Even before the COVID-19 digital boom, digital educational content enjoyed a good number of followers and practitioners. Since March 2020, access to this type of content has attracted a larger number of followers and users interested in training to acquire or consolidate knowledge across different subjects.
To support the above, I have used the following Google Trends graph from two leading digital educational content platforms, Coursera and Udemy, which shows that, at its peak, the pandemic led to a spike in user queries for search terms identifying both brands.
What is educational content?
Educational content is that which encompasses a set of knowledge, skills, and abilities focused on achieving one or more objectives related to teaching and completing educational competencies.
Following this line, digital educational content is that which fulfills all of the above and also uses the Internet as a reference point for its display.
List of the most requested digital educational content
The types of digital educational content available are increasingly varied, the main ones being the following:
- Video tutorials.
- Podcasts.
- Ebooks and PDFs.
- Webinars.
- Online courses.
- Guides in articles.
- Studies and success stories.
- Twitter chats .
What advantages does good digital educational content offer?
The list of advantages of digital educational content is extensive, with these being the most obvious benefits:
- Ubiquity.
- Lower cost.
- Ease of performing searches.
- Multiple real-time options.
- Countless themes available.
- Constant updates.
- Democratized access to paid and free content.
- Access to content in various languages.
- Possibility of interaction.
Let’s analyze them one by one.
1.- Ubiquity
The concept of making the most of time is not what it used to be.
We still have little time, and we want to make the most of it.
Long gone are the days when we allowed ourselves to live slowly; now it seems that haste is our hallmark, and we can’t shake the feeling that if we’re not rushing everywhere, it’s because we’re wasting that scarce commodity we call time.
I won’t be the one to throw the first stone, especially since I’m the first to have to admit my own fault in this matter of going at full speed in life and getting involved in more things than I should.
In return, I want to highlight the positive aspects of the above to slow down that frenetic pace by adding a note of hope.
So, let’s reflect on this.
We have little time… that’s a fact.
We want to use it in the best way possible… another fact.
Well, we’re going to have no choice but to do things that we couldn’t do before in certain places or at specific times, and that can vary from day to day… let me explain.
The most common case is that, before, we had no choice but to wait until we got home, to class, or to a library (to give three examples) to study or access any educational content we had in our hands.
Now, thanks to that ubiquity that gives this point its title, we can learn from the subway, the bus, during a break in the park, or at any time we want or can.
Since the content can be “consumed” from many more places, we have leveraged digital educational content in our favor in the fight against time, as I have already told you.
2. Lower cost
Another undeniable fact is that, being so widespread, digital educational content is much more accessible to everyone than traditional content was or is.
This article does not intend to enter into controversy with traditional printed educational content; it simply aims to show an indisputable fact: the cost of most digital content designed to help users learn is lower.
3. Ease of performing searches
Another obvious benefit is that getting all the results when searching for a specific concept is infinitely faster and more efficient.
The most obvious example is found in ebooks in PDF format, which allow us to speed up that search without having to remember which chapter or chapters of a printed book the reference we are looking for is located in.
It should be noted that bookmarks within written content are handy, but they are still light years away from the ease and accuracy of digital search.
Many digital devices and programs allow us to add “virtual” bookmarks to our digital content to help us locate specific terms or information.
4. Multiple real-time options
By this, I mean that the same educational topic can be accessed through different content formats.
Thus, I can do it from an ebook, an article, a podcast, or a video, among others, and I can even combine different content types and formats to address the same educational topic.
5. Countless topics available
This is another great advantage of digital content for acquiring knowledge.
And there is no limit on the topics to be covered; the range of questions to learn about has no ceiling, meaning that the topics covered include all or almost all possible variations across any sector.
What does this allow?
So that companies, institutions, or professionals who offer learning opportunities through digital content do not encounter barriers when offering a wide variety of topics that users can use to complete their learning.
An unlimited audience with a pool of available material that has no limits.
6. Constant updates
Learning through digital educational materials has another advantage that we might not initially notice.
I’m referring to receiving real-time updates whenever content is modified, expanded, updated, or new concepts are added.
This is undoubtedly a huge advantage that makes digital educational content immediately win the medal and climb onto the podium of evergreen content.
We can now forget about those books that lost all or part of their value over time and became obsolete; now, having up-to-date information is more than ever a demand imposed by consumers themselves.
7. Democratized access to paid and free content
Not everyone can access paid content, and digital educational content offers alternatives.
Here, I want to make it clear that companies and professionals are not NGOs or non-profit foundations, so we shouldn’t feel guilty about offering paid content. The good thing about content on the Internet is that it allows us to play with the free and paid models.
Thus, the offer of freely accessible content is available to anyone who requests it, but they can also consider paying for specific content to satisfy their knowledge needs.
A clear example of this is the famous MOOC courses, which combine free and paid learning through different digital content.
You can learn more about this topic in “ Why are MOOC courses an option not to be missed? ”.
8. Access to content in multiple languages
We live in a global society that is becoming increasingly interconnected, which is why it is imperative that consumers can access digital content in the languages they want to learn.
Here, when I want to learn about specific topics, I search directly for English-speaking sources.
This tactic has a strong argument, such as the lack of references to Spanish-language content on specific topics, or the pioneering trend of English-language sources addressing issues of interest, new studies, or innovative practices.
With digital content, we can access sources from leading professionals and companies worldwide, no matter the subject we want to learn about.
9. Possibility of interaction
Previously, educational content could only be discussed in face-to-face groups that had limitations in terms of number and location.
Now, digital educational content allows us to discuss a topic in our own language or another, with someone who is in the same city or on the other side of the world, X time zones away.
The possibilities for clarifying doubts, completing topics, or discussing digital educational content are limitless and highly valued by students, who include them among the significant challenges of online training.
Why are digital educational contents trending?
To answer this question, I will continue to rely on the data from the Google study that I just shared with you.
Some key points are shown in the following image, which presents the study’s main conclusions and reflects the current mindset in the educational landscape.
More than 50% of those surveyed say they choose the online modality for their training.
The issue of continuing education, regardless of the student’s age, is now taken for granted and given its due; far removed is the romantic and short-sighted view that studies are limited to specific age ranges and periods in life.
Furthermore, knowledge updates have regained their rightful place, and increasingly, students and professionals are aware that we must dedicate time to ensuring that our knowledge does not become outdated.
Both statements are clearly corroborated by the data from the study shown in the following image, specifically in the chapter on professional development, where 46% of respondents opt for the aforementioned continuous training and 39% do so by championing knowledge updates.
It’s important to pause briefly to analyze that 38% of those surveyed believe that any improvement in their career path depends on training.
Finally, I want to draw your attention to the three figures in the specialization section, which only reinforce what has already been said about the shift in mindset toward lifelong learning.
