The traditional education system is currently at a turning point. Driving forces such as novel digital tools and a change in student needs are putting the market in the perfect position to be disrupted. For example, the current job market is extremely competitive, causing a demand for more specific skills. This is resulting in an increased demand for information and education on topics such as technology and engineering (Frey, 2013). In addition, the cost of traditional education is at an all-time high.
A logical response to these developments is the upsurge of cheaper, modern and more accessible forms of learning. Edtech companies such as CodeAcademy, Lynda.com and Pearson (eText) are already filling education gaps, by offering courses and other learning materials online, often for free (Lynch, 2018). I expect online learning platforms to become the norm in the future, providing people with the opportunity to study preferred content, available on-demand at their own time and place. This goes hand in hand with the increase of self-directed education, entailing that individuals will be able to choose more specifically what they want to learn more about and how. Other innovations such as augmented reality and games will most likely also play a role in this, as alternative and possibly more reliable methods for assessment and learning (Pozo-Olano, 2018).
Like many other social systems, the education system is built on trust, or better yet, on a certain belief. For example, the functioning and offerings of traditional educational institutions are based on the premise that if you commit to and complete a program, you earn credits. Afterwards, you can use these credits to certify yourself in the job market and rely on them to find a job. But what if we came up with new credentialing systems? Then, a traditional university degree would lose most of its value. If this were to happen in combination with the abovementioned developments, the scope of education would change completely and educational institutions as we know them might become obsolete.
I believe that the transformation of the education industry would be a positive development, as it would ultimately increase equal opportunities as it will give more people access to affordable education. I also think the change is necessary in order to be able to compete in the current job market. What do you think the future of education looks like? Do you think universities will ultimately cease to exist?
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Dear Isabelle,
Very interesting blogpost you wrote! I think this is a highly realistic scenario. However, have you considered the social aspect of education? For instance, group assignments train people to work together in groups and communicate with their group members, which is amongst others a very important aspect in working life. Moreover, the current education systems allows people to meet others which is besides numerous social reasons also beneficial for our professional network. The latter is very important for entering the job market. This makes me doubtful about the possibility if this will ever happen and maybe more important, do we want this to happen? For me, I like how the educational system offers us social opportunities and I think meeting-spots like universities play a very important role in this. I’m curious about the future and what it will bring us!
Hi Isabelle,
Interesting to read your blog!
Personally I believe that online education will not become the norm any time soon. Surely, on demand and studying and self-directed education will become more popular, however, I believe it will never completely replace regular education. Especially in some fields of study, like management, in which group assignments form a big part of the regular curriculum the online education might not be able to compete. Moreover, most students engage in extra-curricular activities, which contribute to the overal learning experience.
I do believe that online learning provide opportunities to non-consumers of education, as it becomes widely accessible to a large number of people. Before online education would become the norm several challenges, one of which is the online credit system. A universal way to store and interpret the received credits would be needed, as there needs to be some sort of control in this online system. Moreover, in order to provide online education for free, someone needs to pay for it, otherwise course content will not be updated. Additionally, when online learners are charged for the online study material the old non-consumer group that started studying online might soon disappear again, as their price sensitivity is high.
When online learning is implemented widely I believe that in the future the costs regular (physical) education will become higher. Students that value this personal guidance and group work together with the ability to participate in extra curricular activities will continue to learn in the regular education system.
I’m curious to find out what the future will bring for online education!