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Author: Soumik Sarkar

A Brief History of Online Education

The 21st century has brought about a massive change in the world of education. Gone are those days when teaching was limited only within the confines of a classroom. The internet has brought about a paradigm shift in the fundamental way in which learning is done. It has taken learning beyond the hallowed walls of the universities and into the palms of everyone. But how did this radical transformation occur?

How It All Began

Though there are numerous examples of the usage of machines and tools in education throughout history, e-learning in the modern sense of the term is a relatively new concept. Slide projectors and television-based classes have been in use since the 1950s. However, one of the first instances of online learning in the world can be traced back to 1960, at the University of Illinois, USA. Though the internet wasn’t invented back then, students began learning from computer terminals that were interlinked to form a network.

The first-ever completely online course was offered in 1984 by the University of Toronto. In 1986, the Electronic University Network was established for being used in DOS and Commodore 64 computers. Three years later, the University of Phoenix became the first educational institution in the world to launch a wholly online collegiate institution, offering both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. This was the beginning of a revolution whose potential was largely unknown to the public back then, but one that would make learning greatly accessible and within reach of what people could ever have imagined. This image illustrates the works of some of the early pioneers of online education:

The Open University in Britain was one of the first universities in the world to begin online distance learning, in the early 1990s. Currently, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India is the largest university in the world with around 4 million students enrolled, most of whom currently receive education via online methods.

How Big is the Market Size?

Online learning is booming in current times. Aided by the widespread availability of high-speed internet, making use of new technologies such as 4G and the soon-to-be-released 5G, online learning is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the foreseeable future. The worldwide market size of online learning is approximately $187.87 billion in 2019, a 400% increase over what it was just six years ago. This phenomenal growth has been made possible not just by the rapidly evolving scenario in the world of technology, but also by the spread of education in the developing world. Experts predict that the next wave of online education will occur not in North America and Europe, but newly emerging markets like Africa, India, and China.

Source: Technavio report

Online learning is no longer just limited to colleges and universities. Right since primary school, online learning is gradually being incorporated into the curriculum. The recent COVID-19 pandemic further illustrates the importance of online learning in today’s school system, as it has proven to be a boon to both students and teachers alike who are unable to attend school due to the risk of disease spread. Beyond high school, online learning is steadily increasing its market share at the pre-university level. Furthermore, e-learning is expanding in presence beyond the traditional fields as well.

Source: University Affairs Magazine

Recent Developments in Online Learning

Online learning has evolved far beyond its original capabilities. It is no longer limited to a didactic method, which had a one-way monologue from the teacher to the student. Current advances in online learning enable the student to play an active role in the learning process, with regular feedback and assessments. This has greatly improved the effectiveness of the teaching system, bringing it on par with classroom-based learning. Some of the features that give an edge to online education are:

  • Less expensive than traditional teaching methods: As the cost of teaching is low, the expenses borne by the students inevitably come down. This makes education far more widespread and economical.
  • Vast variety of available courses: These days, online courses on everything are available at the touch of a button – from religion to commerce, philosophy to fashion designing, programming to painting, photography to yoga – there is hardly any field that hasn’t been touched by e-learning.
  • Study groups: There is a scope of engaging with like-minded students across the world, sharing information and ideas.
  • Flexibility: This can be in terms of time, money, and location. Online learning enables the student and the teacher to be present at opposite ends of the world, in different time zones, and yet have the knowledge imparted effectively.
  • Much less infrastructure required: This is a huge incentive to the education providers, as the additional costs are largely minimized.
  • Standardized quality: Since the content available online can be evaluated and revised at any point in time, it helps maintain a reasonable standard of quality.

 Smartphones have played a crucial role in making online learning viable. It is rapidly gaining ground even in rural areas, bringing high-quality education, at par with the best in the world, available to the masses. Massive open online courses (known as MOOCs) are a promising new field. The New York Times had declared 2012 as “the year of the MOOC”, and there has been no stopping since then. The total number of students enrolled in MOOCs has risen to about 100 million now. Thus, the recent developments in online learning can be broadly attributed to the following factors:

  • Innovation in smartphone technology
  • High-speed data access
  • Interactive learning models
  • Rising number of startups in the e-learning field

Source: Class Central Inc.

The Future of Online Learning

The global online learning market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.23% within the next five years, bringing the overall market share to $319 billion by 2025, increasing from $187.87 billion in 2019. This is an astounding amount that is full of potential. It is imperative for currently existing market players as well as new entrants to seize this opportunity and usher in a modern era in the field of education. The following factors are expected to play a central role in this rapidly ongoing transformation:

  • The rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence)
  • Cloud-based solutions
  • Massive investments by major market players
  • Use of VR (virtual reality) technology in education
  • Growth of IoT (Internet of Things)

To summarize, online learning is one of the most life-changing innovations of the present century. Education is perhaps the biggest asset of the modern era and online learning has provided a medium to disseminate it among the entire population. This presents a situation full of potential, which if properly harnessed, can catapult the entire world into a new dawn of development and prosperity.

