Edtech University Collaboration will be The Future of Education
The Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way the academic world use to function. It has forced universities to shut down, resulting in billion-dollar losses. Researches have suggested that many universities will be permanently shut down in the upcoming months. The economic cost of the COVID-19 is so huge that many students are dropping out of education.
Tech companies are collaborating with reputed universities, to enhance the online learning opportunities for students. This phenomenon will be a big thing in the near future as Edtech companies are looking to capitalize on the situation and reform the education system.
Why is The Obsession with University Degrees on The Decline?
Students graduating from the top universities are being placed in good companies, that was the notion a few years back. Today a skillful individual with a diploma certificate can demand an equal opportunity in the industry. It is cheaper and with more hands-on experience, the student becomes more knowledgeable about how the industry works. Moreover, a university education is becoming more expensive on a daily basis.
Professional courses like MBA costs a bomb in any tier 2 universities in any major city globally. As the education loans continue to turn into non-performing assets, banks are also taking steps to minimize their credit risk. This is a vicious circle which is putting students into deeper trouble
How are Tech Companies Changing The Scenario?
You must have seen massive online learning campaigns in social media platforms regarding MBA, data science, Spoken English, and thousands of other courses. These online tutoring companies are hiring tutors for their online sessions and students can get study materials, video lectures, and get certified on completing these courses. Companies also take these courses seriously as they realize that
A non-engineering student can easily do a programming course and start his career in the software sector. This flexibility is making online tech companies get billion-dollar funding across the world. They are allowing students to pursue any course, be it data science or psychology or music and in return, are gaining massive popularity.
Will Students be able to Adapt to The Change?
Students learn from experience. The sudden lockdown in different countries have made them realize, that going to colleges and universities is not a big deal. Its time that they get their learning materials and degrees sitting at the comfort of their home. They will choose what to learn and when to learn.
Flexibility, personal touch and creative learning process is making them more inclined to get their degrees from their home. So they are more than happy to shift to the online mode, although some minor issues like connectivity and quality of explanations sometimes affect the learning process.
Tech companies have made the typical classroom format, irrelevant and is showing more straightforward ways to attain degrees and certificates. Moreover, with a large number of tutors available, students are choosing the one they like best.
Students are quickly adapting to this change, as they are finding formal education a tad too expensive. What is essential here is to think about whether tutors are going to be comfortable in this. Those who are aged are finding it a bit difficult to adjust.
Young professors are very comfortable, and even before these events were happening, they were already tutoring on some websites or the other, and most of them do upload videos on YouTube.
Challenges Ahead
All said and done, online courses has its challenges in terms of large scale implementation. Slow internet speed is a massive problem in developing nations. In the rural belt, many families still do not have Smartphones and proper 4G network to access these courses. Involving them in online learning is a big issue.