From Isolation to Impact: Why Social Learning Matters
From higher ed to corporate training, online learning has become the preferred mode for millions. It has opened doors for people who, because of work or family commitments, can’t fit in-person classes into their schedules. Learning is now possible for anyone, anywhere, at scale. Yet while technology has greatly expanded access, something still seems to be missing: meaningful progress for learners.
Even with greater accessibility, participation and completion rates in online learning aren’t keeping pace with their in-person counterparts. For instance, single-course completion rates for MOOCs (massive open online courses) hover around 10 to 15%. A similar pattern appears in degree programs, where fully online students lag behind their on-campus colleagues in graduation rates. Even in the workplace, where self-paced eLearning has grown steadily, engagement with learning content has noticeably declined over the past decade.
While access and convenience have expanded, completion rates suggest that availability alone doesn’t guarantee learning success. Why? Too often, learners are navigating the experience on their own.
The Power of Social Learning
Learners frequently disengage from online courses after losing that early spark of motivation. Without social interaction, content can feel like just another tab to close or task to check off. The responsibility for understanding falls entirely on the individual, and staying accountable or curious becomes more challenging without a community to sustain that initial enthusiasm.
Research consistently shows that active participation, peer-to-peer interaction, and collaborative problem-solving enhance learning. Students in lecture-heavy courses are roughly one-and-a-half times more likely to fail than those in environments where conversation and connection are central. The same is true online: when learners discuss, respond, and collaborate, material sticks in ways it doesn’t when consumed in isolation.
Community Anytime, Anywhere
Community fuels persistence, boosts comprehension, and strengthens retention. Without it, online learning risks becoming a static library of content rather than a vibrant, interactive environment where growth is possible.
The key isn’t the content itself, but whether learners engage with it in ways that foster connection and collaboration, even if they aren’t all online at the same time. Asynchronous discussions, shared projects, and peer feedback can all create the communal experience that drives engagement and learning outcomes. Online learning doesn’t need to happen in real time to be social; what matters is that learners have opportunities to interact and learn from one another. When learning is designed this way, it taps more fully into the human side of education, which has long been missing from current digital learning experiences.A Better Way: From Personalized Consumption to Personalized Expression
It’s important to distinguish between two different uses of personalization in learning:
Personalized consumption curates content based on learner preferences, skill levels, and behavior.
Personalized expression creates opportunities for learners to share their perspectives, engage with others, and shape the learning experience through their voice.
Most edtech platforms focus on the former. But the future of meaningful online learning depends on the latter.
Expression-based personalization turns passive learners into active participants. It invites them to articulate their views, respond to peers, and feel heard. And when done well, it connects people, not just to content but to one another.
