Trends in E-Learning as a Service for Companies and Universities
The future of education lies in the seamless integration of technology and learning. Both companies and universities have important roles to play when it comes to ensuring the development of their potential employees and learners respectively. At present, universities are now shifting their teaching platforms to virtual and online classrooms, whereas companies are turning to online training sessions and webinars.
New technologies have changed the way companies buy and consume different forms of services and capabilities. This revolution started in the Information Technology (IT) industry when they began offering Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The “as-a-Service” model is now slowly spreading to other areas, as it aims to replace bigger capital investments for equipment and software with capabilities that can be provided on demand.
How Companies and Universities adopt Education as-a-Service
Even in the context of education, the application of the as-a-Service model is becoming more relevant. Employees and learners are now looking for non-traditional forms of acquiring knowledge based on the demands of the school and work environment. Education as a Service (EaaS) can provide a different platform for learning where students and institutions can identify specific competencies, which will be separate from the programs and degrees being conventionally offered.
The Education-as-a-Service model creates an alternative platform and also works to supplement four-year bachelor’s degrees and programs. This model also intends to help businesses and universities by delivering customized learning opportunities for students and potential employees. As a revolutionary model for tech education, this could enable both academic institutions and companies to only utilize courses which are parallel to the services offered by the company. In short, purchasing excessive learning materials which aren’t aligned to the companies and institutions programs are no longer necessary. This could allow learners to specifically hone their skills with the needed competencies of the company they are working for. In context, this model shows a greater premise in terms of leading institutions and companies towards achieving lifelong learning competence.
Trends in E-learning as-a-Service to Employees and Learners
Now that more institutions are turning to E-learning, different models and platforms are also being introduced which could cater to both employees’ and learners’ needs. One example of an E-learning trend, Microlearning, focuses on delivering content in ‘micro’ bursts or segments. This learning model allows more active student engagements with the subject matter, which then results in deeper learning experiences. At the same time, it also encourages comprehension and retention in long-term memory. This also allows students and trainees to learn their preferred topics using different platforms, which includes, but is not limited to social media.
Adaptive learning is another E-learning trend that caters to employees’ and learners’ personalized needs. This approach uses modules that will depend on the learners’ pre-existing knowledge about the subject which will be determined using pre-tests. The pre-tests will help gauge the level and pace of learning applicable to the student. This could also be used in corporate training sessions, which could help enhance the overall performance of a company as a whole.
Mobile Learning, on the other hand, allows learners access to different sources of information at their own pace. In this model, both the manager and the learner can be connected using a preferred learning platform. This type of E-learning provides freedom for the learners, as they can control which personal device they could use for their learning needs. The learning managers also can track the performance of the learners while also being conveniently available to answer queries.
Using these different E-Learning trends allows the companies and universities to tailor their training programs and their course offerings outside of the four or five-year degree programs. Even though it’s not an easy feat, combining E-learning with a personalized and competency-based curriculum could still pave the way towards achieving lifelong learning competence. The Education-as-a-Service model could help both companies and universities reach their goals while creating a platform that combines the best practices from traditional educational models with modern technology.
