The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all facets of our day-to-day living. Even as the novel virus keeps us contained in our homes and it's already reoriented our relationship not just to every other, but to everyone outside of our homes.

The sheer scale of the pandemic casts a rather historical light on recent events. within the wake of any event of this magnitude, we will expect long-term changes. Whether we're talking about business, healthcare, or education, society has been deconstructed and reshaped within the span of some months.

Periods of uncertainty present opportunities. As COVID-19 grows smaller within the car mirror, we're left with a less polarised political discourse, renewed appreciation for friends and therefore the outdoors—and technology that empowers us in new and exciting ways.

One of the areas that the pandemic has thrown into a tailspin is education. Public schools, colleges, and universities are forced to transition to 100% digital coursework—which is not any different than what we have seen from the remote workforce. In both the education and business sectors, such large-scale and last-minute pivots are difficult and stressful to navigate.

When it involves teaching, the results of the pandemic have reached far and wide, leaving a mark on lesson plans, applications and admissions processes, tuition fees, and student loans—among other aspects of university life.

What does the longer-term hold for universities within the wake of a worldwide viral outbreak? and can learning from home become the new norm in education?

Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education: the increase of E-Learning

The pandemic has forced us to re-imagine how we approach traditional education. Sticking to tradition—whether we're talking about the standard office workplace or the delivery of in-person lectures—is now not a requirement. COVID-19 has given us an opportunity to interrupt old habits and harness the facility of recent technology, remodeling the way we live, work, and learn.

Higher education is a locality that has been long overdue for innovation. the increase of e-learning breaks down barriers for college students who aren't otherwise able to attend their university of choice because of physical distance. As for commuter students who travel upwards of two hours to attend a 9 am class, online learning is over welcome.

And as other university services, like counseling for psychological state or career development, work up their online presence, they'll become increasingly accessible to the very students they're meant to profit.

Online schooling has had other implications, namely online tests, and feedback. But before any of that's possible, online admissions processes must be implemented, which is able to make next year's round of acceptances and rejections far more complicated.

Another trend we may even see is students who are hesitant to return to college in any respect. Understandably, many families are reluctant to chalk up expensive tuition for a totally remote university experience. Students may favor applying for programs that have built up a reputation for online learning, choosing these rather than the standard residential experience.

What Does This Mean for the long run of Online Learning?

Compared to the standard classroom, students retain up to 25-60% more material when learning through a digital platform. E-learning allows students to line their own pace—to re-read sections that they didn't quite grasp or power through modules that they've already mastered.

Many universities have made the switch quite successfully. Take Zhejiang University, which has managed to upload quite 5,000 courses over the span of a fortnight. Closer to home, the Imperial College London has started offering a web course on the science of coronavirus, a course that now boasts the best number of enrollments on Coursera on the list of courses launched in 2020. Other colleges and universities have turned to Zoom as to how to supply temporary online lectures to their students during the pandemic.

As for teachers, e-learning has presented them with an array of the latest tools, including video meetings, discussion groups, online polls, and file-sharing capabilities. Communication between professors and students has never been more accessible. Gone are the times where speaking with a professor meant trekking across campus to hitch the road outside their office.

While the social aspects of university life are sorely missed, experts believe that traditional offline learning and digital learning are going to be more integrated than ever when it involves how lessons are delivered setting out of the pandemic. instead of opposing one another, these two modes of learning go hand-in-hand.

An Online Learning Solution That Caters to Your Organisation's Requirements

Are you an organization that's fascinated by pivoting toward digital education? If so, then it is time to speak to the experts at BridgeWeb.

We've partnered with clients just like the University Health Network in Toronto to assist their Division of Nephrology to expand its educational reach, combining the most effective of education and technology to form a user-friendly and enriched learning experience. The secure portal we created is where nursing and medical staff still studying can view a variety of lectures, process videos, access downloads, and documents, take multiple-choice examinations towards their qualifications, and far more!