The Future of Remote Learning and What it Means for Mobile Payments

With the rise of the internet and new technologies such as 5G, being physically present in a classroom to learn isn’t the only available option any more. Quality education, often previously restricted to lectures and talks, can now be accessed remotely with access to the internet – anytime, anywhere.

eLearning Market

A look at the current eLearning market and the impact that COVID-19 has had.

Information Source: GMI Insights

The COVID-19 pandemic has further encouraged an already high adoption of remote learning, causing a significant surge in usage in language apps, virtual tutoring, video conferencing tools and online learning software, with up to 1.6 billion students affected by school closures worldwide.

Teachers, students and companies have now acquired a ‘digital toolbox’ of engaging devices, from online courses to digital textbooks. With global lockdowns easing, what does the future of remote learning look like?

Remote Learning Statistics

Information Source: Techjury

eLearning is an established market. The UK led the way in facilitating distance learning long before coronavirus made it necessary; 58% of Brits aged 16-24 used online learning materials, and 29% enrolled in online courses in 2019. Worldwide, 49% of students stated they had taken an online course in the last 12 months.

Benefits of Remote Learning for Students and Teachers

• eLearning increases the retention rates of students by 25%-60% (compared with F2F retention rates of 8%-10%)
• 90% of students today think that online learningis the same or better than the traditional classroom experience. Flexibility of online learning is also a huge benefit – allowing students to learn at their own pace, in their own time
• 81% of US college students agreed that digital learning technology was helping them improve their grades
• Online learning can collect data to identify each student’s strengths and weaknesses to help the platform tailor its approach and make the learning process more enjoyable
• The majority of today’s students have grown up with exposure to computers, smartphones, social media and other smart devices, and are more readily able to use these tools without extensive adjustment periods

Corporate Benefits of Remote Learning

• A survey of 2,500 companies found that those with “comprehensive training programs” have 218% higher revenue per employee and 24% higher profit margins
• Corporate eLearning takes 40%-60% less time to complete in comparison with traditional learning
• IBM saved approximately $200 million after switching to eLearning
• World Economic Forum predicts that2/3 of today’s students will work in jobs that do not yet exist – it is important to nurture this talent in companies by keeping up with digital advances

Remote Learning Growth by Region

App Annie stats show that mobile education apps experienced a 90% increase in weekly downloads usage worldwide from Q4 2019 – Q1 2020 (Increase by country; Australia – 190%, , UK – 150%, Brazil – 140%, USA ­– 135%).

Other factors and opportunities that are driving remote learning growth, by region.

Information Source: GMI Insights

In Europe alone, the deployment of 5G technology will facilitate seamless training and learning in a digital environment for employees and students. In Italy, Spain, and France (amongst the worst-hit market due to coronavirus), European corporates are expected to train both new and existing employees using eLearning.

Remote Learning Education Apps and Resources

The coronavirus crisis has seen an increase in language learning apps (Pittsburgh-based Duolingo, London-based Busuu, Berlin-based Babbel) as well as online language tutoring platforms.

Platforms like Coursera have been globally and freely available to any university affected by COVID-19, while Electronic Learning Management Systems such as Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams are helping classes to connect distantly, communicate efficiently, and stay organised.

Other popular educational apps and resources include:

• Photomath – a Croatian app that shows you how to solve any mathematical equation you take a picture of
• Brainly – a Polish homework help site (popular in India and the US), says it is gaining a new userbase of parents during the crisis with parents who are “struggling with homeschooling”
• Kahoot! – the Norwegian educational games app has seen a spike in remote learning usage of 5-6x normal levels. The company has been adding 100k new users a day in the recent period, and invoiced revenue increased 220% year-on-year to $6.4m in the first quarter of this year
• Lingvist – the Estonian language app, states that learning with a mathematically-optimised app can be more efficient in some cases than classroom teaching. Lingvist began as a language-learning service for individuals but is now developing more tools for schools to use. It also “believes that the AI-assisted language-learning system it has developed could be used for other subjects as well.”

Opportunities for Remote Learning and Carrier Billing

The education landscape is shifting with the world around it in response to technological innovations and societal shifts, evolving and nurturing students to “be more connected in their lives, engaged in class and equipped for their future.”

Post-COVID-19, educational institutions, companies and personal-use learners may wish to make eLearning part of their ‘new normal’, after experiencing the benefits first-hand. If remote learning apps and platforms can find a way of providing solutions and alleviating challenges for students, parents and teachers alike, the future of remote learning looks bright.

An engaging, easily navigated eLearning platform coupled with a simple and convenient payment solution can only enhance the user experience, making eLearning more appealing and accessible to markets worldwide. Contact SLA Digital to find out more about direct carrier billing payment solutions.