Synopsis

The education sector is shaping up as a leader in the rapidly evolving digital society. Large numbers of schools and institutions have embarked on tele-education extensions to their curriculum. Some are perhaps not particularly high-tech but, in general, great beginnings have been made. Video-based communication stimulated by high-speed networks, such as the emerging NBN and the well-established Education and Research Networks, are linking up an increasing number of schools and other educational institutions.

The growth in e-books has been greatly stimulated by national government initiative to hand out laptops to schoolchildren as well as the global One Laptop Per Child project.

The digital world continues to influence the growth and development of e-education, with a number of trends emerging in this sector. Cloud computing is beginning to be implemented for use at an operational level, resulting in potential infrastructure cost reductions and administration time. Mobile technology is also beginning to be utilised as an education tool, particularly by academic and healthcare organizations. 

There is some evidence that while overall spending on enterprise training has declined in light of the economic downturn; spending on e-learning has grown, with more spending being directed towards this learning method than instructor-led training.

This report provides an overview of e-education and identifies key trends. The report is designed to provide current observations which may assist investors, analysts and industry participants in making investment and business decisions. 

Latest developments:

E-learning market continues to grow in face of economic downturn; recent developments include use of cloud computing and mobile technology for e-education.