The world transforms and evolves with time. Our lifestyle, customs, traditions, clothing, food, and even the way we speak change with time. Almost every field of life absorbs rapid changes. Today, the inclusion of technology has played an essential role in bringing about innovative changes in human life. Health, business, trade, and even education have drastically changed. Especially during the emergence of the COVID pandemic, technology rescued educational activities and kept the system running. Everything shifted from the traditional on-campus teaching modes to online mediums.
However, online education is not entirely new to the educational sector. There have been Electronic Learning avenues for a long time. Though, they never received such widespread acceptability as they do now. Today, more and more people are opting for online education, benefiting from different eLearning platforms that are gaining immense popularity. And most of them are from the younger generation.
According to Global Market Insights, the eLearning market reached a whopping $250 billion. It is expected to climb over a trillion-dollar by 2027. Therefore, we can only anticipate its increasing role in the education sector worldwide. And youngsters will be the ones most inclined towards it. So, if you wonder why, this article can provide you some answers. It mentions four reasons why the current generation prefers eLearning.
1. Multitasking
The current generation does not have a fixated mindset as they don’t prefer doing one thing at a time. Youngsters want to explore different possibilities at the same time.
Therefore, they continue other activities along with education. eLearning provides them the window to do that. Today, students pursuing a particular field wish to attain practical exposure alongside studying about it. For instance, many social work students pursue online masters in social work alongside volunteering for community causes. With such online programs, they can venture into any community work they prefer, whether it’s helping vulnerable populations or advocating for social justice. And only online learning provides them the ease of studying and practicing their chosen field.
Traditional education with its strict schedules and stern attendance systems requires complete focus. It becomes challenging for students to manage something else alongside formal education. Now, we see the trend of launching new startups gaining momentum rapidly. Most students from different fields are actively developing new businesses.
Moreover, the current generation is increasingly curious about various industrial domains and doesn’t want to limit its potential. eLearning provides them enough space to learn a wide variety of subjects and experience them as well.
2. Technology Literacy
It’s no surprise if your grandfather still doesn’t use a smartphone. However, it will be a massive surprise if your younger sibling doesn’t have one. The current generation has significantly become surrounded by technology. They rely on technology for almost all their modern-day problems. Technology literacy has reached its peak in the current generation.
According to a report by DMS Insights, the tech adoption rate in millennials is 93%. Therefore, they are more likely to adopt eLearning because they can handle tech easily.
The current generation is more welcoming to listening to long lectures on multimedia platforms than flipping pages of a book. They can understand and navigate innovative eLearning tools in a better way. They even interact on virtual platforms and absorb media richness easily.
3. Career Prospects
There is absolutely no concept of lifelong employment in the majority of the current generation. Most youngsters want to experiment with their careers. They want to explore different fields until they find one that aligns with their interests. Even then, they want to move ahead at the cost of altering their field. All these plans require continuous improvement of skills. They demand acquiring the latest expertise and knowledge to gain a competitive edge in the job market. It is not always suitable to go back to colleges and universities to gain new skills.
Therefore, the current generation prioritizes eLearning. It provides an easy and cost-effective source to keep yourself updated with modern developments. Only then can you switch between numerous fields easily. Otherwise, according to Medium, most labor markets are already saturated enough not to accommodate such career switching. eLearning also provides the current generation with an efficient source of accumulating knowledge about the contemporary world and developments in different fields.
4. Immersion and Engagement
Today’s generation uses the internet more than anyone else. Brand and companies approach them with interactive marketing campaigns and catch them through extensive personalization and customization. They subject them to highly immersive online experiences. Therefore, the current generation has developed a taste for high levels of immersion and engagement. They want interactivity and media involvement in education too. Fortunately, eLearning provides them that level of immersion and interactivity.
Online teaching pedagogies incorporate animations, interactive art, and other media-rich elements. It encapsulates all the senses strategically to encourage better learning.
Final Thoughts
eLearning has opened new possibilities in the world of education. People can learn from scholars sitting miles away through eLearning avenues. The current generation prefers it more because they are naturally well trained to complement its requirements. They are willing to take that leap. Therefore, we see a large number of youngsters enrolling in different eLearning sources.
