As the Covid pandemic is easing, many learning institutions recognize the importance of adequately planned online platforms to serve students’ virtual learning experience better. Moreover, with the sudden shift from the traditional setup of acquiring knowledge to eLearning, the future of online education was put under the spotlight.
While some universities and colleges were able to plan robust online learning programs, many scrambled to build even a basic system for online learning in higher education demands of students. As a result, learners and faculty members often logged onto zoom for virtual classes with minimal knowledge of navigating the virtual platforms.
Now, the educational stakeholders are reassessing how they can enhance the student’s experience in the virtual learning world by offering greater flexibility than in-person classes for hybrid and all-virtual instruction models. Going forward you should get to know the pros and cons of virtual learning now. Here’s why eLearning is reshaping higher education for good.
Online Learning in Higher Education: Reshaping Reasons
Online learning in higher education becomes a necessity and now everyone has to adopt new ways for better learning. Below are some of the reasons for the reshaping of higher education.
1. Increasing Educational Technologies
The advancements in digital technology are changing how new information is created and disseminated. It also affects how students interact with the study materials and how educators assess their academic achievements. It has resulted in many students’ virtual learning platforms doing their best to meet their technological and educational needs. As a result of increased dependence on digital learning resources, Grand View Research indicates that the worldwide EdTech industry is estimated to be valued at USD 377.85 billion by the year 2028.
However, many learners still face difficulties adapting to new technologies, resulting in poor grades. For these students, digital learning apps and platforms can have online class help services to aid them in their studies.
2. Augmented & Virtual Reality
Another way instructors can enhance student engagement is by including VR and AR in EdTech solutions. Learners now explore and easily connect with abstract concepts utilizing these immersive and interactive technologies, transforming their experience from passive to active participants.
Active participation is essential in online learning for students to get the most out of their education. If they are not participating actively, the students might start feeling isolated, have extra stress, and have anxiety issues. As a result, it will hurt their grades and mental health.
3. Rise of Analytics
The rapid growth in technology makes the e-learning industry rely increasingly on machine learning and analytics to assess student performance and identify the following stages in their educational journey. Here are the real differences between distance learning and online learning in complete detail.
Now students, like customers, anticipate a tailored digital learning experience, all thanks to the hyper-personalized material supplied on demand by corporations. Henceforth, learning analytics enable educators to track and report on their students’ performance to improve training and personalize learning to their requirements and needs.
4. Mobile Learning
Technological advancements are massively changing the way we perceive the educational world. However, individuals without the appropriate tools face challenges in engaging in virtual learning. The most affected by this gap are the lower-income nations and previously underprivileged groups. Many students from such nations and groups do not have access to the internet and computer for schooling.
Therefore, students rely on mobile devices for computing. Considering the potential of mobile learning, several institutions have turned to mobile technologies to provide their students with study materials. Many colleges and universities provided gadgets and other academic resources to accommodate the learners’ access through tablets or cell phones. They used different apps and technologies such as Microsoft Teams, Canvas, etc., to help students access course information, assignments, discussions, and quizzes.
5. Blended Learning
This self-paced hybrid curriculum gives students more control over their learning process by integrating online learning into face-to-face training. Face-to-face engagement between students and teachers is qualitative, focusing on clarifying concerns and exploring new concepts and ideas due to access to digital learning resources, collaborative tools, and virtual classrooms.
6. Rise of Online Courses
In recent years, one aspect of remote education that has boomed is the rise of self-paced e-courses and massive open online courses. These courses are free and open to anyone, and often prestigious institutions offer them to give students opportunities to attend additional courses. But with all that students have to manage their time well to get maximum benefits.
These free online courses aid learners in expanding their knowledge and understanding more about a subject they are interested in. Consequently, it helps them set self-development goals and make more informed educational decisions.
Is Hybrid Learning The Future of Higher Education?
As online teaching proves to be a success, it’s up to universities, educators, and their students to decide what higher education’s future will look like. Some have suggested that the hybrid model is the way forward for online higher education, where students attend some lectures in person and others remotely.
As some students can’t attend every class due to busy schedules or other life commitments, flexibility in learning becomes crucial. In addition, hybrid learning makes education provide more open and accessible services to students.
One of the most significant advantages of hybrid learning is that it offers more efficient use of teaching resources. Where in traditional settings, educational institutions had to depend on multiple class streams and schedules to cater to learners’ needs, now students who cannot match these schedules can catch up on their coursework through the digital space.
Also, digitization reduces the need for expensive teaching materials such as textbooks, saving a lot of money. Students should also focus on exploring strategies of collaborative learning for their betterment.
Moreover, traditionally teachers guide the learning process. In contrast, students have become more reliant on their own research due to the introduction of the internet and digital tools. Hybrid learning is taking a much more balanced approach allowing students to work independently and offering guidance whenever needed. Students get to explore different concepts, build confidence, and access help from peers and teachers.
Hybrid learning makes higher education more affordable for low-income families who cannot afford the traditional classroom’s high tuition fees. There is also less need to invest in high-priced supplies such as textbooks, stationery, and equipment.
