Next-gen eLearning at Your Workplace: The Key Elements

The term ‘eLearning’ first came into the limelight in 1999 in Los Angeles, amid a seminar on Computer Based Training (CBT). Even with limited Internet access to the general public at the time, training course developers (primarily programmers and IT experts) managed to create eLearning courseware accessible through the intranet, CD-ROM, and – to a lesser extent – a few websites. However, next-gen eLearning is primed to take off, with rapid communication available to the public and cloud-based learning on the rise. We’ll discuss what it takes to produce next-generation eLearning in this article.

What Are the Elements of Next-gen eLearning?

The next-gen eLearning will take a holistic approach to learning rather than focusing on singular ideas like learning outcomes or course completion. As a result, the guiding principles for a future-focused eLearning environment will be more eclectic and derived from a cross-pollination of diverse educational perspectives, such as cognitive constructivism, behaviorism, and socio-constructivism.

Let’s now first go through the significant characteristics of next-generation learners before diving into what the L&D teams must do to produce next-gen eLearning courses:

Dynamic and Concise

This implies that your classes must be responsive to your students’ changing demands and schedules. Learners may expect assignment submissions via social media postings or text messaging to be accepted in the future. Also, the modern employee faces time crunches, which means you’ll have to create brief courses that are to the point.

No Stereotypes

The contemporary learner will want their eLearning to be more than the text-heavy, cluttered approach that most courses now take. Instead, you’ll need to create courses that can be tailored to the needs of individual students.

On-the-go Learning

This implies mobile, on-demand, anytime, anywhere courses that work across various platforms (desktops, cellphones, tablets, and TVs) and feature seamless transitions — for example, starting a session on a smartphone, continuing on the office laptop, and finishing on a tablet at home.

Well-rounded Training

Holistic learning means that you will need to include more cross-platform content in your courses, such as video, games, TV, simulations, and audio.

When designing the guiding principles that will help you produce next-gen eLearning, keep all of the following features in mind. While some of today’s online learning has begun to incorporate some of these aspects, course makers are increasingly opting for specialty methods to course building. Regrettably, that strategy might not work.

To give students a one-stop, comprehensive learning experience, the next generation of learners will anticipate increased collaboration and integration across various components of their courses, such as traditional learning with social media platforms.

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Significant Trends that Will Shape the Next-gen eLearning Framework

In the coming years, eLearning as we know it will alter dramatically. That’s because as technology advances, so will changes in social behavior, which will influence how learners consume training content.

When building next-generation eLearning courses, keep the following trends and ideas in mind:

Micro-learning

Time will be one of the major constraints for the next generation of learners. As a result, eLearning will have to be lean and light, with content ingested in small chunks.

Social Learning

For the information, videos, news feeds, and live streaming events used in social learning, the respective eLearning courseware will need to be far more diverse. Your eLearning content will need to be available on various social media sites.

Integration Capabilities

The integration of communication tools with today’s eLearning platforms is restricted. Integrated content via audio, media, and video is expected to be included in next-gen eLearning expectations.

Additional Content Types

Organizations will need to seriously consider Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) as additional eLearning options with workforces scattered across geographical locations.

Multiple Platforms

Instead of only intranet or private cloud-based corporate infrastructure, the content will need to be built for sharing across public and open forums.

Measurable Learning

Core information in next-gen eLearning will need to be more measurable than available through Learning Management System capabilities. Course creators will need to integrate their content with advanced learning tracking and management tools such as predictive analytics.

VR and AR

While creating eLearning courses, developers will have to use more technologies such as 3D, Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (VR).

Blockchain

Not only in the fintech industry but also in workplace learning, blockchain technology is being used. You can use it to deliver secure learning materials impenetrable to hackers. Overall, it raises the standard of education provided through e-learning platforms. Learners can view and manage their certifications online on a protected device, incorporating learning.

Artificial Intelligence

According to international studies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to flourish and will become a leading technology in the future years. Several organizations have adopted this technology to enable users with quick access in today’s world. It assists in providing a personalized learning experience, interpreting data, and repurposing information.

Peer-To-Peer Learning

Current eLearning models indeed provide multiple options in terms of learner-to-learner communication. However, the next-gen eLearning framework will demand a boost in employee involvement in training quests. In a perfect corporate scenario, content and courses have to be designed so that the training materials encourage an increase in peer-to-peer learning and collaboration — thereby enabling learners to learn from each other.

Personalization

Millennial students will demand more customization from their courses than is now provided. Next-generation eLearning courses will need to include everything from widgets and tools to themes and navigation.

