Online education received worldwide attention in March 2020, when the school was forced to suspend face-to-face classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data released by UNESCO in 2020, the health crisis has prevented more than 1.7 billion students from attending classes, causing educational institutions to frantically shift offline course learning to online e-learning.
At the same time, there are other socio-economic factors that are driving the demand for online learning. These factors include the rising cost of university education and textbooks, the lifestyle of modern learners, and equal educational opportunities.
table of Contents
- Higher education institutions expand their online learning programs
- MOOC cooperates with educational institutions to focus on micro-certificates
- Mobile learning and micro learning
- Artificial intelligence provides a personalized learning path
- Learning analysis helps to enhance training results
- Video-based learning expansion to maximize the impact of mobile learning
- 5G inspires an immersive learning experience
- OER continues to gain widespread adoption
- Technology-driven tools become the future
01 Higher education institutions expand online learning courses
Although we may see other parts of the online education market (such as K-12) decline in demand for e-books after COVID-19, higher education institutions will continue to have high demand for digital content and courses ("Research And the market, 2020).
Flexibility and convenience are the two most important determinants when students choose between online learning and traditional classroom teaching.
In the "2019 Online College Student Survey" conducted by Learning House, among 1,500 registered online students, 63% of respondents said that they signed up for online courses because it best suits their work and life responsibilities, and 34% Of respondents said this is their preferred learning method, and only 3% said this is because they can only find their courses online.
The same survey also showed that 67% of students taking online courses live within 50 kilometers of their college or university. This number is up from 42% five years ago. This is an interesting data point because we can speculate that more and more local schools will offer online courses to enable students to stay in the community.
We predict that as the relevance of online education continues to develop after the pandemic, and interest and registration numbers continue to rise, higher education institutions will also expand their online courses to respond strategically to current needs.
However, although online learning and technology-based pedagogy continue to expand their role to replace the ongoing pandemic, experts suggest that 100% online conversion should only be regarded as a supplementary academic method, not as a long-term Education methods.
02 MOOC cooperates with educational institutions to focus on micro-certificates
According to Class Central (a website that tracks the online learning market), when schools were forced to close in March due to the pandemic, online traffic to MOOCs suddenly surged.
For example, Coursera completed more than 10 million registrations in 30 days, an increase of 644% compared to 2019, and edX jumped to the top 1,000 websites in Alexa. At the same time, Udacity CEO Sebastian Tren reported that compared to the second half of 2019, its platform enrolled more students in a week in March.
However, MOOC is not only a market for free or low-cost online programs that can complement university courses, but it can also provide learners with more value through stackable micro-vouchers.
For example, Udacity has partnered with AT&T and Google to provide complex degree programs. On the other hand, the European MOOC Alliance has cooperated with higher education institutions to jointly develop a universal micro-certificate framework and other innovations in online education in the region. As of 2019, micro-certificate products in the technical and commercial sectors accounted for the largest proportion, at 40.2% and 33.2%, respectively.
03 Mobile learning and micro-learning
Modern learners are easily distracted, but fortunately, there are ways to motivate them to learn. Using "self-service" learning methods can empower them to take learning in their own hands. More than 60% of learners also like personalized content, and more than 56% learn on-demand.
This is why we believe that the portability and accessibility of mobile learning can truly meet the needs and lifestyles of modern learners, and why it will continue to be one of the most popular online learning methods.
An important aspect of mobile learning is micro-learning, which can send content in small amounts. However, micro-learning is more than just small-scale learning. Micro-learning education consists of small or short-term courses or relatively narrow learning units or subjects. Similarly, it involves an education plan, mainly due to the specific needs of learners, dividing the content design and learning process into small units.
Examples of content include images, quizzes, text, audio, video, and games. For example, students can view a short instructional video before performing a specific task so that they can rethink how to complete the task. These short, direct training content can better attract learners, provide them with the correct content when needed, and help increase long-term retention.
04 Artificial intelligence provides a personalized learning path
The practical applications of artificial intelligence have been seen in other industries, such as manufacturing and healthcare. In the field of education, by 2024, its growth is estimated to reach 6 billion US dollars (Bhutani & Wadhwani, 2019), of which China and the United States will lead the global AI education investment.
Artificial intelligence has begun to appear in many universities to promote registration or simplify operations. One of the areas where we expect AI and machine learning to show their great influence is personalized learning. For example, the automatic recommendation system will interact with students based on their behavior, profile and performance. The system can track students' mastery of a certain topic or skill through tests, and recommend other resources that match their learning requirements, such as videos, games, or experiments.
Faced with challenges such as high dropout rates, distracted learners, and the ineffectiveness of a single school model, personalized learning approaches assisted by artificial intelligence and machine learning can help create more learning experiences that attract students, increase their motivation, reduce the dropout rate, and help The learner concentrates on the course study.
