History of E-Learning Pre and Post Pandemic: Expanding Learning Beyond the Classroom

If we really want to get esoteric about this, then you could say that eLearning began as soon as people had access to digital resources. If we count that as the starting point, then this whole world of online learning is 50+ years old. The very first computer was used to learn coding…so essentially it was the first eLearning device.

To avoid the evolution of the computer, let’s jump to what is probably one of the most well-known eLearning spaces: the workplace. Trainers are still extremely valuable people, don’t misunderstand me here. The expansion of training into the online world alongside trainers has allowed for both personally paced and hands-on eLearning.

ELearning has been around for a few decades and has been used for a while in corporate America. We then began to see an uptick in online learning in universities and colleges. Unfortunately for many people, this online college experience was continually lackluster and deathly boring.

That is until CoVID

Pre CoVID Learning
It’s strange, and sad, that it takes a pandemic for people to dedicate more time to the versatility and usefulness of online learning. Before CoVID, most people didn’t use online learning very much. This is because online learning was hardly accessible to anyone!

Learning a new database, new way of working, new way of learning, anything, only engaged with one type of learning style online: auditory or reading. Can you imagine how detrimental this was for people who needed visual aids or hands on experience?

That was the world pre-CoVID. There were still several specialists sharing their knowledge online to their communities, but we didn’t see as much of a surge as we have over the past few years …

Post CoVID Learning
No one was prepared for the absolute hellscape of online eLearning that happened during the pandemic. Students dropped out of college left and right and probably the only people who did well with the transition to online learning were those that already had experience, i.e. those already in the workforce or those fortunate enough to work remotely.

Even though I had already been well into the eLearning world at point, there was a lot that changed there too. Suddenly, there are more open resources, more free programs, more access to information, a wider group of people to reach, and so many ideas … It was overwhelming, but exciting!

As the pandemic continued, people quickly realized that things weren’t going to change for quite some time. This led to more universities adopting higher online standards and they also had to devote more time to training staff and faculty how to teach online. The same thing went for students in all grades: everyone had to adjust rapidly and figure things out in less than a month.

Once everything started to settle down and we were all able to get our bearings, it was easy to see that the world of online learning had finally updated, and changed, forever. It was kind of that next sci-fi step into a technological world.

Looking to the Future
I’m not going to claim to know what the future, let alone tomorrow has. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to think about what our next steps are. The world of eLearning is in a state of constant, and very aggressive, evolution and growth. Right now is the best time to get your foot in the door with this industry as more and more people realize that education isn’t only in a classroom.

I’d say that’s one of the biggest changes honestly: we now have communities that are aware of more online learning opportunities. They know where to get trusted information and how to find the courses that serve them in life.

So, my biggest question to you is, how does your work in eCourses take eLearning evolution to the next level?