It is no longer news we are living in an advanced digital world. Technology & innovation are moving very fast with approximately over 76% of global businesses done online.
With the improvement of educational technology, e-Learning has revolutionized the educational sector & has changed the way we look at knowledge and skill acquisition altogether. It is estimated that about 46% of college students are taking at least one course online. Africa’s compound annual growth rate for self-paced learning is 15.4% & their revenues are expected to reach $560.7m by 2016!
At the 10th e-learning Africa International Conference organized in 2015, it was recommended that online training should be considered as an integral part of a comprehensive system of higher education with over 65% of educational institution choosing online learning as a critical part of their long term strategy.
Below are three other major reasons why online learning should be considered as the future of education:
The rate at which companies, government bodies & professionals embraced online learning has increased by over 75% from 2013–2015. This number is expected to rise to 95% by 2017. According to a report released by IBM, companies who utilize e-learning tools and strategies have the potential to boost productivity by up to 50%. Leading global certification providers have made professional e-learning contents & exams available for interested professionals.
By 2018, it is estimated that 50% of all classes will be delivered online.
Flexibility & Self-paced Learning: From recent interviews with students & professionals taking online courses, one of the key advantages mentioned by most is the ability to study at their own pace from anywhere at any time. This flexibility & self-paced learning helps increase information retention rate by up to 60%. That means that, not only is e-Learning more cost efficient, but also more effective.
Less Expensive & Easily Accessible: Besides saving the cost of logistics, dealing with additional stress and inconveniences that come with commuting from different locations to and fro the classroom. Online training are over 20% — 40% lower than the cost of classroom training. Some participants often mention the fact that they find it more convenient interfacing with the screen and listening to the course contents than when in the classroom.
From these statistics, there is no doubt online training has come to take its place but whether this innovation will disappear anytime soon, only time will tell.