05 Learning analysis helps to enhance learning outcomes
In terms of adopting big data technology, the global education industry lags behind other industries, achieving only 17% of the education industry in 2019; however, 74% of respondents indicated that they may use it in the future. This is where learning analysis comes in. Several universities are already using learning analysis to understand and optimize learning outcomes.
For example, modern learning management systems (LMS) have data-driven functions that can measure key indicators of student performance. This is a test conducted at the University of Baltimore, Maryland, and they found a positive correlation between student performance and their use of LMS. Compared with students who achieved C or higher, students who achieved C and F continued to prove that the university’s LMS usage rate was reduced by 40%.
In addition, educational institutions can also use LMS to generate reports and key indicators, such as completion rate and course pass rate, so as to gain insight into the effectiveness of their course design. The content that learners often like to learn, and the time of the learning materials can show educators their students’ input in the content of the course and areas that can be improved.
In addition, learning analysis can help schools make institutional decisions and strategies. This is the case at Syracuse University. They used learning analytics in their student counseling program, and St. Louis University used big data to make a planned decision on the scope of admission.
06 Video-based learning expansion to maximize the impact of mobile learning
Video is a universal media that provides mobile learning, and learners seem to prefer it on other social media platforms. In a study by Pearson, 67% of millennials and 82% of GenZ considered Youtube to be their preferred learning platform.
Video-based on-demand learning has existed for more than a decade, but the emerging iteration is steadily growing, that is, video-based interactive learning. This new format aims to solve some of the inherent problems in video learning, such as passive viewing and the inability to track the progress of learners. Interactivity can take the form of embedded questions, navigation menus, keywords, and pointer phrases.
With the help of affordable and state-of-the-art video technology, we expect more organizations to use video capabilities as independent learning materials or as a supplement to their face-to-face, instructor-led courses.
07 5G stimulates immersive learning experience
China has been leading the development of 5G technology. Although we have not yet seen the full deployment of this technology in 2020, we can expect that once the infrastructure is set up, it will affect online education, especially immersive learning experiences, such as VR, AR and MR.
In fact, K-12 and higher education laboratories and field trips are contributing to the rapid development of these advanced technologies. Expenditures for higher education and K-12 laboratory and field work from 2019 to 2023 are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 190.1% and 168.7%, respectively (IDC, 2019).
With 5G-enabled IoT devices, educators will look forward to more flexible learning, immersive courses using AR and VR, as well as more automation and effective feedback from students, which can allow teachers to focus on more valuable tasks .
Integrating 5G into learning systems provides a wide range of opportunities, including education and immersive video services, as well as case studies and innovative research collaborations. In addition to the advancement of immersive learning, we can also expect 5G to enhance user experience through video-based learning.
Especially in the download speed of instructional videos and other learning materials. Speed also means more stable video conferencing and seamless interaction and collaboration with remote peers.
08 OER continues to gain widespread adoption
In the 2018-2019 academic year, college students spent approximately US$1,290 on books and supplies. With the increasing cost of higher education and textbooks for students, we can expect open educational resources (OER) to continue to be widely adopted.
Educators in various countries have expressed a preference for digital learning materials rather than printed content, and their students are becoming more and more accepted.
It is true that not all OERs are digital, but teachers and students are increasingly accepting digital learning materials, which makes us incorporate OER into the online education trend, which will become the mainstream in the future.
09 Technology-driven tools become the future
Technology-driven assessment tools will become the future. These tools can provide immediate feedback, improve efficiency and reduce the workload of teachers, and integrate formative and summative evaluations.
We can also look forward to the rise of intelligent systems supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning to conduct continuous, barrier-free testing and provide guidance based on what students are preparing to learn. This means that more personalized student assessments may be more meaningful and capable for learners.
For example: the teacher uses an AI-assisted teaching assistant named "Happy Numbers" to find out the math topics that students are studying hard so that they can provide personalized help. Before the introduction of happy numbers, 60% of students achieved a preliminary benchmark score of 9 out of 48 in mathematics. One year after implementing the AI assistant, almost all students performed better and improved their scores to 35 points.
In addition, AI-enabled evaluation tools make it easier for educators to evaluate students' learning level through online tests, courses, and transcripts.
10 How to use these online education trends to gain an advantage?
Emerging technologies are driving many developments and innovations in online education. They can democratize education, encourage self-directed learning of learners who can cultivate active and active learners, and help educators and trainers determine the learning requirements of students in order to provide better support and guidance.
However, we have also seen how technology cannot be done alone.
If your company is looking for opportunities in online education, then technologies for learning and assessment, reporting and analysis, and learning management systems may be the focus of your investment. If you are an educator, then exploring different software solutions such as LMS and online assessment tools can help you prepare for the transition to a blended learning format. Finally, if you are a student who wants to pursue a full degree, then adopting a MOOC course may be an excellent and economical way to start achieving your goals.