MEASURING the impact of the massive shift of educational projects online, international educational technology (edtech) platform Refocus conducted a research related to online learning and digital profession acquisition.
Refocus, in partnership with Semrush—a large platform for analyzing Google searches and marketing companies—conducted research to determine why the pandemic affected education in Southeast Asia, and formulated the main edtech trends in the region that have predominated way back and continues to develop.
Although there has been a growing trend toward online education among Southeast Asian, there was still a strong demand to continue using web-based platforms. For instance, in March 2022, such requests in Vietnam reached a record-high for the first time since October 2021, and in the Philippines since March 2022. In Indonesia, there was a strong surge in the “work from home” keywords, with a growth of 132.6 percent in September.
“Based on these data, we can conclude that despite the lull in the pandemic, remote jobs will remain in the region next year,” it said.
Furthermore, the study noted a significant increase in interest in telecommuting in September 2022 among Indonesians. “Taking into consideration this indicator and the current popularity of hybrid work [a combination of online and offline], the trend will continue in 2023,” the study said.
According to the search queries, Refocus noted the growing number of “digital nomads.” For example, in Singapore, there were 880 such queries in February 2022; 1,000 in June; 1,300 in July; and a record of 1,900 in August.
“People are looking for more opportunities to combine work and travel, and edtech is making it more accessible,” Refocus said. “So in 2023, we should expect an even greater increase in demand for this way of life.”
Based on these trends, Refocus said edtech certainly will not cease evolving in the region, saying its development has enabled more people to access it more conveniently from anywhere in the world.
“Many platforms offer courses on modern information technology professions; and given that it is possible to learn such complex skills from home, we can consider that edtech will continue to develop and prevail in Southeast Asia in the next few years,” Refocus said. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes