Trends shaping online education today

The pandemic has transformed the education landscape to a great extent by introducing some new and improvised learning methods. These new-age learning methods are making classes more interactive and interesting. The most crucial trend that is expected to dominate the online education landscape in the future is the personalisation and customisation of learning materials.

The online education landscape is upgrading and has now begun with providing end-to-end solutions in platform development, content design, and content delivery. EdTech firms have intensified their research and development in order to blend innovative ideas into learning. The new pedagogical approaches are comprised of cutting-edge technology, and they are driving online education to the next level. Listed below are some trends that are surely going to shape the future of the online education landscape.

The user base of online learning has begun to proliferate in the pandemic years. From freshers to professionals or the working class, everyone entered the sphere of online learning to upskill themself.

Gamification: It has begun re-inventing the online education landscape. Going forward, we are going to witness gamification amalgamating into segments such as K-12, skill development, assessment, higher education, testing, etc. Platforms like stock and crypto exchange are also applying this method to teach people about investments.

Entrancing Learning: Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are vital for the future of the online education landscape. Both VR and AR are incorporated by the flourishing Extended Reality, which will provide a near-real learning environment to the learners.

Mobile learning: The new generation does not appreciate the long-form learning material. Belonging to a digital age makes them comprehend ideas that require a short attention span. They largely rely on tablets and smartphones for learning and development. It is very crucial for ed techs and other online educators to create bit-sized device-friendly content to keep learners engaged and immersed.

Employment-oriented learning: The majority of learners are nowadays focussing on strengthening their knowledge base and upskilling themselves to improve their employment prospects and become job-ready. A generalistic course won’t be enough to meet the current job market requirements. Hence, employment-oriented learning approaches and more upskill programs in the most demanded fields will emerge in the near future.

Blockchain technology: Higher education institutions are now adopting blockchain technology for various purposes like record-keeping, university administration, and certification. Increased investment, innovations, etc are transforming the online education landscape and making it more productive. As technology improves and time progresses, many new trends could be seen that will impact the traditional education system.

(The author is a co-founder of an ed-tech company)