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The Rise of Virtual Learning Platforms

Online communication is changing the way instructors and learners interact and learn. Online learning has 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 COVID-19 outbreak, online learning has become more centric in people’s lives. The concept of traditional education has changed radically within the last couple of years. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore not with the rise of the internet and new technologies, at least.

Nowadays, you have access to quality education whenever and wherever you want, as long as you have access to a computer. Learning through virtual platforms is often more convenient than in-person training, and because the methods and techniques for online education are evolving and improving, it quickly has become a preferred business tool. With this sudden shift away from the classroom in many parts of the globe, some are wondering whether the adoption of online learning will continue to persist post-pandemic, and how such a shift would impact the worldwide education market.In this blog, let’s discuss the rise of virtual platforms.

 

Advantages of virtual learning

When considering the overall management of administration and training processes, virtual learning platforms are really efficient and have advantages. We are now entering a new era of the revolution of online education, let us analyse their advantages.

Classes are flexible- Among the many advantages of online education, you’ll find virtual classrooms are great for people who are advancing their education while working. In traditional classrooms, lectures will be scheduled at a specific time of day and your schedule will be formed around the availability of classes. If you’re currently employed and courses aren’t available after your working hours, it can be difficult to juggle a course load in addition to your work duties.When attending a virtual campus, online learning allows for far more autonomy in deciding your own schedule. That means you can study whenever it’s convenient for you.Having more control over your schedule also means you can avoid distractions easily.

Affordable- Unlike in-person education methods, online education tends to be more affordable. In Spite of having heavy classroom fees, online learning is quite cost-effective. In terms of transportation costs and similar expenses,virtual learning is always affordable.

Immediate feedback on tests- When you’re enrolled in one of the many online degree programs available, you don’t have to worry and wait for days for test results. You take your tests online, and they are usually scored when you finish. You can quickly see where you did well and where you need improvement. 

A lot of course varieties-  Online courses allow you to earn essentially the same range of different certifications that can be earned from a traditional educational environment. Rather than waiting days or weeks after exams, you can often get immediate feedback. Where a traditional lecturing leaves you at the mercy of your best note-taking skills, video presentations can be watched and revisited as necessary.

Accessibility- Online education enables you to study or teach from anywhere in the world. This means there’s no need to commute from one place to another or follow a rigid schedule. On top of that, not only do you save time, but you also save money, which can be spent on other priorities. The virtual classroom is also available anywhere there’s an internet connection, and a good way to take advantage of this is to travel. For example, if you’re studying abroad and want to get a job, online education is a great choice. There’s no reason to give up on working or studying while exploring new and exotic places. 

Knowledge Retention–  For many, online instruction delivers a more effective learning experience because of the ability to have short, interactive modules that can be repeated if needed. These short modules also referred to as microlearning, help learners find what they need quickly, and help break up learning to make it more manageable and memorable.

Increased Participation & Engagement–  It may seem like there would be more opportunities for participation and engagement in traditional classrooms setting, but this is not necessarily true. There are many ways to interact in virtual classrooms through chat and rating features, as well as social learning. The interactive comment and share features help learners engage and connect. It also allows learners who may not be as comfortable with interacting in-person an opportunity to contribute. Features like rating and posting comments, also allow administrators to determine the quality of their content and adjust accordingly to ensure the most effective learning experience.

The current business growth in virtual learning

Online learning platforms in the market such as Udemy, Coursera, Lynda, Skillshare, Udacity serve millions of people. The platforms are getting shaped by different user verticals as well. 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. 

The e-learning market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 14% during the period 2019–2025. The e-learning market is expected to display significant growth opportunities in the next five years. While the growth curve is uniform in terms of the number of users, the same is not the case by revenues; the average cost of content creation and delivery with the same is undergoing a consistent decline. The advent of cloud infrastructure, peer-to-peer problem solving, open content creation, and rapid expansion of the target audience have enabled e-learning providers to rein in economies of choice and offer course content at a competitive price. The rapid growth in internet connectivity in emerging economies, driven by the rising federal budgets, is likely to have a positive impact on market growth. While the growth prospects of the e-learning market remain stable, the rise of efficient sub-segments is changing the learning and training landscape gradually.

Factors which lead to the growth of virtual learning

We all might have wondered how and why virtual learning has grown over the past decade, let’s explore the factors behind this:

  • Increase in the use of computer applications.
  • Exciting learning opportunities through eLearning methods.
  • Increase in MOOCs.(Massive Open Online Courses)
  • Increase in virtual tutoring centres.
  • Increase in Use of Mobile Apps and Social Media
  • Growth of Blended Learning in Education Technology
  • Increasing AR & VR Applications in E-learning
  • Higher Internet Penetration & Internet-Enabled Devices
  • Growth in Global Workforce & Migration of Skilled Labor

Conclusion

The global lockdown of education institutions, corporations, and government offices has caused major interruptions in students’ learning and education, disruptions in internal assessments, and the cancellation of public assessments. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has paved opportunities for the growth of the e-learning segment. The lockdown is expected to boost the demand for e-learning platforms, resulting in a spike in the market during the forecast period. The rise of virtual platforms has definitely changed the perception of learning. And we only hope that more and more advancements will be made in the near future.