Why Study Economics Now?

The world after the pandemic may not be the same again, some will flourish whereas some will be financially devastated, but one should move ahead. At this crucial juncture, students need to make a very important decision, which discipline to choose and why? The degree a student gets is not merely a piece of paper, but a solid foundation for his/her career. Therefore, it is extremely important to have a clear idea about the job prospects of an academic discipline. Here I want to discuss what you can do with an Economics degree. It is often said that Economists are the money makes of a country and indeed, after the dust settles, economists will play a very major role in settling the aftermath that the pandemic brings forth.  All activities in a country are some way or other related to the economy, be it small business or big, all depends on the way economic policies are put forth and talented and skilled economy students can help accelerate the recovery of a country much faster. Moreover, knowledge of simple economic theory will lead a good student to understand and predict the future more or less accurately.

Here I illustrate a few domains where economists will be needed after the pandemic-

  • They can help design financial packages for a county making faster recovery possible taking the country back on its course.
  • Analyse the effects of the pandemic and estimate the total cost that the Covid-19 problem caused.
  • Make future predictions about coming years and lay out a comprehensive plan for next steps to be taken.
  • Almost all companies need economists under their shed to make the right decision and after this kind of devastation the demand is surely expected to rise.
  • Many economists and statisticians will be required by MNCs to manage their stocks and bonds after the crash of the share market.
  • Banking sector will now open its arms to accept skilled and talented economists to manage and modulate their policies.
  • Major mutual funds also took a big hit due to the pandemic so they will be required there too to, to give their expert opinions about what to do.
  • There are many Non-Profit organisations which need to manage the money and assets to serve their purpose better so there too economists are needed.
  • And finally comes education, as children are the backbone of a country, and backbone needs to be strong. The only way to build a strong foundation is proper education, and good economists as well as teachers are needed there to formulate proper policies and impart proper education.

The Graph below will show how the world economy is facing economic crises for the last few decades, and where an economist needs to intervene.

Source: UNCTAD calculations based on IMF, WEO, October, 2019

  1. Corporates:

The big old private sector, the financial markets of a country, they are so hard hit by Covid-19 pandemic that it would require large number of skilled economists to put it back on track. Companies need people who can analyse, develop, promote and organise their big mammoths in a most efficient way and help them earn profit.

Students of Economics can get jobs as Junior Economists, Research Analysts, Market Analyst, Benefit Analysts, Policy Analyst, Supply Chain Analyst, Personal Finance Advisor and many other job profiles (like Business Reporter) that give you a big fat pay check.

  1. Banks:

Within the banking industry it is not a surprise that good economists are required, and after the pandemic the demand will only rise. Managers, Directors, Administrators need to have sound knowledge of economics. Credit analysts and Loan Officers are needed to offer the most secure loans. Financial advisers are often employed to analyse and give advice regarding investments, so there cannot be no banking sector without goods economists.

  1. Government:

There is no shortage of government jobs for economists at all levels. State as well as Center need economic expertise on urban planning, development of budgets, revenue examination, international trade, policies for BPL, and many other issues related to economy so even a Government of a country cannot work without economists.

  1. Non-Profits:

These organisations hire economists in a wide range of roles. They need someone to make their financial projections to keep them afloat, as they rely majorly on funding. Good economists can make or break an organisation, with proper planning and allocation, big goals can be reached with small capital. As the dust settles after the pandemic, there will be a whole lot of people who need financial and other kinds of help so demand of economy students is deemed to rise.

  1. Research firms and think tanks:

They study and analyse the economics issue. One can be employed in a business organisation, non-profit organization or an advocacy sector. One might even head one’s own research and consulting firm.

  1. Actuarial Science:

 Actuarial science is another field you can look at. Actuaries are business professionals who can assess the risk in the insurance business. These professionals specialize in various fields such as health, life, medical, casualty, pension, etc. They use their knowledge of mathematics, statistics, finance, economics, etc. to determine the premiums and reserves for insurance policies. I believe it is the most opportune moment and in fact the need of the hour, that good economics students should come up and formulate good insurance policies to help the public.

  1. Investment Banking:

They assist public and private corporations in raising funds in the capital markets (both equity and debt), financial modelling and valuation analysis (i.e. operating, credit impact, sum of the parts, merger, discounted cash flow, and leveraged buyout models). They also provide strategic advisory services for mergers, acquisitions and other types of financial transactions.

There has been some decline in business activity of major investment banks due to this Covid-19 effect but this downfall is only for a short term, once the economy starts normal operations, there can be exponential rise in the sector. So as the pandemic ends, one may expect a lot of growth in this sector thus a lot of job for the young economists.

All the above sectors will need a huge influx of good economy students once the Covid-19 crisis is over and businesses reopen. Other than these, there are many other domains where economic knowledge is required, they also offer good incentives to pick economy as your discipline of choice. If one has interest in the subject, he/she can reach unimaginable heights and serve humanity in best way possible.

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