Leading Professional Development

The Rise Of Online Learning

Luke Goodlet explores the growth of on-line learning and the professional development challenge it poses.

Over the last 18 months, many lives have been changed dramatically. The impact of the pandemic has been particularly felt by those within the education sector, with both educators and learners alike having to quickly adopt new ways of teaching remotely and training online. Many schools have had to change the way in which they operate, causing a demand for teachers to acquire the new skills relevant for effective learning to take place.

Despite the easing of social distancing and life slowly returning to some form of normality, the adoption of online learning is showing no signs of slowing, and with increased access to sophisticated technology, data and artificial intelligence, online learning providers are in the position to truly provide learners and educators with the best digital learning and teaching experiences.

The role of technology

Whilst online learning has been accelerated in the last year, interest in technology-based learning was growing exponentially before the pandemic. Learning can now happen anytime, anywhere - removing barriers such as location, time of learning, and even speed of training. Schools, colleges and universities can now take advantage of digital resources which have taken years to develop, and support learning as they wish.

However, many still say that that there is little to no interaction with online learning – this couldn’t be further away from the truth. Teaching is so much more than a Zoom call, or uploading countless documents to a platform. Teachers still need to respond to questions, give feedback and support students – this is where the blended approaches come in. It’s important to consider that the new generation also expects online learning in some form – for many individuals, the world has been digital since they were born.

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