E-Learning trends for the Chinese Market

Online education was recently rolled out in the Chinese market and has quickly taken ahold of the country. China's Ministry of Education reports that 490 national-level quality courses were made publicly available in January 2018, with another 3,000 courses expected to be in circulation by 2020. This immersion in the Chinese market creates significant opportunities for people around the world. Individuals interested in taking advantage of these opportunities can learn about the latest trends involved in this market.

Opportunities E-Learning Presents

E-learning presents many significant benefits to Chinese students and others around the world, including:

Diverse Offerings

In China alone, there are over 3,200 online courses, covering diverse topics such as sustainable fashion online courses making the country the leader in these offerings. There are 10 different platforms in China that cover these courses that 55 million college students or social learners have viewed. The China Internet Network Information Center reports that 144 million people have taken online education courses as of June 2017. In addition to common university courses, online learning encompasses many skill-based learning opportunities, such as Motif, online courses taught by apparel experts and TechTrek, a company that offers STEM courses and camps.

Business Learning

A major player in the space is small businesses, which report that 98% of them reporting that they plan to use some type of e-learning by 2020. E-learning enables professionals to fine tune their skills without having to leave their business or take significant time away from work. Corporate e-learning has risen by 900% in the last 16 years, resulting in approximately $165 billion in revenue for the corporate e-learning environment.

Teaching Opportunities

The expanse of the e-learning market offers many teaching opportunities, especially for people who can tutor Chinese students. Tech Crunch reported one e-learning company raised $200 million while evaluating its business at $1.5 billion and listed openings for thousands of United States-based teacher. Other e-learning companies appear to be in a race to secure the same.

Personalized Learning

E-learning offers a unique opportunity for students to receive a customized experience to learning. Students can take the courses that they are interested in while comfortable at home and learn at their own pace. Students have improved communication channels that meet their desire for personalized learning. This enables them to become lifelong learners. Through the advance of technology like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and cloud computing, companies can continue to adapt their delivery models to provide an improved learning experience. Today’s learners are quickly migrating to new delivery methods and passing on traditional educational processes.

Additional Assistance

Many families turn to e-learning to supplement learning in the classroom. Education is important to many families in China, many of whom expect children to continue their learning after returning home from school. E-learning gives students the opportunity to get personalized attention from a tutor or teacher to help them gain a competitive edge in the classroom.

Trends in E-Learning

Those interested in either end of the spectrum of e-learning, students and teachers, should be aware of the latest trends in this market to determine if they want to be part of the emerging market. Some of the most recent trends in the industry include:

Increased Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning provides confidence-based assessments and analytics to adapt teaching methods to a student’s level and understanding. This trend is expected to continue and be amplified by delivering a personalized learning experience to students. Some programs will allow students to skip material altogether if they are comfortable with it.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Assistance

Artificial intelligence assistance is expected to grow with bots guiding learners during courses. This technology predicts learner behavior and helps customize the learning experience based on these predictions. Voice-enabled bots will help students search for keywords in learning modules and serve as technical support. This technology will also held individuals with special needs learn new skills.

Use of Virtual Reality

Virtual reality continues to grow at a significant rate. PSVR made over $500 million by the end of 2017. K-12 has adopted virtual reality and augmented reality to teach subjects like science and math. This technology can also teach safety-related procedures, helping anyone from chemistry students to workers in a factory. Wal-Mart used virtual reality technology to train employees to prepare for Black Friday. Learning platforms implement virtual reality by combining photographs, student interactions and graphics.

Game-Based Learning

Game-based learning is increasingly being used in a variety of industries. Some law firms are implementing it to track skills in summer associates. Coca-Cola and Home Depot have also introduced games and apps to teach existing employees. Other companies like Farmers insurance use this option to simulate different scenarios to help adjusters determine the cost of damages.

Social Learning

With social media still being a leading driver in consumer decisions and social interactions, social learning continues to trend in the learning environment. This type of learning involves collaboration between students or coworkers. Cloud-based applications make it easier for students to upload documents. Learning circles, chat sessions, forums and other innovative technologies allow students to interact even if they are located in different cities or countries. E-learning communities help students learn how to interact in a digital community.

Video-Based Learning

Videos are increasingly being used to train students and workers alike. 98% of organizations say that they plan to implement video as part of their digital learning process. 80% of internet traffic in the world is expected to be for viewing video by 2019.

Mobile Learning

Mobile use continues to grow in all aspects. 67% of people use their mobile devices to access learning. Using a mobile device increases productivity by 43%. 60% of all video is watched on mobile devices. With mobile devices being more accessible to the general public and their use being so prominent, more content is being made mobile-friendly. This trend is expected to continue with learning platforms offering more mobile options.

What’s Next

If e-learning presents many benefits to both the Chinese and worldwide audience, many opportunities are in store for those who create online courses. However, for e-learning to be useful and generate revenues for your business, you need to create an efficient platform and a course structure that meet the real needs of the audience.

QPSoftware is a web agency in Shanghai who has acquired an extensive experience in the e-learning business. We helped some of our clients, like TechTrek and Motif, to approach e-learning successfully. Moreover, we can create WeChat web apps to make your course more appealing in China and reach a broader audience. Contact us, and we will assist you in creating the perfect e-learning solution for your audience.