Online Courses: The Future of Education?

Never before in the history of education have so many people had the power of knowledge within their grasp. With COVID-19 causing educational institutions across the globe to close their doors, an unprecedented rise in online course participation is changing the way we look at learning. However, this rise can’t just be attributed to the pandemic, as superior technologies, faster internet speeds and costly college degrees all seem to be guiding education toward a remote, digital future.

An Unprecedented Rise

According to Global News Wire, the E-learning industry is set to grow 32% annually until 2025 and it’s unlikely to stop there. KPMG have since stated that digital learning is the fastest growing market in the education industry, with an immense 900% growth since the year 2000.

Here are some potential reasons for the increased popularity of online courses: 

Social Distancing

Lockdown, quarantines and social distancing all have a big role to play in the current spike of interest in online courses. Search figures from Google Trends saw a 50% increase in those looking for online courses since the pandemic began in December 2019 to March of 2020.

Flexibility and Choice

Unlike classroom learning, students can access resources 24 hours a day, leading to higher information retention rates and potentially better qualifications. Statista recently published that 52% of American graduate students considered online college-level education to be superior to classroom learning.

Volatile Job Market

People around the world have been temporarily away from work and many have been using this unparalleled downtime to diversify their skills. Thanks to the availability of online courses, even those that have found themselves out of a job can improve their qualifications whilst the economy recovers. 

Are Online Courses For You? 

Yes! With online courses available on almost every subject you can imagine, there really is something for everyone. Given the rapid growth in the E-learning industry, there is no better time than now to develop your skill set online. 

Click here to learn about some of the most popular online courses, or here to find out more about the rise of online learning.