The Beginning: COVID-19’s Impact

According to UNESCO, the COVID-19 pandemic substantially impacted the online learning sphere in just a matter of days.

1.38 billion people have been affected by the worldwide lockdown on March 23, 2020. At this time, a good fraction of people from that list chose learning online; via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, and even Discord for some.

During this time, it was much easier for students to skip classes, and a large portion of students were unable to finish their last year's exams, making it easier for them to graduate high school.

Some schools in Canada and the United States opened up between mid-2020 and early-2021. However, a handful of students remained online due to a large scale of reasons: the mask mandates, the convenience of learning online, allergies, safety, etc.

However, as time progresses, more students remain online than ever.

So What’s Happening Now?

Throughout the years, online learning has grown. 63% of students in the United States are taking some sort of online learning curriculum in 2024.

There is now new research that states that students online retain 25% to 60% more information than they do in person.

In Canada, some provinces have already begun working on new projects that handle online education.

The province of British Columbia has created BC Online School (BCOS) in Kelowna. Saskatchewan has created the Saskatchewan Distance Learning Center (SaskDLC), which provides a variety of online courses, which years prior were inaccessible in rural communities until recently.

The United States has recognized online learning as an opportunity to experience the US education system without leaving home. They are beginning to provide full-time degree programs for undergrads and graduates through courses via websites, apps, email, telephones, and more.

UNESCO is also investing in a digital learning program, which “opens digital learning opportunities for all.” They plan on ensuring that those who cannot afford technology will have access to such, as well as supporting those in less fortunate countries.

Going past formal education, however, entrepreneurs are creating opportunities to provide their education with online courses that are much cheaper than government-funded universities. This has recently been coined as the term “IPGA,” or an Info-Product Growth Agency.

Essentially, IPGA is supposed to turn one’s knowledge into a profitable education curriculum.

For example, Person A wants to work with Person B. Person A states that they can use Person B’s knowledge to make it educational. Person A will receive a certain amount of equity, and both will make money in return.

This not only is a profitable service—it is also an easy way for students to get the knowledge they want.

My Thoughts

I believe that online learning is going to create a massive shift in education across the globe.

Education is going to be much cheaper and easier to access in third-world countries and other places with little education. There is no doubt that this is going to happen in our lifetime, and we are going to witness this whole process unfold.

However, due to how accessible the internet is, it will be much more difficult to supervise students (especially young children). Unless online education becomes flexible enough to where the hours are shorter than regular school times—with the addition of more breaks, this pursuit of education can potentially be a parent’s worst nightmare.

I also don’t think IPGA will last too long, as it isn’t a reliable way of education. Unless it is fully guaranteed to benefit everyone, I don’t see it taking over mainstream education.

Since students are primarily indoors, it can be challenging to create a face-to-face social circle of friends without a proper environment of people nearby, especially as a teenager. Though, if certain break periods are in place as said earlier, this shouldn’t be an issue.