The e-learning industry is spreading and consolidating itself as the preferred method of teaching and learning worldwide. When 2020 started, nobody thought that a virus would eventually confine the whole world and change our way of life. Today, a year later, we still haven’t been able to return to a normal life, we are still wearing masks and keeping our distance from others, so the opportunity to continue our education from the safety of our own home is more important than ever.
The online learning industry has grown significantly over the last few years, offering millions of people around the world the opportunity to learn new skills from the comfort of their own home, without the need to go out and risk their health or that of their families.
The education sector’s response to the pandemic
E-learning is here to stay and its growth is not going to stop anytime soon. This new way of teaching uses information and communication technologies as the basis for a new way of educating and learning.
The United States and China are the two leading countries in the global e-learning market due to Internet accessibility, income and the availability of online courses. The pandemic triggered a need for distance learning models, and some existing e-learning platforms offered free access to their platform, such as BYJU’S, a Bangalore-based company founded in 2011, which has now become one of the top-rated distance learning companies worldwide.
E-learning has changed teaching and learning, making it possible to reach our students more efficiently through group chats, video meetings, voting and also document sharing. Even after the coronavirus, traditional offline learning and e-learning can go hand in hand.
Why is online learning so powerful?
If you have Internet access and the right equipment, e-learning has great advantages. Some students are able to retain more material when learning online, compared to their performance in a classroom, as online education provides flexibility for the student to learn from any place and at any given time, especially if they have laptops or smartphones since mobile access is available on most of the learning platforms that are used nowadays.
In addition to education, the adoption of home office – as a measure against the spread of the coronavirus – has also led to an increase in downloads and use of professional video call applications.
The challenges of e-learning
Given this unexpected change in our lives and the global circumstances, it is worth asking whether online learning will continue to be used after the pandemic and how it will impact education globally. Even before COVID-19, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology and this trend is not expected to stop.
Whether it is language applications, virtual tutoring or video calls, all online learning software usage has significantly increased since COVID-19 began.
Still, while some schools and governments have provided equipment to students in need, many still worry that the pandemic will accentuate the digital gap, and that not all students will be able to access online education equally.
It is impossible to predict the future, but there is no doubt that e-learning is here to stay and from now on it will be part of our lives. Online learning may never replace face-to-face learning, but in the future it will undoubtedly be an important complement and a strong competitor, as many of us have seen the advantages of online learning in these hard times.
