{"id":1644,"date":"2016-11-02T06:01:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T00:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mygreatlearning.com\/blog\/adoption-of-technology-in-online-education\/"},"modified":"2024-09-12T16:23:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T10:53:03","slug":"adoption-of-technology-in-online-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mygreatlearning.com\/blog\/adoption-of-technology-in-online-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Adoption of technology in online education"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article explores a series of interconnected developments that has led to the adoption of technology in higher education, which in turn is generating more interest towards online education<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I. Current Forces at Play<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Success of new business models and fast paced innovation has created the need for upskilling\/reskilling<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The world\u2019s largest taxi company (Uber) owns no cars and the largest retailer (Alibaba) owns no inventory. Airbnb is now competing with top of the line hotels that have been in business for decades. Traditional business models across industries are being disrupted so swiftly that incumbents are forced to innovate and develop work force capabilities or become irrelevant.<\/p>\n

As a result of the furious pace of innovation and automation, getting equipped for new jobs requiring new skills sets is imperative in order to increase employability and a chance to succeed. In order to transition into these new roles, professionals are now required to become life-long learners and continuously upskill themselves.<\/p>\n

Greater flexibility and feasibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While the demand for a highly trained work force with new skill sets in data science and analytics<\/a><\/strong>, product management<\/a>, digital marketing<\/a><\/strong> (just to name a few) has ballooned, the supply has not been able to keep pace. Traditional institutes of higher education have been largely unable to cater to these vast numbers of executives who require these \u201cnew economy\u201d skill sets due to bureaucratic slowness in updating their curricula and resource constraints \u2013 availability of faculties who have expertise in these new areas.<\/p>\n

Moreover, full-time courses are not an option for a majority of working professionals as they are unable to take time off work due to financial and personal reasons. Part-time courses have location constraints and like the majority of distance education courses are generally poor in quality. These forces have driven learners who need to acquire new skill sets to consider online and blended mode options.<\/p>\n

Availability of Industry relevant content of high quality<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Online and blended mode courses promise to provide access to the best content from the best faculty without location constraints. Various developments in technology and the widespread adoption of it in higher education has enabled this giant leap.<\/p>\n

Availability of easy to use content recording infrastructure, inexpensive online platforms for hosting and distributing courses and large numbers of users who are accustomed to consuming services online led to plenty of online courses that have millions of users taking these courses from all around the world.<\/p>\n

Recorded lectures with the option to attend live virtual classes (webinars) have made it very convenient for professionals to access almost anything they want to learn. Students can not only consume content online but also submit assignments and quizzes, interact with peers and faculty and receive feedback, all online. In addition, many online courses are self-paced, allowing motivated learners unparalleled flexibility in choosing what they want to learn when they need it.<\/p>\n

II. Addressing limitations within the current context<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Lack of motivation due to the lack of an engaging experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While short online courses are useful for certifications, longer duration courses that result in deep learning and meaningful career transitions are very difficult to complete for the average person. Just as joining a gym doesn\u2019t guarantee losing weight, enrolling in an online course does not guarantee sufficient learning that can result in a successful outcome.<\/p>\n

In online education<\/strong>, it is difficult to get consistent academic and non-academic support; meaningful feedback is not always available and peer pressure is non-existent. As a result, while the content may be of good quality, it is not very engaging and learners loose motivation over a period of time leading to low completion rates. In addition to low completion rates, due to lack of meaningful peer and industry interaction, real career outcomes happen only for a select few learners.<\/p>\n

New innovations that lead to higher completion rates and great career outcomes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In addition to the innovations around content creation and dissemination, various other technology innovations have been adopted in online education that are now addressing the limitations and making it possible for learners to have high completion rates and have good career outcomes<\/strong>. To illustrate a few initiatives:<\/p>\n