Chatterbox Nation: How Students Video Chat in Education
Consumer communication channels have grown enormously in the past decade. So too have consumer expectations. Today, consumers interact across several devices, channels, and contexts. And they expect to engage with businesses on those same channels—from SMS to Facebook Messenger or video chat.
In the increasingly competitive education industry, where students have more learning options than ever before, providers must embrace the communication channels of today and meet students when, where, and how they prefer.
Stay Ahead of Student Expectations With the Next Big Communication Channel
For the past 6 years, TokBox (now a part of Nexmo, the Vonage API platform) has followed one of the fastest-growing communication trends: consumer-to-business video chat.
In our consumer report—Video Chatterbox Nation—we track the growth of video chat from 2012, when it was used by less than half of Americans, to today, where it is fast becoming an equal channel to voice calls, not only between friends and family but with businesses too—including education providers.
Today 1 in 3 Americans video chat once a week
Nearly 1 in 3 Americans video chat with a business—a 3x leap in 3 years
Are you meeting student expectations for video chat? In Video Chatterbox Nation Education, we examine the state of live video in the education industry to help you better understand student demand. For anyone focused on digital transformation in education, the findings provide deep insights into consumer behavior, expectations, and a future outlook.
Live Video in Education
Learning is no longer confined to the walls of the classroom. Online learning, also known as eLearning, is fast becoming the future of education and it's on course to become a $325 billion global industry by 2025.
Live video is one of the digital communication technologies at the center of the online learning revolution—connecting students with teachers and schools from anywhere in the world.
Education providers of all kinds are embracing video to enhance existing learning experiences or reimagine entirely new ones. From on-demand language learning mobile apps like Cambly, to digital universities such as Minerva, online tutoring platforms including Chegg, and companies such as RevolveRobotics who are making interactive learning accessible for everyone using telepresence robotics.
Live video-based learning is not only helping education providers engage, retain, and attract a global student base. With live video, expert teachers and instructors can be called upon to lecture remotely from any continent. Lessons can be recorded to create rich sharable and reusable educational content. And, live video can reduce the costs of in-class education which continues to rise. But what is driving student adoption of live video?
Why Students Want to Video Chat
Students are busy. Many balance study with full-time jobs, families, and other commitments. The modern student wants a flexible, convenient education that fits into their schedule—without disrupting their lives. However, despite all the convenience of online enrollment, personalization and interactivity are still fundamental to the learning experience. So, how can providers create all the personalized interactivity of a classroom in an online environment?
Our research shows that consumers choose to video chat because it creates a more personal experience compared to other channels. This presents a huge opportunity for educators to create personalized and interactive learning experiences using live video, while also delivering accessible, flexible education.
How Do Students Video Chat in Education?
From online tutoring to virtual classrooms, exam proctoring, and telepresence robotics—here is a look at how students of all ages are already video chatting in education, and where they want to chat next:
Nearly 1 in 4 people have used video chat for online tutoring
1 in 3 people would like to use live video to speak with a tutor remotely, such as through a language learning app or an education platform
Nearly 1 in 4 people have already used video chatting in a virtual classroom setting, and 1 in 3 are interested
Mobile is the preferred device for video chat in education
Are You Meeting Student Demand for Video Chat?
To stay relevant, institutions need to be ready to meet student demand for video chat—and they need secure, reliable technology to achieve it at scale.
Are you building a new education service from the ground up? Or adding live video to complement the traditional classroom? It's now easier than ever to seamlessly embed live video into any learning environment. Find out how you can add interactive video to your web and mobile education apps with our live video APIs.
To see how Cambly uses live video for online language tutoring, plus learn the 5 rules education providers must follow to make live video a success, read the full report here: Video Chatterbox Nation: Education.
Chatterbox Nation is a series of posts where we explore how consumers are using live video chat across several key industries including education, healthcare, and financial services.
