Understanding Global eLearning Trends
According to experts it will be valued at more than $115 billion US dollars by that time. But, what seems to be driving the eLearning industry? The primary growth drivers are an abundance of eLearning technologies, rapid educational app development and gigantic growth in the demand for such platforms, centralized content, time management, flexibility and convenience, and many other advantages that it offers for the end-user. During the forecast period, experts project numerous trends and this will continue to shape the eLearning industry as we know it.
Understanding eLearning Trends With Market Segmentation
By Delivery Mode
We can see from the current trends that packaged delivery mode is quite the norm right now. The packaged content segment is comprised of eBooks, videos, and simulations that provide the ideal platform for online learning. They are easy to understand and offer a standardized system of education that is based on SaaS/LMS models and others, and make up more than 29% of the total market share.
By Learning Model
Self-paced learning models account for more than 77% of the total market share in the eLearning industry. The same is expected to reach over $43.54 billion US dollars in the forecast period. According to many research studies, there is a rapidly growing demand for self-paced learning modules in the corporate sector. This way we will create more opportunities for vendors in this market in the near future.
By Type
The training segment holds by far the largest share in this industry, and continues to grow beyond 40% and will reach revenues of more than $55.15 billion US dollars during this eLearning market forecast period. There is a steeply increasing demand for Learning Management Systems for professionals, government officers, and academic sectors as well.
By End Users
Individual students or professionals are not going to be the only ones making use of these platforms. The corporate sector, in particular, is expected to grow by 9.76 % during the period mentioned here, and there will be a growing demand for training programs and related content management professionals to make them more efficient and save more time.
By Geography
Studies suggest that North America is going to dominate the eLearning market followed by APAC, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.
Understanding Market Dynamics
The various market growth enablers:
- Increase in penetration of internet
- A rise in the demand for internet-enabled services and devices
- Global workforce
- Migration of skilled labor
- Digitization initiatives all across the globe
- More advanced and digital learning and training avenues
- Constant private investments in digital language learning
The following are the many growth restraints that it faces:
- Continuous product innovation is required
- Variability in hardware and software
- Presence of closed markets
- Inadequate internet bandwidth
- Lack of viable revenue models
The Latest Trends In The eLearning Sector (As We Have Observed Lately)
- Initiatives are taken by educational institutions to encourage students to switch from the traditional textbooks to tablets and access eBooks, online essays and research and stay connected to the school's open WiFi network for seamless learning.
- New and more advanced learning apps are making mLearning and microlearning possible and they are also speeding up consumption by learners by making a variety of readable formats available to them.
- There is Open Educational Resource (OERs) which is simply content developed for the purpose of learning and teaching and is freely available online to all users. It comprises digital materials and content accountants, digitized textbooks, streaming videos, software, and other support.
- Social learning is also catching on (also called peer-to-peer learning) and has been popularized by Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). These are basically communities that are formed around subjects and causes, which make it possible for learners to share knowledge across the world and also facilitate content duration.
- Increased focus on research, which implies directly to active learning and increased student participation in knowledge building, so that everyone can stand out in the education field and help generate content for others to take advantage of.
Conclusion
The story has just begun. The user or learner base, as we saw, is not limited to individual students, kids or school/college learners. There are several companies worldwide that have already begun to adopt several eLearning platforms at a rapid pace. Many of these platforms are often delivered to them on a turn-key basis, and it facilitates continuous employee Learning and Development. This has made it a strategic necessity for the biggest reason that adopting eLearning lets them achieve both microlearning and qualification based learning objectives. This is making their skills more detailed, all-encompassing, and well in tune with the current times. Remember, waiting is only going to delay the inevitable whereas adopting it will make your organization future proof right away. Now it is up to you to decide whether to wait for another leap in this technology or embrace it now.