Commercial Integrator May 2022 - 20

Hybrid Learning
The ONGOING
EVOLUTION of the
Hybrid-Learning
Opportunity
CI explores the contours of in-person instruction,
distance learning and how their hybridization offers
opportunity for integrators that are willing to play a
consultative role. By Dan Ferrisi
WHEN THE COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed
society in early 2020, virtually every vertical
market experienced dramatic changes.
Venues emptied of spectators; workplaces
locked their doors; and educators and students
acclimated themselves to an entirely
new approach: distance learning. As I write
this in early April, the pandemic has largely
receded from our lives: Most people aren't
masking anymore; live events, packed with
excited fans, have returned; and people are
planning those long-delayed summer vacations.
Other pandemic accommodations,
however, seem to have become enduring
societal shifts - most notably, the transition
away from knowledge workers commuting
to an office every day to do individual work.
In this, our annual Hybrid Learning Deep
Dive, we endeavor to inform CI readers
about whether hybrid learning likewise has
legs, and, if so, how integrators can capitalize
on that continuing opportunity.
Education Remains a
Prime Market Opportunity
CI consulted with Sean Wargo, senior
director of market intelligence for AVIXA,
about the size of the learning-solutions
20
Commercial Integrator MAY 2022
market and its level of demand. He pegs
global revenues for learning solutions in
'22 at just under $35 billion. Its compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) between '21
and '26, he notes, is projected to be 4.8%.
For '22, Wargo reveals, we'll be closer
to 7% or 8% growth, with 6% anticipated
in '23. " You get this pretty good wave of
investment as learning solutions adapt...
as education adapts, " he opines. In this
report, we'll seek to explore the nature
of learning-solution adaptations in the
context of the education vertical.
In CI's conversations with a range of industry
thought leaders, virtually everyone
agreed that hybrid learning represents
an enduring change and thus, is a ripe
opportunity. " We're seeing that the world
is forever changed in education now that
the need for a hybrid learning environment
has been identified, " Travis Askew, vice
president, Solutionz Atlanta, says. " Hybrid
education is not slowing down; it's a 'must
have' going forward. " Matt Boyer, director
of technology, Vistacom Inc., agrees,
saying that the pandemic created an
opportunity to test hybrid-learning technology
on a massive scale. He continues,
" ...[R]emote learning provides a new way
for learners to access information either
synchronously or asynchronously, and the
right unified collaboration technology can
foster student engagement even in hybrid
scenarios. "
AVIXA's Wargo makes the salient point
that, for decades, colleges and universities
have used their physical campuses as a
competitive advantage, with resident life,
collegiate athletics and campus amenities.
Therefore, he says, it's only natural for
higher-ed institutions to return to in-person
learning. However, Wargo clarifies, that
doesn't mean they're tapping the brakes on
hybrid-learning investments. " It's best used
as an augmentation...as another learning
style and extension, " he opines. Wargo
offers two possible approaches: content
extension, where students access materials
on their own time to supplement their
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Commercial Integrator May 2022

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