The coronavirus has
made many people go towards virtual classes. This is something that shall continue even later which is what we need to understand.
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| Image Source : theconversation.com |
For all of us globally, going to
college was and is a path for upward mobility. People do pay a lot for this,
whether in India or abroad. People in India even pay for travelling and spend a
lot of their savings on it,
Even in America, this is a challenge
for many. It has now become yet another 21st-century symbol of
privilege for the wealthy. In 2019, the cost of attending a
four-year private college on an average was over $200,000. So, for a four-year
public college, it was over $100,000.
Now, Covid-19
is about to ravage that business model. Mass unemployment is looming large and make
education out of reach for many. This is as far as America is concerned. Even
in India, the situation in main stream colleges is quite grim.
Till now,
online education was put into the equivalent of a hobby at most universities. Now,
it has become a backup plan.
As
far as students are concerned, now this is more than just a back up plan.
Students can enrol into any college and learn all the skills they need. In a
sense, this is true democratisation of education.
\This has now
shown significant growth over the last decade, as the internet and education
combine to provide people with the opportunity to gain new skills. Since the pandemic
and lockdown, online learning has become more centric in people's lives. It has
forced schools, universities, and companies to remote working and this booms
the usage of online learning. Even before the pandemic, Research and Markets forecast the
online education market as $350 Billion by 2025, so the numbers might be
updated after analyzing the growth impacts of COVID-19 on the online learning
market.
About the market
There are numerous
online learning platforms in the market such as Udemy,
Coursera, Lynda, Skillshare, Udacity that serve millions of people. The are also getting shaped by different user
verticals as well. While Skillshare is mostly for creatives such as giving
courses on animation, photography, lifestyle, Coursera is mostly academic with
giving access to university courses.
Top tier universities are also democratizing the learning by
making courses accessible via online. Stanford University and Harvard
University give access to online courses under categories of computer science,
engineering, mathematics, business, art, and personal development.
These all show one thing, there’s a huge demand from people to
learn online. The reason for this demand and rapid growth of the market with a
wide variety of platform options for different groups of people may be the
rapid change of the world. At the recent
$50 Million round of Udemy, president Darren Shimkus says, “The
biggest challenge is for learners is to figure out what skills are emerging,
what they can do to compete best in the global market. We’re in a world that’s
changing so quickly that skills that were valued just three or four years ago
are no longer relevant. People are confused and don’t know what they should be learning.”
At this moment, online learning is becoming a huge catalyzer for people and
companies to help the adoption of this rapid change in the world.
Advantages of online learning
All those online learning enterprises have a massive amount of
user data which enables those platforms to use machine learning algorithms that
can enhance the learning patterns of people. Machine learning algorithms use
pattern recognition which can personalize the content for each individual. An example is when a student repeatedly struggles with a concept at the course. At this time, the platform can adjust the e-learning content to provide more detailed
information to help the student. This makes everyone learn at their own
pace and schedule. Feedback is also
given to all, almost immediately.
The instantaneous feedback loops inside the platforms which are
provided by other online students or the platform improve the learning curve. This
also offers shy or more reticent people the opportunity to participate in class
discussions more easily than face-to-face class sessions.
This is definitely becoming a new way of learning for all in the
new digital world we are in.
Students, join in and learn more to succeed in your jobs and career. This will take you to greater heights.
Students, join in and learn more to succeed in your jobs and career. This will take you to greater heights.
In
Sum
We
know that change is the only thing that is certain in the world. With the pandemic,
it is staring at our face. However, it could be a new way of learning, perhaps
even better than the current system. After all, things have changed a lot since
the introduction of computers. This is bound to increase when we realise the many
things that can be done remotely. The question is only of when this is likely
to take place.
It
would help if all of us logon to the online world and then move forward to
become global success stories. This is surely possible with the internet being
accessible to all of us. What one needs of course is a passion for learning and
growing all the time. In a sense, pandemic or not, this is a good way to lead
one’s life. We could learn as many skills as we wish and keep learning and
growing. This would of course be beneficial for our personal growth as well as our
careers. For, we are as good as dead if we cease to think and by extension, learn
Let
us all then convert the challenge of a crisis to a learning journey and succeed
by learning and growing.
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