher-education sector, forcing organisations to transition to remote learning at a highly accelerated pace.
Aiming high: 10 ways universities can optimise the student experience in 2022
As the Covid-19 pandemic enters its third year, the temporary disruptions that rocked higher-education provision in the early weeks of 2020 have since escalated into the existential challenges the sector is facing today.
University career services: A critical tool in a competitive climate
It’s a tricky time for graduates. As class-of-2021 graduates collide and compete with their 2020 peers, who lost out due to the pandemic-induced suspension of graduate programmes, fewer opportunities are being spread even more thinly across a bumper crop of applicants in super-competitive jobs market – with predictably diminishing returns.
How online learning can support a more inclusive approach to higher education
The challenges presented by the pandemic have prompted a sector-wide re-think of higher-education provision in a radically changed world. It’s also sparked fresh discussions on how universities and other institutions can use what they’ve learned over the past eighteen months to deliver more assertively on access and participation and to accelerate recovery.
Can online education help plug the global skills gap?
Employment rates have been hitting the headlines recently, as businesses everywhere struggle to recruit staff in a number of key areas.
What’s driving universities to go online?
The pandemic pushed distance learning into the mainstream as lockdown shuttered school and college campuses all over the world in spring 2020. Once the province of a relatively small cohort of specialist organisations, online study became the de-facto option for millions of students almost overnight.
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