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How Has The Online Learning Industry Changed Since The COVID-19 Era?

Written by CB Community

The learning approaches of people in the entire world have transformed amid the COVID-19 outbreak. For starters, education and knowledge are not restricted to physical institutions anymore.

Until recently, online learning showed growth over the past few years, like education and the internet combined to provide learners with the opportunity to acquire new skills.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning has become even more centric. It propelled universities, schools, and organizations to remote working, which boomed the online learning initiatives.

Even pre-COVID-19, Research, and Markets projected the online education industry market to reach $350 Billion by 2025.

Many educational institutions have started to leverage trusted learning methodologies and modes since the COVID-19 onset. It impacted the online learning industry significantly and changed its landscape forever.

Dramatic Increase In Blended Learning

Blended learning is a combination of face-to-face and online approaches to make most of educational opportunities and materials. Since COVID-19, there has been a drastic shift and radical growth in the remote learning culture.

The virtual learning and training efforts by students and instructors no more resemble conventional online education. Quality learning programs and courses have become high-input operations that require both adequate time and significant resources from trainers and learners alike.

While not all online learning experiences will always be positive, many instructors, trainers, and learners can better comprehend and realize the value of learning management systems.

In addition, there are many collaboration and learning platforms like Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, Adobe Connect, Zoom, Google Hangouts, etc., that facilitate seamless training. This, in turn, enables the trainers and learners to use their time and resources more productively for debate, sessions, and guided practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic expanded the focus on blended learning that yields considerable benefits and provides a much more extensive understanding of digital tools. It also offers the ability to complement the urgency and intimacy of the overall virtual learning paradigm.

Online Education Has Become A Strategic Priority For Institutions

With colleges, schools, and other educational institutions closed indefinitely amidst the pandemic, learning organizations have been leveraging technology as the only and viable option to continue with smooth training and education.

Previously distributed and decentralized student support functions and online course development have been centralized. Institutions now rigorously integrate online learning management into their current academic processes and structures.

Most of the learning institutes have started to add online learning to their strategic plans to shift their approach to the changing learning dynamics as necessitated by the COVID-19 outbreak. However, not all are implementing and acting upon these plans with determination and robustness.

Additionally, they also recognized the importance of investment in instructor training and development for the successful execution of a quality online learning experience. This is, of course, a prerequisite of vital technology infrastructure.

Learning before COVID-19 didn’t have many educational and training institutions leveraging online education. There was an extensive variation in how much online learning was central to an institution’s strategic planning.

This all changed post-COVID. Online education became a potential source that opened doors for new learning avenues.

Furthermore, virtual learning has now become a core area for the learning institute’s academic continuity and resilience plan. The post-pandemic understanding shifted the paradigm, specifically for online education.

Changes In Curriculum

Along with other things, the curriculums and priority of courses also changed amidst the pandemic. Some programs and courses are deemed more crucial than others – supply chain management, artificial intelligence, a certificate in quantitative finance, for instance, maybe more important than other programs.

But more importantly, all certifications and programs are now redesigning their outlines and focusing on “soft” skills such as teamwork, collaboration, adaptability, critical thinking, and resilience.

New approaches to virtual training, discovered by learners and trainers during the lockdown, demand new and transferable skills. Furthermore, the models of leadership, human resource management, and accountability have also changed during the pandemic.

This content re-balancing with personal qualities also demands a re-evaluation of how instructors and faculty train, requiring them to strengthen their skills and capabilities.

Making Learning Approachable And Accessible For All

The shift to remote learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak made high-quality education and training approachable and accessible to all. Thanks to technological advancements, learning initiatives are accessible to all at any time and from anywhere.

Unavailability of infrastructure and physical space no longer limits its scope. COVID-19 propelled various avenues for learning interactions. Trainers can easily upload video courses and attend engaging live-streaming classes. Cutting-edge technology has been the game-changer in this arena.

The online learning industry effectively eradicated all barriers, enabling learners even at the farthest corners to take courses and sessions through easily accessible smartphone devices.

The lockdown era of COVID -19 facilitated and cultivated this kind of education, and it gained momentum. The online industry has taken center stage, especially with the advent of technologies such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, etc., that have made online learning methodologies more enticing.

All in all, the online industry ushered in an innovative era of interactive, customized, and fun learning experiences, letting individuals know new courses, skills, and concepts according to their progression, pace, and requirements.

Wrapping Up

Individuals and organizations have adopted and implemented various new approaches to learning and working during this period of lockdown and physical distancing.

The overall impact of the pandemic outbreak on the online learning industry is mainly positive, which opened up many potential opportunities and fronts for learners and trainers alike. This made it possible for the learning sector to plan and implement disruption strategies successfully.

Online education and learning brought a lot to the table as people transitioned to remote learning. It enabled the learners to make the most of this opportunity positively.

In the foreseeable future, learning is going to be virtual. Specifically, the forced and sudden immersion of learners into online education also offers great avenues to institutes during the pandemic.

About the author

CB Community

Passionate members of the College Basics community that include students, essay writers, consultants and beyond. Please note, while community content has passed our editorial guidelines, we do not endorse any product or service contained in these articles which may also include links for which College Basics is compensated.