Internet learning rebounds Mike Riddiford | August 26, 2009
The full article can be found at http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25981066-25918,00.html
HYPED to the heavens in the late 1990s, then largely written off after the dotcom crash, online education is back.
This month industry analyst IBISWorld released a report listing what it believed would be the 10 fastest growing industries in Australia this financial year. Online education was ranked top of the list, with a forecast annual growth for the upcoming year of 24.3 per cent.
IBISWorld noted the sector had enjoyed strong growth in the past five years: revenues grew from $827million in 2004 to more than $2.7billion this year. The same report noted that almost 60 per cent of institutional chief executives now saw online education as being critical to their long-term strategies.
Growth in the sector has been driven by several factors: strong uptake of broadband internet services, better resources and teaching methods, and growing acceptance of online education as an alternative.
In his recent book Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christiansen argues computer-based and online education is ushering in a new world of personalised, student-centric learning that will transform educational institutions, from primary schools to universities.
Mike Riddiford, a business and education writer, is editor of CEO Forum magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment