Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon that can change the world. Hardworking and skillful individuals who are striving for knowledge is exactly what the world needs to build a better society and bring more opportunities. For centuries good education has been a privilege of the well-to-do, however, this all is altering and opening new vistas for everyone. Today, you no longer need to pay huge money to get a proper education. All that you need is the inspiration and desire to study. 

Along with the increasing popularity of learning, and considering the global pandemic, the digital world has become extremely in handy. It allowed millions of people not only to save their jobs by working remotely but also to improve their professional skills through the plethora of online e-learning resources and platforms. It would be hard to overestimate the advantages that technologies have brought into our life, especially with the on- and off quarantine restrictions, most internet users are seeking the best online places to keep up their professional level or increase their knowledge.

TOP e-learning trends

• No to ageism policy

Another positive trend is that the notion of ageism is vanishing step-by-step. Therefore, more and more adults are improving the level of their qualification or switching their occupations. This tendency is expected to further continue which is a positive sign for everyone who is passionate about personal growth and neglects the number in the passport.

• Mentorship and social learning

Within the past few years, many organizations have started internal learning processes. These not only help to improve the existing qualifications of the employees but also aim at developing a better relationship among the staff in the long run. Creating favorable working conditions is viewed as one of the major steps towards increasing productivity at a workplace as well as the enhancement of the professional and corporate culture. 

Assigning middle and senior staff as mentors to the junior specialists helps to increase proficiency and efficiency. Moreover, such an initiative is also perceived as a crucial element in the knowledge-sharing process. Having a person at a workplace that you can always come up to and ask questions gives a powerful impetus to work and learn harder. 

• Virtual education and communication

The sphere of education is probably amidst those with the fastest development pace. So far, the technologies have proven to facilitate learning processes, since most people first go online to search for what they are interested in. Many companies today also invest in the education of their employees to empower their personal growth, hence, productivity, skillset, and more.

Modern technologies have made it possible to conduct classes via numerous conference apps, utilizing tons of online materials, hence, people stay safe at their homes as well as save time on commuting to a class’s destination. 

• Personalized and adaptive educational content

Big Data Analytics allows establishing the best options for learners through advanced research based on personal preferences, knowledge, and goals. Utilizing the latest EdTech tools and resources for creating personalized sets of materials and tasks allows being in charge of your learning process. Regardless of the time of the day you no longer need to stick with the schedule of a course or a school.

• The constant growth of the industry

The e-learning domain has grown drastically within the past decade, however, an enormous leap in 2016 destined its future as we see it today:

• 77% of corporations in the USA incorporated e-learning into their internal processes in 2017; today, the number has grown to over 90% as of early 2020 (Statista);
• $160 billion was the estimated e-learning market size in 2018 and it is expected to have doubled by 2025 (Research and Markets);
• platforms offering e-learning courses generated over $46 billion in 2018 and these numbers are expected to grow to $325 billion within the next 5 years.

The establishment of the software development industry has brought a lot of advancement and improved the e-learning domain drastically. Utilizing the best practices does not only create more space for creativity but also helps to improve the educational process hence brings more efficiency to the learners or users. Online learning is definitely here to stay as modern reality appears to have transformed the educational processes to the extent that these are irreversible. The future of education depends on the enhancement of the existing technologies and the introduction of even more tools and services that ensure efficient remote education.

The benefits of the technologies can be hardly overestimated as the application of Big Data Analysis, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and the latest marketing strategies bring e-learning to a brand-new level. 

The Use of Big Data in Online Education

Every technological breakthrough inevitably impacts all the domains that utilize the technologies. With the development of Big Data, the e-learning sector gained a lot of advantages over traditional education as it is easier not only to deal with large volumes of data but also predict users’ behavior, assess their progress, modify the learning process to meet the expectations from both individual and corporate programs, hence, offer the best solutions and practices necessary for creating the most efficient and productive environment. Amidst the key advantages of Big Data are:

• defining the scope of activities and scenarios that will be beneficial for the e-learning process participants;
• identifying weak spots and offering the most suitable solutions for the target users;
• providing the statistics of the most popular courses or spheres that attract the users;
• receiving immediate feedback on what part of the e-learning process shall be changed or improved, which is useful for both users and service providers;
• determining the goals and tracking the progress;
• employing strategies based on learners’ patterns so that the best results are achieved.

Big Data shall be considered as an opportunity to reshape the existing environment by embracing the most efficient approaches when it comes to the learners regardless of the sphere of their interest or occupation. This is an instrument that makes the decision-making process easier based on the information provided even if it was considered irrelevant a while ago. 

Owing to the data processing speed growing due to the tech advancements, it would be foolish not to avail of the opportunities Big Data offers. 

To keep atop of a business niche or being the smartest guy in the room has never been easier. Analyzing and structuring as well as a partnership with reliable and experienced software development service providers are by far the most necessary components for the successful implementation of the best strategies. 

E-Learning Transformation Through Artificial Intelligence Application

For a long time, it’s been a matter of heated discussion about whether or not teachers will be replaced by robots and AI. And it is not very likely for us to observe this, Artificial Intelligence already exists and, actually, functions pretty well on a daily basis. Speech recognition, machine translation, auto-correct, and even live communication are being performed by robots, although they are not physically present.

AI-based e-learning platform or resources are still quite a raw notion and has not yet become widely utilized, the situation is envisaged as something that will soon change. Many e-learning resource users are usually divided into those who either study online with the teacher or prefer watching webinars or listening to the material without human intervention. However, sometimes the last is not enough yet the teacher is not available at the moment a learner needs them the most. So, what if there was a 24/7 available assistant who can humanly answer these questions?

The benefits of AI-based systems go way beyond our expectations:

• AI incorporation into the learning process is a convenient means for those seeking help with the material to be explained.
• AI can speak a learner’s language through the implementation of natural language understanding and processing.
• AI can help in creating course materials and content through Big Data analysis, hence, facilitate the digital learning domain.
• AI can personalize the materials and content to satisfy the needs of the users through their progress and behavioral pattern during the learning process.
• AI can train learners to find the necessary information through context but still very clear and understandable.

Of course, these are not all the benefits AI has to offer to the e-learning domain, therefore, with a further increase of the technological scope, their modifications, and enhancements, the industry is expected to transform as well. 

Natural Language Processing Technologies

The use of chatbots today is quite common, yet their use in EdTech is only at its starting point. Natural Language Processing (NLP) is a great assisting tool that can generate replies to the queries based on AI algorithms. In the e-learning process, it has a lot of benefits like 24/7 availability, providing a vast scope of information without going anywhere, sending notifications in case of curriculum changes, etc.

Teachers can use chatbots to help them grade their students’ tests, answer their questions, help prepare recommendations for the students based on their results, and automatically share with them, generate content for classes, and many more. The key benefit of these technologies lies in teaching the AI algorithm the scope of activities you’d like the NLP to perform.

Summary

As we see, Big Data and AI are strengthening their positions and creating more space for creativity, opportunity, and equality. Regardless of your career, experience, or skillset, it is important to learn. A lot. Whenever you can. The technologies today are making knowledge accessible no matter where you are. We determine what we need and we work in that direction. Using the latest technological achievements is one of the best ways to grow professionally and as a person. 

Making education accessible, and, what’s more important, personalized is the key in the e-learning world. Embracing all the benefits the technologies offer is the best thing we can do for ourselves and our future. To keep up with the rapid pace of the modern world, it crucial to remember that everything is changing quickly, business borders vanish opening new horizons for the game-changers who are striving for improvement and multiple opportunities for everyone.