In our technology-driven work oriented world, we have a busy and rapidly changing workplace where elearning should dominate. We are always online, hence our work becomes relentless and real-time. We must continue learning and become lifelong learners. It’s important for companies to provide a learning culture. Every company is interested in improving performance on the job and elearning can help them do that in a cost-effective manner.
Since employees across varied industries need to meet changing requirements, processes and to continually update and improve their skills to stay productive and not fall behind, it is key to know about the elearning trends of 2017.
1) Gamification and Games
Gamification and games are more than just buzzwords in the elearning industry. A serious gamer may prefer to play a quick game on their smartphone or tablet while waiting on something or someone while a non-gamer is much less likely to ever play a game on the computer while at work.
According to Markets and Markets, the compound annual growth rate of the global gamification market is 46.3%, growing to $11.10 billion USD from a mere $1.65 billion in 2015.
According to the Entertainment Software Association, 63% of all US households are home to at least one person who plays video games regularly (3 hours or more per week).
Games are a great way for organizations to provide a more engaging, memorable and motivating way to teach necessary industry knowledge to their employees that will help them grow professionally and succeed. And, this trend will gain significant pace in 2017.
2) Efficiency – Speed – Relevance – Usability
Learners need to learn quickly and efficiently. They want to skim and find what they don’t know and what they need to know. They want to absorb relevant information quickly and efficiently. Since learners are facing time constraint, hence the demand for elearning software that is user-friendly will rise in 2017.
3) Content
In 2017, Learning will become more personalized to meet the demands of today’s busy lifestyles. Collecting the right information is one thing and distributing it in the best and most easily accessible way is another.
Since learners want to learn anywhere, anytime, hence accessing learning content on tablet and smartphones is necessary. Today’s learner will not accept barriers, obstacles and rather insist on high-quality relevant content and ease of accessibility.
4) Data Analytics
We need more than test scores and must have superior tracking and analytics. Integrating xAPI, adding a data scientist to the L&D team is going to be a gap that is expected to be filled in 2017. xAPI can assist L&D teams by providing a more holistic approach to measuring performance results. The focus will be on measuring what matters most, real and offer meaningful results.
5) Chatbots
Chatbots will become more common in 2017 as they become more predictive, engaging and personalized. Chatbots will contribute to just-in-time support.
6) Instructor Led Training (ILD)
According to Brandon Hall Study, learning via online medium typically takes 40-60% less time than learning the same material in a traditional classroom.
Elearning or using a learning management system (LMS) increases retention rates by 25-60% while retention rates of face to face are very low at 8-10% in comparison, stated the Research Institute of America.
Believe it or not, ILD is still around and the industry is being forced to become very creative. It is no longer simply the traditional lecture style. It is now interactive and gamified in some way or other.
7) Storytelling
Storytelling as part of the learning strategy will assume relevance in 2017 as it helps incorporate a wide variety of meaningful scenarios. This creates a stronger impact and inspires lasting behavior changes on learners.
8) Mobile
Today, people are expected to learn and retain a large amount of information. Learners need to utilize their time well and having mobile reinforcement and mobile access to training allows them to learn anytime, anywhere and also on the go utilizing wait times which would otherwise be downtime. Hence, the demand for mobile learning platforms will grow at a rapid scale in 2017.
9) Video
Do you remember those training libraries filled with VHS tapes? Today, we still utilize video-based training just in a different form that benefits us both in our personal and professional lives.
People use mobile devices as well as computers with WiFi or 4G/3G speeds to use for video-based training.
There has been an increased use of videos in corporate training and for 2017, we foresee a continued surge in the use of videos for both learning and performance support. Interactive videos have even better value. There are different ways to make them interactive such as having learners watch for a specific action in a video, note their observations and then compare it with an expert’s observations or have decision point questions or embed interactivity to achieve the desired learning activity and result.
Some Interesting Facts to know about elearning
- With elearning, learners learn nearly 5x more material without increasing time spent in training said IBM. It also said that every dollar invested in online training results in $30 in productivity because employees are able to use their skills without any delay.
- According to the Molly Fletcher Company, organizations that use elearning achieve an 18% boost in employee engagement.
- Companies of all sizes are increasing their use of eLearningand more than 41.7% of global Fortune 500 Companies already use some form of technology to train their employees.
- 72% of organizations believe that e-learning helps them increase their competitive edge by giving them the opportunity to keep up with changes, according to data published by net.
- The Business Impact of Next-Generation eLearning, 2011 claimed that the revenue generated per employee is 26% higher for companies that offer training using technology, including elearning.
Conclusion
With so many interesting facts, it’s really hard to comprehend why any organization would not want to consider using eLearning to train its workforce. It is time for organizations to help their employees put their best foot forward to make their businesses succeed.
Author Bio: Kamy Anderson is an ed-tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He has 7+ years of experience working with ProProfs learning management system and other eLearning authoring tools, which has given him a hands-on experience of the latest course authoring software and an exclusive insight into the eLearning industry.
