Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a boost to online education. I’m interested in the topic because I’ve co-founded an online Business English course (www.learnbusinessenglish.net) and I’ve co-written about the interaction of AI and seniors for a recent best-selling book (“SeniorITy: how AI and tech can enhance senior living”). So, AI and online education brings these two interests together.

What I’ve learnt from my research is that online courses (in our case an online course for Business English) is one of the best ways to drive economic and wage growth and social cohesion. People, who would otherwise drop out of higher education, are prepared to take up online learning and complete an online course. Older adults, in particular, who are often not interested in traditional education, are more likely to embark on this type of course too.

Across the globe, statistics show that undergraduate enrolment is falling in traditional education but is rising for non-traditional education, especially in the higher education sector. Increasingly, institutions around the world are offering online courses so that students can learn from anywhere, in their own time. I can enrol for courses in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, for example. Hopping on an aeroplane so that you can do everything face-to-face in-house is no longer necessary. Virtual interaction, which can bring its own challenges, will do. That is the beauty of our online Business English course. Students of any age can login to our course and enhance their skill set. They can learn about business as well as learning Business English. (www.learnbusinessenglish.net)

How to get the most out of an online course.

Although online education can be useful and powerful, it is important to know how to get the most out of an online platform, especially with the rise in the importance of AI and its role in online education. As a result of the Covid pandemic, online education has taken on a new dimension, especially in China. Everywhere, and in China in particular, it’s become more acceptable to complete a university degree online. Research has taken on a whole new dimension, especially with increased use of  hyperlinks. AI tools have helped, including such tools as Gradescope, which relies on a combination of machine learning (ML) and AI to make it easier to grade, saving teachers and educators time and energy. Students who are not academically inclined, who may find academia is not for them such as people who are dyslexic, can transcribe using speech recognition software. Then there are chatbots, collaboration software, and different ways of learning that could be incorporated into online learning platforms to make them even more effective and efficient. Interactive strategies too need to be employed when students are embarking on an online course.

In fact, statistics show that in the traditional learning space, “since 2020, some 1.23 million undergraduate students have disappeared from American colleges and universities, a 4 per cent decline.”

In the US, enrolment rates have been declining for traditional courses. In a research report dated 17 May 2023 by Deloitte entitled: “Trend No. 1: College enrolment reaches its peak”, it states that enrolment rates have been declining in the US for generations. “Enrolment of traditional students has been falling for more than a decade, especially among men, putting pressure both on the enrolment pipeline and on the work ecosystem it feeds.^”.  Now, India and China are predicted to surpass the US “as the  front runners in educated populations within the next decade or so”, it states. The researchers believe that traditional campus teaching has probably “reached its peak”.

Using AI in language learning

Greater interactivity with teachers and tutors is encouraged when teaching online, as is the greater use of interactive quizzes. The learning of grammar in online courses can be difficult because people get discouraged and it gets boring. To overcome this challenge, new ways of interacting between students and teachers need to be deployed, such as by developing more quizzes for example. This is something we have done at www.learnbusinessenglish.net. There are many interactive quizzes and questions to keep students engaged. We have also overcome the challenge of keeping grammar interesting by requiring students to have an understanding of basic grammar before they embark on a Business English course. In this way, students are able to embed their grammar knowledge by embarking on quizzes and exercises at a higher level than an elementary English course.

For more information go to www.learnbusinessenglish.net