Online learning, often referred to as virtual education, is a relatively new style of education that evolved with the development of the internet.
E-learning is also sometimes referred to as distance learning. Even though the internet was where this online teaching approach got its start, the rate at which it advanced was excruciatingly slow.
What After the Pandemic for EdTech?
The year 2020 saw the beginning of the global pandemic disaster, which occurred simultaneously with substantial growth in the number of individuals embracing and using virtual education.
The pandemic caused the education industry to be forced to depend on the digital mode to maintain operations, which accelerated the expansion of educational technology around the world. As a result of the pandemic, the education industry was forced to depend on digital modes to maintain operations.
During this era of change, students and working professionals came to the same conclusion regarding the importance of online learning and its advantages.
Because of the versatility and convenience of attending courses online, learning has the potential to take place at any time and in any location. For working professionals to advance in their professions and ensure that online teaching jobs remain up-to-date and relevant, they need to continue enhancing their abilities.
Virtual Learning Platforms and Education Industry
Various companies and online learning platforms have teamed up with illustrious educational establishments and industry leaders to provide a wide range of online programs designed for students and working professionals.
The education industry has also benefited from the strong tailwinds and pushes the regulatory environment provides.
This is because the New Education Policy highlighted provisions for expanding into online degrees, credit transfers, and blended learning as the fundamental pillars for boosting access to cheap and high-quality education. This explains why this is the case.
Let’s look at some of how online education has developed over the last two years, as well as how its influence is anticipated to grow in the years to come.
Market Development and Projections for the Future
For many years, online education had a place in the education business that was not very significant.
- By 2020, the global market for online education reached a value of 250 billion USD, up from less than 190 billion USD in 2019.
- According to the conclusions of global market research insights, it is expected that by the year 2027, it will have reached a total of 586 billion USD.
- India plays a significant role in online education; the sector has grown by a factor of four since 2009, reaching a total value of USD 3 billion. Around 40 million new students enter the world of higher education every year.
It is estimated that around forty percent of employees employed by organized labor in India need retraining in the form of professional credentials to progress in their professions.
With over 5,000 start-ups covering all phases of the learning lifecycle, the framework has been prepared for online education to become India’s next digital export to the rest of the world. This will be possible because the groundwork has been established.
All of this development would not have been possible without the government’s efforts in the form of programs like eVidya, Diksha, and the National Knowledge Network.
There will be other funding rounds, in addition to mergers, due to the plethora of innovations for effective learning and development that is now being produced by online teaching jobs.
Search for Online classes in India
Before the Covid-19 outbreak, many people had concerns over using digital technology to power virtual learning environments. Due to the pandemic, people from all walks of life were increasingly used to receiving their educations online.
Over the last year, there has been a rise of 140% population searching for online classes. There has been an increase of over 85% in the number of persons searching for online courses. This suggests that there has been an exceptional increase in the number of people interested in pursuing educational opportunities through online mediums.
Actual Reason for the Growth of Online Learning
The speed of digital adoption by education providers has been swift as most players have switched to online techniques to ensure continuous learning while mimicking the in-person experience online.
This has caused the pace of digital adoption to accelerate. As a direct result, the rate at which people adopt digital technologies is referred to as the “digital adoption pace.” The overwhelming majority of individuals from all kinds of various backgrounds, but especially the working population, considered this to be valuable.
In the most recent couple of years, the role that virtual learning platforms play in the lives of learners on a day-to-day basis has become more established. The chances for learning, training, and development available in the future will be predominantly pursued by those who are a part of this cohort and those who belong to later generations. This lends support to the continuation of growth in terms of chances for online education in the years to come.
Apt Investment
Because it has the potential for expansion and is gaining ground in terms of the user base, more money is being put into developing education technology and online learning. From 2020 to 2022, 21 of the 34 companies seen as potential unicorns successfully made it into the prestigious list.
India is now the world’s second-largest financing market for educational technology, surpassing China as the largest market in the world. Five companies in India alone became unicorns when the world was in the middle of a pandemic catastrophe. Businesses in the education technology sector are attracting investment from financiers in India and elsewhere across the globe.
Innovation is the Future for Online Learning Platforms
Online education has gone through a profound transformation in a very short time as a direct result of the breakneck speed at which breakthroughs in digital technology have happened. Start-ups integrate a broad array of unconventional features and procedures into the content, distribution, and platforms that they create.
Online teaching and learning are now using-
- gamification
- simulation-based experiential learning through virtual and augmented reality (VR-AR),
- automation powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, micro-learning, outcome-oriented learning, etc.
These innovative strategies can potentially bring about a radical transformation in the traditional educational model.
Because of the close ties formed between the formal education ecosystem and participants, the online education industry has accomplished an expansion and growth comparable to that of the previous decade in the past two years. This has been possible because virtual education is becoming increasingly popular.
Now, the sector is focusing its efforts on attaining long-term growth by offering effective methods for seamless education that are backed by digital solutions that are relevant in worldwide markets. This is being done in an attempt to maximize efficiency.
This trend is anticipated to be accelerated and maintained in the years ahead by critical factors such as greater adoption of new technologies, investments in those technologies, and breakthroughs.