5 Reasons why eLearning Might Become the New Normal

With the rise of the cloud and live streaming services for education, the popularity of online education has grown at an astounding rate. It provides learners with multiple benefits, from reducing the costs of education to adapting to their learning habits. The Coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures have also resulted in the faster adoption of virtual learning. 

Given these facts, it is not surprising that the global virtual learning market is estimated to hit $325 billion by 2025. Here is why virtual learning may become our new normal.

Greater Availability to International Learners

In traditional education, the location of the course is a major deciding factor. Instead of focusing on the courses you are passionate about, you are often limited to those in your vicinity. 

Online learning eliminates geographical boundaries. With a wide range of e-learning platforms and online courses, performing a detailed search is enough to find the right program, irrespective of your location.

Virtual education also lets you diversify your skills. Your school may not be able to offer all subjects you like. So, why not cast your net wider? For example, if your sports college does not offer a golf course, you can always find golf training videos online. Sports education platforms also offer global online communities, where coaches and athletes can connect, interact, and share content. 

Reduced Costs

One of the first questions you ask when choosing a school is how much it will cost.

Now, traditional colleges provide multiple benefits, such as modern classrooms, dining halls, dorms, and sports teams. While these factors may significantly boost your college experience, they also come at a cost. Apart from high tuition costs, you will also need to pay for expensive coursebooks, commuting, dining, etc.

The costs of online learning are significantly lower. Apart from requiring lower tuition, virtual learning also eliminates the additional costs mentioned above. Most importantly, the majority of course materials, such as videos or eBooks, are available online for free. 

The best part is that many prestigious universities, such as MIT or Harvard, provide online courses that are free of charge. Even though they usually do not offer a certificate of completion, they let you learn from renowned educators and even communicate with them via email.

Enhanced Collaboration and Networking Opportunities

As mentioned above, online courses eliminate any geographical gaps. Since online courses are delivered via cloud-based learning platforms, you can participate from any location and device. 

Online classrooms offer a wide range of communication tools. Apart from communicating with educators via emails, online students also have access to discussion boards and live chat, where they can exchange ideas and ask questions in real-time. 

Multichannel communication allows you to connect with people from all around the world. Some of them may be your potential employers, business partners, or clients in the future. Most importantly, you will broaden your perspective and boost your cross-cultural understanding, which is critical for your further career development.  

Self-Paced Learning

When you start browsing through a wide range of online courses, you may notice that some of them are labeled as “Self-Paced.” Self-paced education provides learners with more flexibility. That means that they can adapt the learning schedule to their individual needs, access the course materials whenever you want, and study at the rhythm that suits them the best. 

For example, if you have a full-time job or you are a single parent taking care of your kids during the day, you can create a flexible learning schedule that is in line with your private and professional roles. That is the perk traditional education cannot beat.

Better Student Engagement

Studies found that online learning improves information retention rates by up to 60%. Retention rates in traditional classrooms are significantly lower – only 8-10%. That is not surprising at all, given that, in traditional classroom settings, everyone needs to learn at the same pace. 

Online learning, on the other hand, allows you to adapt your learning processes to your specific needs, knowledge, and habits. Such a personalized approach to education is highly effective. The learning material is kept in the cloud. It is accessible to you in real-time, regardless of your time zone or the device you use. Most importantly, you can go back, re-read, skip course materials so you can adapt the learning process to your pace.

Over to You

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the worldwide education market dramatically, leading to the fast growth of virtual learning. 

For both schools, educators, and learners, that is an opportunity to understand the unique benefits of online learning over traditional education. Greater flexibility, lower education costs, networking opportunities, and self-paced learning – those are just some of the numerous reasons why virtual learning is going to stay in the post-COVID era.