Online education may become the norm in 2030, new survey suggests

A survey has found that experts believe traditional classrooms could be a thing of the past by 2030.

Education is undergoing major change, not just in the UK but worldwide. As technology evolves and learning itself becomes ever more globalised, new teaching methods have become the norm. Yet an entirely different form of education is also on the rise – and the growth of online learning shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, a recent survey suggests that e-learning could well become the norm.

Research published ahead of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) surveyed global experts regarding what they think the educational landscape will look like at the end of the next decade.

It found that more than nine out of ten said they preferred schools that introduced innovative methods based on new approaches to teaching and more creative processes.

With that in mind, it may not be surprising that the experts were strongly in favour of online learning. But the extent of their confidence in the medium is striking – some 43 per cent said that by 2030, they expect educational content will be mostly provided by online platforms. Schools will evolve to the point where they take the form of “learning networks”, where online resources will support peer to peer dialogue as part of a shift towards “collaborative learning”.

Obviously this is already happening – many universities and schools are already using similar approaches, and the rise of so-called MOOCS proves that they’re popular.

LSBF partners with InterActive Pro, who specialise in delivering online education, as an integral part of its course delivery.

“We have long held a belief that innovations in technology and digital media will become the norm in further and higher education over the next several decades. The use of e-learning apps, high-impact documentary style video lectures, and podcasts are fast replacing traditional means of delivering academic content,” said Jeremy Bradley,head of studies at InterActive Pro.

“Today’s students favour on-the-go resources, enabling them to integrate their studies with their professional and personal commitments. Technological advances in online learning mean that we are meeting students ‘where they’re at’ be they auditory, visual, or kinaesthetic learners,” Mr Bradley added.

It’s clear that experts anticipate this will become much more common in the future – and teachers are expected to become less like lecturers and more like “learning facilitators”.

However, they agreed that there was still room for physical presence in the learning environment, and human interaction will continue to sit at the heart of education. That’s likely to be highly necessary, given that three-quarters of experts also said that by 2030, the most valued assets will be personal and interpersonal skills. In comparison, just 42 per cent who thought academic knowledge would still be valuable.