Online learning is one of the fastest growing trends in the digital age. Its growth has been phenomenal, and it shows no signs of slowing down. This type of distance learning, also known as e-learning, does not take place in a traditional classroom where a physical teacher moderates and regulates information.
Whatever form of education (school-aged, higher learning, or institutional), it has all capitalised on this window of opportunity to a great extent.
Flexibility, independence, better time management, and increased self-motivation are all advantages of online learning. On the other hand, the disadvantages include more work for students, a greater reliance on self-motivation, and fewer social interactions.
Online Learning Statistics and Trends
Online learning trends are rapidly increasing in popularity. The majority of countries and institutions have relatively mature online education sectors that can be replicated elsewhere.
Online learning is growing at an exponential rate with the right infrastructure and implementation.
Here is a general overview of this trend and its statistics.
- Udemy, one of the most popular online learning platforms, has more than 20,000 experts, with about 12 million students taking a course.
- Teachable, another platform, has over 7500 experts, and they offer more than 20,000 online courses. They have around 3million students.
- Other platforms include Ruzuku, Academy of mind, and Skillshare, with their tutors earning up to $40,000 per year.
- By 2017, 30% of institutions were using the Blackboard platform in the US and Canada.
- 75%, which is three-quarters of US learning institutions, relied on these platforms.
- The US and European markets contribute 70% of most users of the e-learning services market globally.
- 63% of US students use online learning tools daily.
- LinkedIn learning formed after LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com at $1.5billion two years after $103million funding in 2013. There was a significant rise in its market worth.
- Videos have formed an integral part of online learning. This has seen Sony sell $500 million units of PlayStation Virtual Reality in 2017.
- 67% of American college learners have completed some, if not all, of their course activity on their mobile phones.
- 12% who did not complete their studies using this method would have if offered the chance.
- Students undertaking a fully online degree increased from 3.8% in 2008 to 10.6% in 2016.
- On average, an employee has 24 minutes in a week to spend on learning hence creating a challenge for developing their careers.
- By 2026, the corporate online learning market is expected to hit $50billion with a steady growth of 15%.
- Distance learning statistics show that 17% of women are more likely to enroll in online learning.
Global Online Learning: Facts and Statistics
Online self-paced learning is facing competition. While they are not losing their market share, other platforms such as gamification and micro-learning are gradually taking over.
Here’s a look at some general e-learning statistics.
- The global industry has since its birth grew by 900% globally.
- Since its inception, the online learning market fact suggests that by 2025 to hit the $325 billion mark with over two decades.
- Global markets experiencing 30% annual market growth include Thailand, India, China, and the Philippines.
- Between the years 2020 to 2025, this market will experience a 200% increase.
- The Asian market, which is the largest consumer, sees a 20% annual increase in its revenue through the online learning industry.
- As of 2020, mobile e-learning had grown by $38 billion. From 2017 to 2022, there is an expected upward trajectory of $6 billion.
- With the investiture into scheduled learning, the self-paced online market will likely decline to $33.5billion in 2021. This is despite the American Government having purchased self-paced products worth $2.59b in 2019.
- Augmented and Virtual Reality improvements in Edutainment or gamification are paving the way for virtual classes. It was projected to have $300 million in revenue in 2020.
- Microlearning (a small-sized model of e-learning) in 2018 accounted for 60.7% of -learning.
- At least 60% of internet users have indulged in online learning. This is because they can comfortably do it at the comfort of their time and place.
- 80% of companies and 50% of institutional students have used an e-learning platform.
- E-learning takes 40% to 60% lesser time for employees and students than conventional learning.
- The majority of companies are shifting to e-learning. Around 42% of the institutions have experienced a rise in revenuestrong> as some costs, such as travel costs, have been significantly cut.
- In Europe, an average online company has 25 employees and a revenue of 3million pounds.
- The 48 countries that form the European Higher Education Area seek online learning to enhance traditional learning and not replace it.
- E-learning enhances the learners’ retention rate to 25% to 60% retention, unlike while having one-on-one tutoring, which has a retention rate of 8% to 10%. This is because one can quickly revisit what they learned, and they tend to have more control over the process.
- 28% of companies conduct their compliance training through online training.
- Finally, there would be an 18% increase in employee engagement if corporations went the online learning way.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the Increase in Statistics Regarding Online Learning
The unanticipated pandemic forced the closure of all schools worldwide. This forever altered the educational sector. China (the origin of Covid-19) was one of the first countries to implement lockdowns and ban public gatherings, which resulted in the closure of schools.
With the world’s largest population of K-12 students, China’s best way to ensure learning continuity was through online platforms. Here’s how the pandemic resulted in an increase in online educational statistics:
- Over 1.2 billion children were pushed out of the classroom in 186 countries.
- In February 2020, 250 million full-time students in China resumed their studies online.
- The pandemic also caused 81% of K-students to attend classes through the Tencent-K student online class.
- The ‘Think and Learning’ App also experienced a 200% increase in the number of new students.
- Alibaba Cloud rapidly expanded with more than 100,000 new servers to bridge the sudden influx.
- Most universities had to transition to online, with DingTalk ZJU offering more than 5000 online courses.
- With online learning requiring a gadget, 95% of students in Norway, Switzerland, were lucky to have one, while only 34% are privileged in Indonesia.
- In the US, most 15-year-old have access to gadgets. In contrast, 25% from unprivileged backgrounds completely have no access to any gadget.
- 90% of the countries adopted the digital online learning process, and 60% of the pre-primary did the same.
- TV reached more students during the period they stayed at home, attributing to 62%.
- Only 16% of the children were reached by radio for learning purposes.
- 83% of the countries used online platforms to ensure learning continued.
- 31% cannot be reached by either the broadcast platform or the internet-based learning.
- Government policies ensured at least 69% were reached through broadcast or media for education.
Market share leaders in online learning platforms
The introduction of online learning necessitated the development of the infrastructure in which learning takes place. The number of online learning platforms has increased as a result. These platforms provide the tools and services required for online learning to learners, trainers, and other stakeholders.
These platforms also aid in the management and delivery of learning resources, as well as the development of an online learning business model. Here are some of the most popular online platforms:
- Udemy: Has 40 million students and over 50,000 tutors.
- LinkedIn Learning: It has over 16,000 courses in 7 different languages and has two subscription options. The monthly $29.99, and an annual fee of $239.88.
- Coursera: Has 23 million users and partners with other learning institutions.
- Skillshare: This is a platform with around 4 million users and about 24,000 courses.
- edX: This learning platform has partnered with other learning institutions to offer more than 8,000 online courses.
Conclusion
Online learning is becoming more common in our daily lives. When combined with other methods, it accelerates the learning process.
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