With the global pandemic, schools, universities and companies have sent millions of students and employees home. For corporations, the time has come to embrace e-learning opportunities - especially since the coronavirus may have changed the way we learn and do business for good.
This article looks at the cost of education technology to schools and corporations and discusses the need for more interactive e-learning capability.
The Cost of e-Learning
U.S. schools spend tons of money on digital technology-approximately $56 billion dollars per year. That comes out to $400 per student. District budgets will surely shrink in the aftereffects of the coronavirus. That means every dollar counts, so digital solutions have to become much more interactive for both students and teachers.
For corporations, the average spend is $986 per learner while government and military organizations spend $1,433, and nonprofit organizations spend $1,360 per learner each year.
In order to live up to expectations during the global health crisis, e-learning programs must overcome learner fatigue and disconnection. The way to do this is to make learning interactive and collaborative, even though participants are physically isolated at home.
The Need for Accessible, Dynamic Tools
Traditional e-learning platforms mainly provided static access to course materials and instructors. More rarely, online forums let learners interact with one another. The need for dynamic tools such as homework Q & As, jobs, internships, study groups, and chains of connectivity must drive the next evolution of effective digital education. Actually, much of this e-learning capability is already available.
As results move past tracking how many videos someone has watched to how students and employees use course knowledge to improve their capabilities, learning and earning from home will become much more interconnected.
Mimicking the Tutor
During COVID-19 quarantine, e-learning quickly supplanted in-person teaching. While teachers and trainers had just days to revamp their classroom models, questions arose about how they could prepare for similar situations in the future - and be more ready to make the switch.
Personalization makes a huge difference in the success of a course or an entire program. Consider college students who choose one section of an identical course based on the reputation of the instructor. To replace this human capital factor, even temporarily, online presentations must allow a successful instructor's personality and teaching style to come across.
This is even more true in a corporate setting pre- and post- COVID-19. Lack of funding prohibits a live tutor for all training initiatives, so the video and materials must simulate the intimacy of a classroom environment. Success will come from educators and technologists who use adaptive learning technology to achieve a customized approach.
Organizations can partner adaptive learning with training simulators in critical industries such as health care. When the digital classroom is the only choice, well-baked computer-based instruction must mimic dynamic in-person training for students to remain interested enough to embrace the material and - more importantly - apply the concepts in their everyday responsibilities.
