The place of Online Learning in our world today.

Globally, we have all witnessed a swift transformation in the teaching and learning systems. Clearly, the pandemic has influenced a global adaptation to virtual means of teaching and learning.

Would you deny that video conferencing apps such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Skype, were widely and speedily adopted by even traditional classrooms to save their teaching and learning methods from being paralyzed by the pandemic?

Now “zoom in” closely at this infographic to see how widely Stanford University IT has used Zoom for work and school activities as of April 2021;

“We’ve dramatically increased our Zoom use over the past few months — and recorded more Zoom meetings than ever before.” — Stanford University IT. You could also ask a child from the University of Ghana Basic School to tell you how they have leveraged Zoom for their online/e-learning activities in this pandemic era. Oh, how would I forget to remind you of the virtual graduation ceremony trends we all witnessed from UNICAF, etc, on social media? Yes — it is what it is, as Michelle Obama would say!

Despite all security concerns for using Zoom, it is still playing a sustainable role for corporate and social activities just as the other top video conferencing apps.

But the question remains as to whether online learning activities are here to also stay as a new normal as does the traditional classroom method of learning.

Well, your guess is as good as mine — it is definitely here to stay.

In an interview with the World Economic Forum, Canadian Professor, Suzanne Fortier asserts that online learning offers four unique benefits that are: resilience, better digital skills, more flexible inclusive education, and serves as a much better offering when in-person classes resume. ( https://wef.ch/39skCMe #DavosAgenda )

According to the Research Institute of America, online learning increases retention rates from 25% to 60% while the retention rates of face-to-face learning lie between 8% to 10% — very low in comparison to that of online learning. They discovered that this significant change resulted from students having more control of the learning process and getting the opportunity to revisit training when needed in eLearning.

The International Business Machines Corporation, IBM, after implementing an online learning program in their institution reported that the participants learned nearly five times more materials without increasing their time spent in training. From research, IBM saved approximately $200 million after switching to online learning. Also in an article for the online learning Industry, Daniel Brian, an online learning Industry specialist says that eLearning is the future because it provides a means of continuous learning, provides a personalized learning path, and social learning.

With these projections and evident results recorded so far, it is quite evident that online learning is here not only to stay but also as the future of our learning system. Have you explored any virtual learning processes recently?