Digital technologies are becoming a part of daily life. Online schools and courses are developing rapidly, and the popularity of various educational platforms and apps is growing at an exponential rate. According to experts, the Russian online education market has grown almost eleven-fold in the past six years. Even though the growth slowed down in 2022, digital tools in education are still relevant. Not only because of their convenience, but because the pace of life is speeding up, leaving not much time for hobbies and educational courses.
What are the advantages of online learning?
The active introduction of digital technologies makes our lives easier. Online format gives an opportunity to study from any part of the world, which means one can adopt the best practices from experts from various countries, learn languages from native speakers and immerse themselves in field-specific areas where there are not too many skilled instructors yet.
Remote education is as good as the in-person format: people can improve their qualifications and even start a new profession. The digital transformation of education also helps saving on office supplies and paper textbooks. Even schools don’t need to purchase them anymore.
Another undeniable advantage of digital tools is that they give students an absolute freedom of how and when education process will take place. These include video calls, recorded lectures and many others. It makes it easier to adjust learning to a student’s work schedule or daily routine. The transition to the online format also allows students to learn at their own pace, while not trying to catch up with others or compete with them.
Digitalization is beneficial not only for students, but also instructors. They can choose the best ways to present information and work with a larger number of students. For online courses, where all information is presented using previously recorded lectures and practical exercises, the number of students can be practically infinite. At the same time, instructors have multiple opportunities for creating individual, customized and common educational programs. They can adjust prices and accommodate to each student’s needs. In addition, they can follow clients on social networks or at the educational platform itself – it has proven very popular. As the EdMarket survey showed, 37% students in Russia preferred learning with instructors’ follow-up, while 24% liked to study using recorded lectures.
What tools are there?
Digitalization provides a big variety of tools. One can use artificial intelligence which will collect analytics and provide a full analysis or use the system of automated student assessment. To promote involvement, there are the technologies of virtual and augmented reality, gamification and other interesting formats. Thus, students can pick the tools they like and that will help them learn faster, while instructors can monitor current trends and try new things. Digitalization also allows for handing students textbooks, store all necessary information for an infinite period of time, and share it promptly.
Why is digital transformation necessary?
Digital transformation changes the education process, making it more interesting and fun. It brings students additional motivation and is perceived differently in terms of responsibility. New learning formats eliminate borders and open new opportunities: one can pick from a variety of approaches to studying, information presentation and its memorizing.
Overall, digital transformation improves the accessibility of education and makes searching for courses easier. Given that people are more focused on the result when learning online, the efficiency of such education increases.
By Irina Kuzyutina, expert, Moscow Business School