Latest eLearning Trends: Mobile, Micro, AR, VR & Games
Since the world is beginning to move on from the traditional mode of transferring knowledge, we have seen online learning trying to play catch-up and the truth is that it’s winning. Online learning, or eLearning, is going through a period of significant transformation, and lots of companies are aware of this, that is the reason companies are beginning to leverage on this undeniably growth and power of eLearning in 2024.
Businesses are also beginning to invest massively in Learning Management Systems (LMS) and other educational tools, it was reported that 77 percent of the companies in the U.S.A provide online professional development for their staff, this is to produce competent employees, that can withstand the constantly evolving industry and also evolve with it. And with online learning emerging as a much more affordable solution to higher education, more and more people are seeking private loans for school.
If you are going to teach kids online, some of these trends I am about to share have been trending recently and I think that they are worth sharing. Here are some of the already trending ideas that isn’t going away any time soon because they will continue to add value.
mLearning or Mobile Learning
With smartphones really getting ‘smarter’ and better, we see that usage of smartphones keeps getting higher every day. This is a great advantage in getting quality education and schools and companies are now making their eLearning platform to be accessible by using mobile phones. The same study from about also reported that 67 percent of organizations are offering mLearning opportunities.
Microlearning
Microlearning is a way of teaching and delivering content to learners in small amounts of information. The usage of this method began as a backing for the traditional mode of learning, however, 2017 saw the surge in organizations using this mode of teaching. Scientists showed people can only focus on something for a maximum of 20 minutes, due to these factors 2018 will continue to see this momentum grow exponentially with more training programs using the power of microlearning.
Informal Learning
Informal learning is not a new idea. Innovative people in the learning and development industry have harnessed the power of this previously untapped training resource by incorporating it into eLearning. By offering native content and collaborative tools, organizations can provide a well-rounded approach that works better for learners. All interactions and ideas can be tracked and recorded for quick access later, making them even more valuable as a reference tool.
Personalization
It’s a known fact that we all learn in different manners in our own unique way and learners will like to take their unique path to proficiency. Personalized learning is all about using surveys and assessments to determine the interest and knowledge depth of their learners.
Organizations can now use these data to create unique learning path for their learners. Instant feedbacks must also be collected from the learners so as to redirect them to other useful aspects of the training that may not have been the recommended path.
Curation
Due to the amount of information present on the internet, it may be difficult to know what information is reliable. Scrutinizing information to know which is actually useful can be time consuming. This is where content curation comes in. The curator is an expert that scrutinize data so as to get the useful ones to create a learning path that suit the learners’ objectives.
Serious Gamification
Gamification has been around for years, but only recently became a big player among LMS features. Some games are considered serious games because users can do more than just play. They can build businesses and economies. This idea has also been utilized to further human knowledge. Project discovery launched in 2015 use the serious gaming concept, in which players can act as citizen scientists by categorizing real astronomical data and genetic samples for astronomers and geneticists. 2018 will see more such games produced.
AR/VR
Immersive tech like Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have been high on everyone’s learning and technology trends lists for a few years. With AR/VR, you can elevate your e-learning by using video to drop learners into a realistic scenario. With a tool like Articulate Storyline 360, you can add hotspots, layers, and triggers to turn a passive video into an interactive experience. Using virtual reality gives your learners opportunities to view tips in the context of a real-world situation, or prompts them to make choices, experience consequences, and see in-context feedback.
Although, the eLearning industry is stringent and isn’t always quick to embrace trends. Due to the rapid rise of the people and organizations embracing the ideas of eLearning, professionals and educators in the real eLearning industries are putting these ideas into action. This year and the next promises to continue that trend with new concepts and improved methods. Businesses should consider reassessing their training approach to take advantage of these developments, which could lead to better quality learners.