2022 online education trends / Online education trends 2022
2022 online education trends / Online education trends 2022
The global educational technology market is estimated at $ 85 billion in 2021 and the number will continue to grow. The digitalization of education is increasing rapidly, technologies of the future are already becoming a reality, and the era of classical academic learning is coming to an end. We discussed education trends with Anna Kulp, CEO of the MOST technology startup, and found out what changes to expect this year:
With the full transition to online, people began to miss "live" formats. Nothing can replace chatting with a classmate during a break, sitting at a desk, listening to a teacher. Therefore, this year, online programs will definitely not replace full-time education, there will be a chance to combine them. As a result, blended formats will become popular in schools, when part of the classes can be taken online, and the other in the classroom.
Anna Kulp:
“ The more we jump online, the more offline we are lacking. On the one hand, we like that you don't drive back and forth, connect to the Zoom with the camera off and drink tea at the same time. On the other hand, networking works poorly and there is not always an opportunity to discuss the latest news or ongoing cases. It's great that we've learned to do zoom parties, but I support the hybrid format 100%. “
If before we had only one chance for quality learning, now there are many. The new standard is to radically change your career, for example, to quit medical practice and learn to be a copywriter. Or refuse to receive an academic education, and regularly take short intensives or courses. Universities are also becoming more flexible. For example, universities in Canada and the United States are actively developing a system of certificate programs, where you can sign up for a short course and get the necessary skills or improve your qualification.
Anna Kulp:
“To cope with today's amount of information, you have to learn constantly. And if you work in a digital environment, stagnation is simply impossible. I am an adherent of the lifelong learning concept and believe that you can learn new things every day. In this case courses, new people, internships, a breakthrough in your own business can help.
When we first launched MOST Technology, there were almost no competitors in our niche, now there are many of them. And every day they come up with incredibly cool programs to automate learning processes. I am sure the more adaptive our platforms are, the more opportunities for learning we have, the happier and more successful we become.”
Multicompetent (T-shaped) specialists are in great demand, that's why meta subject programs are actively appearing in educational projects. The point is to empower people to acquire cross-cutting skills that expand competencies. For example, teachers need to improve digital literacy, IT specialists - skills in business process modeling, and those who manage the economy will definitely need knowledge in marketing, sociology, and geoinformatics. At the intersection of these skills, new professions appear.
Anna Kulp:
“ I am not a fan of the "G.I.Joe" / "Universal soldier" concept. In my experience, if a man focuses on his strengths, he will definitely have a great product and will be successful in hiring, freelancing, and business. It is important to concentrate on your needs.
To become more successful, you can add soft skills to your toolset that will not interfere with hard ones. For example, as a marketer, it will be useful to upgrade your presentation or public speaking skills. And if you decide to change your profession and retrain, then you can safely change your hard skills to new ones. And this can be done as many times as you like. It is not about the concept "never too late" or “I can’t handle it,” the main rule - it should be interesting.”
If earlier employers were looking mainly for narrow specialization, now the value of soft skills has risen significantly. For example, for the developer, emotional intelligence and the ability to work in a team are no less important than knowledge of programming languages. Therefore, courses are focusing on the development of flexible skills.
Anna Kulp:
“Our platform helps businesses find specialists among course graduates. Each candidate in the profile has soft skills test results in addition to cv and portfolio. It is important for the business to know that a newcomer has an understanding of deadlines and time management, moreover will not waste his colleagues' time; that he knows how to cope with problems when it is “stormy” and can catch the moment when he starts to burn out. Why is it important? Because a person without required soft skills can “swing” the whole team or fail to cope with work. Losing an employee is always expensive for a business.”
Microsoft has calculated that people lose focus after just 8 seconds. So that students do not get bored and do not lose motivation, online learning becomes as interactive as possible. Gamification of classes, smart platforms for learning already seems to be something completely natural. The next stage is learning in real-time through both VR and AR simulation with full automation of progress performance and organizational processes. Nowadays more top companies are developing advanced technologies. Mark Zuckerberg's company Meta is actively developing the Metaverse - a virtual space in which you can interact with people and objects using digital avatars. And Microsoft has announced its Mesh mixed reality platform.
Anna Kulp:
“To be honest, I'm a little bit scared that the virtual value can become higher than the real one. But I believe that technology allows us to offset losses from the online transition and bring education to a new level.”
According to the latest research, approximately 80% of students suffer from stress or a complete lack of balance between work and personal life. Soon mental health screenings will be made frequent in universities, and burnout and work-life balance blocks will be added to the training modules.
Anna Kulp:
“ I think it is important to talk about burnout with students. This is extremely relevant for future freelancers. Nowadays the concept of freelancing is very popular and everybody wants to feel like an independent artist. In reality, it is not so romantic. At the beginning of the journey, you are working 24/7, generating your own salary, and the level of anxiety is off the charts. And everything is falling apart - sleep, health, and undernutrition. You have to be ready or even more - to master the tools that will help you when it is difficult.
In general, in a pandemic time, it is hard for everyone. So it is important to be able to listen to yourself, to ask for help in time. Companies that understand how important problem with burnout these days, provide their employees with psychotherapist visits and team events.”
Schools that help students acquire new skills started to actively help them with employment. It is obvious, in the future, people will become more demanding to educational institutions in case of career failure.
Anna Kulp:
“ After students graduate and get a job, they begin to share their experience with other people. Thanks to the reviews, public opinion about the school are formed. But if new specialists fail to find their place in the niche, the school's reputation suffers.
Today, one of the most important metrics of educational project success is the high demand for students on the market. Ideally, when companies are hunting for graduates of a particular school in order to recruit them to the team.
For this reason, we have added to the platform a "collect feedback" feature from employers - to find out if there are any claims or wishes. After that, the feedback is processed and transmitted to the school, which uses our LMS system. This allows facilitators to strengthen training modules and produce strong and competitive professionals.”