Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data
Objective: Current evidence suggests that the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted teaching and learning models. This study aims to quantify trends in public interest in different forms of education and associated online search behaviors during the pandemic....
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Kazimierz Wielki University
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Education, Health and Sport |
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| Online Access: | https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/57390 |
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| author | Qinyi Tan Ziqi Zhang Luyan Teng |
| author_facet | Qinyi Tan Ziqi Zhang Luyan Teng |
| author_sort | Qinyi Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Objective: Current evidence suggests that the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted teaching and learning models. This study aims to quantify trends in public interest in different forms of education and associated online search behaviors during the pandemic. Furthermore, it seeks to "nowcast" potential future scenarios concerning the evolution of online education.
Methods: Google Trends, a publicly available database, was employed to systematically and quantitatively analyze search query data for key terms related to online education. This study involved querying multiple search volumes for online education, identifying the most commonly used terms, and extracting data from the United States for the period between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2023. The results are presented using the Google metric 'search volume index' in relative terms.
Results: The public search interest for keywords related to online education experienced a significant surge starting in March 2020, followed by a gradual decline beginning in August 2020. When comparing the average relative search volume (RSV) changes for terms such as "online school," "online education," "online teaching," and "online learning" in the five months preceding and following March 1, 2020, the average search volumes increased by 46.6%, 30.7%, 103.8%, and 188.3%, respectively. Online search interest in e-learning software demonstrated a similar trend. Among platforms like Zoom, Skype, WebEx, and Google Meet, the majority of Google users displayed a clear preference for Zoom.
Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public interest in online education surged to unprecedented levels, potentially reshaping teaching and learning practices for the foreseeable future. This suggests that the integration and use of digital media in education hold significant potential and offer considerable room for further development.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f59e07c7e98e4a7b9c66a3445fcbac80 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2391-8306 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Kazimierz Wielki University |
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| series | Journal of Education, Health and Sport |
| spelling | doaj-art-f59e07c7e98e4a7b9c66a3445fcbac802024-12-30T08:16:23ZengKazimierz Wielki UniversityJournal of Education, Health and Sport2391-83062024-12-017210.12775/JEHS.2024.72.57390Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends DataQinyi Tan0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2291-4554Ziqi Zhang1https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4958-4576Luyan Teng2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7673-3217Center for Studies of Education and Psychology of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, ChinaCenter for Studies of Education and Psychology of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China, Southwest University, Chongqing, ChinaCollege of International Education, Sichuan International Studies University, Chongqing, China Objective: Current evidence suggests that the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted teaching and learning models. This study aims to quantify trends in public interest in different forms of education and associated online search behaviors during the pandemic. Furthermore, it seeks to "nowcast" potential future scenarios concerning the evolution of online education. Methods: Google Trends, a publicly available database, was employed to systematically and quantitatively analyze search query data for key terms related to online education. This study involved querying multiple search volumes for online education, identifying the most commonly used terms, and extracting data from the United States for the period between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2023. The results are presented using the Google metric 'search volume index' in relative terms. Results: The public search interest for keywords related to online education experienced a significant surge starting in March 2020, followed by a gradual decline beginning in August 2020. When comparing the average relative search volume (RSV) changes for terms such as "online school," "online education," "online teaching," and "online learning" in the five months preceding and following March 1, 2020, the average search volumes increased by 46.6%, 30.7%, 103.8%, and 188.3%, respectively. Online search interest in e-learning software demonstrated a similar trend. Among platforms like Zoom, Skype, WebEx, and Google Meet, the majority of Google users displayed a clear preference for Zoom. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public interest in online education surged to unprecedented levels, potentially reshaping teaching and learning practices for the foreseeable future. This suggests that the integration and use of digital media in education hold significant potential and offer considerable room for further development. https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/57390Google TrendsOnline educationSearch engineInfodemiologyDate mining |
| spellingShingle | Qinyi Tan Ziqi Zhang Luyan Teng Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data Journal of Education, Health and Sport Google Trends Online education Search engine Infodemiology Date mining |
| title | Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data |
| title_full | Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data |
| title_fullStr | Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data |
| title_short | Increasing Public Interest in Online Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: An Analysis of Google Trends Data |
| title_sort | increasing public interest in online education during the covid 19 pandemic in the united states an analysis of google trends data |
| topic | Google Trends Online education Search engine Infodemiology Date mining |
| url | https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/57390 |
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