{"id":1179,"date":"2020-06-02T00:25:51","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T00:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/tl\/online-educations-big-bang-moment\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T16:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T16:12:16","slug":"online-educations-big-bang-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/ai-technology-and-innovation\/online-educations-big-bang-moment\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Education&#8217;s Big Bang Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div\n\tid=\"tl-fpb-1\"\n\tstyle=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/06\/CTA-Online-Ed-EN.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=4096);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;min-height:500px\" class=\"tl-featured-post-banner wp-block-rbc-thought-leadership-blocks-featured-post-banner\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__gradient\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;z-index:0;pointer-events:none;\"><\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"tl-pill tl-pill--banner\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/ai-technology-and-innovation\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\tAI, Technology and Innovation\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/ai-technology-and-innovation\/online-educations-big-bang-moment\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tOnline Education&#8217;s Big Bang Moment\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t\tJohn Baker, founder of D2L, joined RBC Disruptors to talk about how Canada can take advantage of this opportunity to lead the charge.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Almost overnight, more than one billion students and nearly every school on the planet had to go online. In Canada, post-secondary institutions moved more than 2 million students online.<\/p>\n<p>Many schools were caught off-guard and are struggling through this transition. A new RBC Thought Leadership report, <a href=\"https:\/\/thoughtleadership.rbc.com\/the-future-of-post-secondary-education-on-campus-online-and-on-demand\/\"><em>The Future of Post-Secondary Education: On Campus Online and On Demand<\/em><\/a>, found that Canadian institutions historically lacked the resources or expertise to fully develop online learning. In 2019, only about 16% of university and 12% of college students learned primarily online.<\/p>\n<p>Other institutions have offered online education for years and are ready to seize this moment using the right tools, mindsets, and technologies.<\/p>\n<p>John Baker is the founder of Waterloo-based <a href=\"https:\/\/www.d2l.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">D2L<\/a>, a global software company that develops cloud-based learning management systems. He joined the <i>RBC Disruptors<\/i> podcast to talk about the mass disruption to education, what schools and institutions need to adapt, and how Canada can take advantage of this opportunity to lead the charge.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.simplecast.com\/bb172454-4cf7-4e30-bfac-4fb0056e3645?dark=false\" width=\"100%\" height=\"200px\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/ca\/podcast\/how-the-covid-19-crisis-will-transform-higher-education\/id1332711400?i=1000476458016\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/6QRXVBZDOSX5VNC4x2t7Br?si=yl6xspp8Qgu5VIHzxhikDQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spotify<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/rbc-disruptors.simplecast.com\/episodes\/how-the-covid-19-crisis-will-transform-higher-education\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Simplecast<\/a> |<\/p>\n<p>See <a href=\"https:\/\/royal-bank-of-canada-2124.docs.contently.com\/v\/how-the-covid-19-crisis-will-transform-higher-education-transcript\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">transcript<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Baker noted that the schools now thriving in the pandemic are those that were ready for fully online learning, that invested in their faculty and online tools and concepts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s not just simply putting up videos or lectures or running a meeting. It&#8217;s really thinking about how to use that medium differently,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Crucially, it&#8217;s not about transplanting classroom methods onto a screen, but designing ways to engage students digitally. This has been a focus for Athabasca University, Canada&#8217;s largest online university, said its president Neil Fassina, who also joined the podcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen online learning is designed specifically for the engagement, the interaction of an online learner, we can actually create a space that is incredibly personalized, incredibly engaging and doesn&#8217;t duplicate, but actually replaces what one might come to see in a place-based classroom,&#8221; Fassina said.<\/p>\n<p>The next few months will be critical for institutions and classrooms \u2013 from kindergarten to post-grad \u2013 as they prepare for the return of school in the fall. The future of learning promises to be a hybrid, if not completely online, experience.<\/p>\n<p>So, how should educators prepare for that future? Here are five takeaways.<\/p>\n<p><b>1.<\/b> <b>Support teachers.<\/b>Many are not yet equipped or supported for this brave new world. They need time to develop a whole new skill set, and have the tools to turn online teaching into something magical.<\/p>\n<p><b>2.<\/b> <b>Personalize the student experience.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>UX or user experience is key to all digital innovation. Online education isn&#8217;t about video lectures. It&#8217;s not Zoom. It&#8217;s about creating a unique interaction between teacher and student \u2014 and between students \u2014 and using feedback loops, including data, to constantly improve.<\/p>\n<p><b>3.<\/b> <b>Go global.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>There is a huge opportunity for Canada to leverage our strength in education and scale our digital platforms on a global basis. We need to think global campuses and global partnerships.<\/p>\n<p><b>4. <\/b><b>Think skills.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re shifting from a credential based to a skills based economy \u2014 and human skills are at their core. Coming out of the pandemic, one of those human skills \u2014 resilience \u2014 will be more valuable than ever. And students are developing resilience through online learning, along with collaboration, communication and complex problem solving.<\/p>\n<p><b>5. <\/b><b>Always on.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The future of education will be online, on campus and on demand. There are social aspects of a traditional educational environment that are still valued, and in demand. The institutions that will thrive will figure out how to blend technology and socialization \u2013 and involve students in the process.<\/p>\n<p><em>Read our latest report on the future of higher education and Canada&#8217;s opportunity to become a global player in online education.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div class=\"rds-callout-white\" style=\"border: 1px solid #c4c8cc;\">\n<div class=\"rds-gcw\">\n<div class=\"img w-mob-100\" style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-25566\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/03\/CTA-Online-Ed-EN.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"260\" height=\"173\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"rds-inline pad-hlf\" style=\"display: inline-block; vertical-align: top;\">\n<p class=\"mar-t\">The Future of Post-Secondary Education<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn tertiary\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/thoughtleadership.rbc.com\/the-future-of-post-secondary-education-on-campus-online-and-on-demand\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-dig-id=\"TNL_058\" data-dig-category=\"TNL Economics\" data-dig-action=\"mid-funnel click\" data-dig-label=\"Disruptors Online Education Blog\">Read Report<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/><style class=\"advgb-styles-renderer\">@media (min-width:782px){#tl-fpb-1 .tl-featured-post-banner__gradient{background:linear-gradient(135deg, #070707, #00356300 100%);opacity:1;}}@media (max-width:781px){#tl-fpb-1{background-image:url(https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/06\/CTA-Online-Ed-EN.jpg?quality=80&w=4096)!important;background-position:50% 50%!important;background-size:cover!important;min-height:400px!important;}#tl-fpb-1 .tl-featured-post-banner__gradient{background:linear-gradient(45deg, #070707, #00356300 100%);opacity:1;}}<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Baker, founder of D2L, joined RBC Disruptors to talk about how Canada can take advantage of this opportunity to lead the charge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":2235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"disable_focal_point":true,"featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"rbc_tl_platform":[131],"rbc_tl_newsletter":[],"rbc_tl_content_type":[132],"rbc_tl_author":[],"class_list":["post-1179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-technology-and-innovation","rbc_tl_platform-disruptors","rbc_tl_content_type-podcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - 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