WOL: The Future of Online and Blended Learning

 

The face of education in the United States has vastly evolved over the last century. Perhaps one of the most monumental events in the educational landscape was the invention of the printing press. Then came the Common School Movement, which enabled publicly funded education for many people. Next came the industrial revolution, which inspired our current model of schooling, and lastly, the technological revolution. With all of the transformations that took shape as the country also took shape, arguably the greatest evolution to education has happened inside of the technological revolution. While progress during all of the other movements and revolutions was slow and steady, once the technological revolution hit, it seems that advancements in educational-based technologies developed and grew exponentially (ChatGPT, 2025).

In order to visualize all of this, I will paint a picture of what technological advancements have taken place in the field of education in just the last ten years. Gratefully, the teacher-centered models and systems of the industrial revolution are beginning to be a thing of the past, as we begin to shift toward learner-centered modes of teaching and learning, especially within AI-driven personalized learning, global collaboration, student-tailored curriculum, and immersive experiences. The latest technologies have also enabled students to become globally and culturally aware and connected, which opens up whole worlds of possibilities.

Virtual and augmented realities have made it possible for students to receive a whole student-centered experience from home or on the go. Gamification has made learning much more fun. Video-based learning, such as YouTube, has been explosive for students who are interested in learning anything about anything. During Covid 19 shutdowns, Zoom exploded as a collaborative platform in which learners could share ideas and participate in class meetings from all across the globe. And finally, instructors can even administer feedback and assessments remotely through their Learning Management Systems or other collaborative technologies.

Recently, I was reading an article about a young woman from the United States who is working to become a professional tennis player. She has travelled all over the world, and even spent a long span of time in France. I marvelled to think about how she’s being educated. Clearly her studies are done through the advancements we’ve made in educational technology, and her education can travel around with her on a mobile device or laptop. It’s mind-blowing to think this is possible, considering that twenty-five years ago this was not even imagined. When one considers this reality, it’s even more awe-inspiring to consider what else will change across the landscape over the next ten years.

I foresee Artificial Intelligence at the forefront of educational change. We’ve seen a rise of new learning theories that debunk the old ideas of behaviorism, learning styles, and rote memorization (though behaviorism is still quite prevalent in education, and isn’t going away anytime soon), to learner-centered, learning-focused educational models such as constructivism, experiential learning, self-determination theory, and connectivism. With the rise of these theories will come technologies to showcase these skills, such as interactive and collaborative experiences within the online and blended classroom and AI-adapted learning experiences which are based on the individual learner. “In technology-enabled online and blended courses, learning can be designed as an experience, part of a dynamic process, rather than a series of required tasks and assignments. Social networking and collaboration are integral components of this learning process (Conceição, S. et all, 2020).” 

I also foresee a major shift in higher education, where online and blended learning experiences will be the top choice amongst learner-consumers, and the traditional brick-and-mortar scene will all but fade into the background. This will become especially true as non-traditional students who work full-time, have families, or are building a business decide they want to get an education that easily fits into their lifestyle. I also predict that higher education degrees such as bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD’s will be pushed to the background in favor of certificate programs that can be earned online. Many higher education students are over the age of twenty-five, prefer a more affordable option for education, and need more access to workplace skills; therefore, “overall U.S. higher education enrollments in brick-and-mortar institutions continue to decline, whereas online education enrollments continue to grow (Conceição, S. et all, 2020).”  

Within those same ten years, I also foresee a shift in the attitudes of employers. Learners no longer want to spend four, eight, and twelve years collecting higher education degrees. Rather, they are searching for the opportunity to hone refined skills that relate directly to either what they are already doing or what they want to be doing. In turn, employers also want a workforce that is uniquely trained and qualified for the specific tasks they’ll be required to do on the job. Therefore, employers will finally seek employees who are certified in specific fields, rather than being overly concerned about advanced degrees.

It is more than a little exciting to envision what the future holds for education. Personally, I am invigorated to think that people who’ve been cut off or isolated from society for various reasons can now have access to anything they want to learn, and can even gain job skills they can use from the comfort of their own homes. I’m also invigorated to consider that employers may finally focus on job skills rather than book knowledge and theory which doesn’t translate to employable abilities. Adults can focus their time and money on things that matter most, and get right into the workforce almost directly after high school, if they desire. Or, they can earn certificates which relate directly to the occupations they want, and won’t have to waste time on extraneous education they’ll never use. If we look at the advancements in technology over the last ten years, it is only within the scope of our imaginations what can happen in the next ten years.

References

Conceição, Simone C. O., and Les Howles. Designing the Online Learning Experience : Evidence-Based Principles and Strategies, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/asulib-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6426893.

*OpenAI. (2025, February 24). ChatGPT. ChatGPT; OpenAI. https://chatgpt.com/

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*Note ChatGPT was consulted to create an outline for this paper