Is the Future of Education Digital? Evidence from the Impact of Online Learning on Digital and Non-Digital Supplemental Learning Products

36 Pages Posted: 12 Jan 2023 Last revised: 22 Jun 2024

See all articles by Karthik Babu Nattamai Kannan

Karthik Babu Nattamai Kannan

Southern Methodist University (SMU) - Information Technology and Operations Management Department (ITOM)

Wayne Taylor

Southern Methodist University (SMU) - Marketing Department

Date Written: June 20, 2024

Abstract

The rapid growth of online learning and the adoption of digital learning products to supplement regular school curricula have popularized online learning among K-12 students. However, the impact of this rise in online learning on the use of digital and non-digital Supplemental Learning Products (SLPs) is an open empirical question. SLPs represent a significant and growing market, with students increasingly utilizing these products to augment their public education. In this paper, we partner with a large U.S. educational platform to analyze demand for their digital and non-digital products from 2019 through 2020. Using exogenous shocks to online learning induced by state-level mandates during COVID-19, we find that as online learning increases in public schools, demand for non-digital SLPs increases while demand for digital SLPs remains flat. Supporting analyses suggest that increases in demand for non-digital SLPs did not negatively impact educational outcomes. The results indicate that non-digital SLPs allow students to cope with the adverse effects of screen time associated with increased use of digital products. We find that these effects are moderated by demographic variables and provide preliminary insights related to educational equity. Our findings offer substantive implications for both firms in the educational space and policymakers: as public schools increasingly move lessons online, there will likely be an increased demand for non-digital SLPs (books) that can be consumed offline.

Keywords: economics of digitization, online learning, EdTech, difference-in-differences, school closures, learning loss, COVID-19

JEL Classification: M15, M31, M38, L82, L86, O38

Suggested Citation

Nattamai Kannan, Karthik Babu and Taylor, Wayne, Is the Future of Education Digital? Evidence from the Impact of Online Learning on Digital and Non-Digital Supplemental Learning Products (June 20, 2024). SMU Cox School of Business Research Paper No. 23-02, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4173547 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4173547

Karthik Babu Nattamai Kannan (Contact Author)

Southern Methodist University (SMU) - Information Technology and Operations Management Department (ITOM) ( email )

Dallas, TX 75275
United States

Wayne Taylor

Southern Methodist University (SMU) - Marketing Department ( email )

United States

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