Key players in the world of online education mirror some of the biggest players in the macroeconomic climate. With the ease and convenience online learning offers it’s no surprise these heavy hitters are leading the industry at large.
South of the border, the United States leads the industry in execution and evalution. The Online Learning Survey in the US uses tools to measure and evaluate online learning in their country. This is an integral step in understanding the online learning industry as a whole.
A recent study based on 2,800 colleges and universities conducted by the Online Learning Survey in the US suggest, “The number of students taking an online course increased by 570,000 to a new total of 6.7 million from 2011 to 2012.” Nearly 32% of the student population in the US is taking some form of online course.
And what about the teachers? Does it take more time and effort to teach online? 46% of respondents indicated that it takes more time and effort to teach an online course. Interestingly enough, over the past six years, the response increased 5%. This survey will be valuable for our research project for St. Lawrence College.
Another industry leader is India. With a whopping population of over 1.27 billion people, 68% of the population live below the international poverty line. There are one million schools and 18,000 higher education institutes across the nation. As for students in the post-secondary category, India has 150 million youth between the ages of 18-23 years old. Online learning is just one way for the people of India to elevate out of poverty and give them the competitive advantage that an education can provide.
Looking to large populations as they shift to online learning offers insights on what is happening on a macro level in the industry. There are numerous reasons why online learning is taking over the world. Programs offer skill upgrading, certificates, degrees, etc. all that will give students a competitive edge. Ultimately, a well-educated population will create the human capital to fuel a country’s economic engines. To remain competitive, Canadian learning institutes must adopt online learning to better prepare students for today’s ever changing economy.
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