E-learning and digital education in the United States - statistics & facts
Thanks to technology, American students now have access to a digital toolbox – ranging from online courses and textbooks to educational websites, videos, games, quizzes, and even artificial intelligence (AI) – from which to enhance their learning process. It has also become common for educational institutions in the United States to rely on educational technology, or edtech, to monitor student activity, facilitate course management, report grades, and promote communication between educators, students, and their families. Over the last few years, the use of edtech increased significantly; as schools shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, students nationwide had to resort to taking classes online, making the use of a digital platform essentially necessary for learning. Post-pandemic, it seems evident that edtech has a prominent future in America’s colleges and classrooms. As of 2022, many students remain enrolled in higher education courses either exclusively or partially online and the average number of edtech tools accessed in K-12 schools during the 2023-24 school year reached over 2,700 per district, a vast increase from the 895 edtech tools accessed per district in 2018.
Simultaneously, the recent popularity of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, has prompted interest in the use of such technology in the classroom; in 2024, almost all U.S. state agencies agreed that they are seeing increased interest in guidance or policy around the use of AI in the classroom compared to the previous year. Consequently, the United States has been experiencing a surge in demand for digital learning. Projections show that the global e-learning market is forecast to reach almost 400 billion U.S. dollars by 2026 and the United States is one of the top countries in terms of revenue generated from online learning platforms.
According to a survey conducted during the 2023-24 school year, the most accessed edtech by K-12 students and teachers in the U.S. were sites and resources, followed by supplemental platforms, such as online activities, games, and research generally used to aid individual learning. Results further revealed that the top site or resource used that year was YouTube, while Epic! was ranked as the top supplemental platform. A 2023 study also found more than half of K-12 teachers to believe that the biggest impact of edtech for students was on self-paced learning, extension and enrichment, and learning tools for accessibility, suggesting that edtech may help to enable learning for a diverse range of students. In addition, 68 percent of K-12 teachers highlighted the need for more edtech to support students who require individualized education plans to meet their learning needs, with over 30 percent also agreeing that there could be more edtech resources to promote student mental health and support students with physical disabilities.
However, according to a survey conducted during the 2021-22 school year, K-12 teachers found challenges with incorporating digital instructional materials into the classroom, including teaching skills that can't be learned via technology and not receiving enough guidance from the school. The use of technology in K-12 education has also prompted cybersecurity and privacy concerns that children may face greater risks by using the Internet and providing their data online. In addition, the increasing popularity of AI tools has caused concern for educators who fear that such technology will ultimately make their jobs more difficult in three years’ time, particularly as most of them had not been given any instructions on how AI tools should be used within the classroom. Data from college campuses paint a similar picture; although 65 percent of undergraduate students in 2023 agreed that AI will improve how students learn.
While over half of surveyed college students in 2023 believed that digital learning has made access to education beyond high school better for all students, supporting the theory that edtech helps to promote learning for a diverse range of students, the data suggests that they remain unconvinced of the quality of online education compared to traditional on-campus programs. Although over 30 percent agreed that online programs have improved geographic convenience and flexibility of academic offerings, a similar share said that fully online programs have worsened the quality of instruction and worsened students’ communication and collaboration skills. In addition, a 2022 survey found 43 percent of college students to believe that the quality of online instruction was worse than that of in-person instruction.
Studies have also shown that the majority of U.S. college students rarely preferred coursework to be conducted online and in 2023, only seven percent of college students strongly agreed that it was worthwhile for borrowers to take out loans for a higher education that is predominantly online. However, the most common reason for online college selection in 2023 was the affordability of the program, suggesting that it may not always be necessary to take out student loans for some online programs. In that same year, 42 percent of online college students said that the reason they chose online degree programs was because existing commitments, such as work and family, did not allow for attendance in campus-based courses. Consequently, online programs may provide a more flexible and affordable option for students who may have other responsibilities outside of school.
Simultaneously, the recent popularity of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, has prompted interest in the use of such technology in the classroom; in 2024, almost all U.S. state agencies agreed that they are seeing increased interest in guidance or policy around the use of AI in the classroom compared to the previous year. Consequently, the United States has been experiencing a surge in demand for digital learning. Projections show that the global e-learning market is forecast to reach almost 400 billion U.S. dollars by 2026 and the United States is one of the top countries in terms of revenue generated from online learning platforms.
Edtech in K-12 education
According to a survey conducted during the 2023-24 school year, the most accessed edtech by K-12 students and teachers in the U.S. were sites and resources, followed by supplemental platforms, such as online activities, games, and research generally used to aid individual learning. Results further revealed that the top site or resource used that year was YouTube, while Epic! was ranked as the top supplemental platform. A 2023 study also found more than half of K-12 teachers to believe that the biggest impact of edtech for students was on self-paced learning, extension and enrichment, and learning tools for accessibility, suggesting that edtech may help to enable learning for a diverse range of students. In addition, 68 percent of K-12 teachers highlighted the need for more edtech to support students who require individualized education plans to meet their learning needs, with over 30 percent also agreeing that there could be more edtech resources to promote student mental health and support students with physical disabilities.
However, according to a survey conducted during the 2021-22 school year, K-12 teachers found challenges with incorporating digital instructional materials into the classroom, including teaching skills that can't be learned via technology and not receiving enough guidance from the school. The use of technology in K-12 education has also prompted cybersecurity and privacy concerns that children may face greater risks by using the Internet and providing their data online. In addition, the increasing popularity of AI tools has caused concern for educators who fear that such technology will ultimately make their jobs more difficult in three years’ time, particularly as most of them had not been given any instructions on how AI tools should be used within the classroom. Data from college campuses paint a similar picture; although 65 percent of undergraduate students in 2023 agreed that AI will improve how students learn.
Is online college worth the cost?
While over half of surveyed college students in 2023 believed that digital learning has made access to education beyond high school better for all students, supporting the theory that edtech helps to promote learning for a diverse range of students, the data suggests that they remain unconvinced of the quality of online education compared to traditional on-campus programs. Although over 30 percent agreed that online programs have improved geographic convenience and flexibility of academic offerings, a similar share said that fully online programs have worsened the quality of instruction and worsened students’ communication and collaboration skills. In addition, a 2022 survey found 43 percent of college students to believe that the quality of online instruction was worse than that of in-person instruction.
Studies have also shown that the majority of U.S. college students rarely preferred coursework to be conducted online and in 2023, only seven percent of college students strongly agreed that it was worthwhile for borrowers to take out loans for a higher education that is predominantly online. However, the most common reason for online college selection in 2023 was the affordability of the program, suggesting that it may not always be necessary to take out student loans for some online programs. In that same year, 42 percent of online college students said that the reason they chose online degree programs was because existing commitments, such as work and family, did not allow for attendance in campus-based courses. Consequently, online programs may provide a more flexible and affordable option for students who may have other responsibilities outside of school.