Additional Learning Options

Next-generation eLearners are interested in what they learn. That means that, in addition to providing concise and condensed instruction, you must also present your students with complementary options, such as by offering additional resources in your content.

Ability to Communicate in Multiple Languages

The next generation of learners will be better at multilingualism than their forefathers. As a result, they’ll be expecting a lot more eLearning content in languages they understand and speak. As a result, you’ll need to incorporate multilingual support into your courses.

Furthermore, as if these were not enough hurdles for next-generation eLearning creators, the L&D teams will build the next wave of eLearning on rapid development and distribution. It is because technological and social needs will render tomorrow’s learning content obsolete faster than today’s development tools can create and deploy it!

Course developers will need to start using SCORM/Tin Can compatible development tools today to prepare for the future’s quick development/deployment cycle.

How to Deploy Next-gen eLearning in Your Firm?

Instead of waiting until the next-gen eLearning becomes mainstream and more clarity emerges about where it is headed, instructional designers and eLearning developers can begin planning for the future of corporate training now. Conducting an organizational readiness assessment, which includes the following phases, is the best method to be prepared:

• Assess the current state of the organization’s eLearning skills and strengths.
• Take a comprehensive inventory of all existing eLearning assets, including content, infrastructure, and personnel.
• Brainstorm, ideally with the support of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), where the organization needs to be in terms of eLearning skills in the next decade.
• Create a detailed road map for preparing the firm to achieve its aim of being ready for next-generation eLearning.
• Determine all strategic, program-specific, platform-centric, and infrastructure-related adjustments that you will require to support the roadmap. Budget allocation, sourcing, and timing will all be critical decisions.
• Examine current corporate eLearning assets such as lesson plans, curriculum, video, audio, exercises, exams, and assessments, to see which ones need to be re-engineered or updated to match the company’s next-generation eLearning roadmap.
• Create short-term plans to design or update appropriate eLearning courses to complement the company’s overall next-generation eLearning strategy.

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Why You Cannot Ignore Next-gen eLearning

In next-gen eLearning, employees will learn more than in traditional classes.

Increased Learning

Self-paced learning is a term used to describe e-learning courses that provide students complete control over their studies. Unlike traditional learning, it allows learners to cope with content at their own pace. According to IBM, a worldwide IT business, employees learn 5 times more with online learning using multimedia technologies. They can learn at their own pace and provide promising results.

Enhanced Retention

Compared to traditional courses, modern e-learning courses have a retention rate of up to 25% to 60%. Students struggle to retain information in offline classes, which causes them to stumble throughout the course. According to researchers and educational professionals, adding multimedia content provides students greater discretion over absorbing information.

Lesser Time Commitment

Many students are hesitant to devote time and money to offline learning. This factor makes people aware of traditional learning, even though e-learning takes 40-60% less time from employees than learning in a typical classroom setting. It allows students to divide their time on the course into two parts.

Minimal Distractions

One of the most significant benefits of next-gen eLearning is that it makes assessments a more continuous process. Students’ engagement can be improved by combining multimedia information with regular short exams. According to a Harvard study, regular assessments cut student distraction in half, quadrupled note-taking, and boosted overall subject recall.

A More Environmentally Friendly Option

Environmental issues are a significant source of concern for all of us. According to a study conducted by the Open University in the United Kingdom, E-learning produces up to 90% less carbon per student than traditional courses. This feature makes e-learning solutions environmentally sustainable, encouraging and motivating individuals and businesses to save the environment.

How Can PlayAblo Help in Implementing Next-Gen eLearning Strategies?

One technique may not achieve all of the goals, including the learner’s expectations and the targeted gain – performance or behavioral change. This is where next-generation strategies come into play. They give you a variety of learning methodologies and the best of various immersion approaches.

You can match the way modern learners study now or learn by implementing next-gen eLearning strategies. Learning on the go – on their preferred device, training that fits their schedules, and the ability to effortlessly migrate training sessions between devices are all on their wish list. They also want tailored, concise, and action-oriented content.

We use a combination of m-Learning, micro-learning, and gamification to create an immersive learning experience. This approach results in sticky learning, successful job application, skill-building, and reduced competence gaps.

We may also design custom combinations, such as m-Learning, aka mobile app-based training, with gamified microlearning (as nuggets or as a learning pathway). Microlearning nuggets can be gamified elements, or the learning route containing the nuggets can be gamified only. Immersive approaches like Virtual Reality (VR) can also be included either in part or as part of a gamified learning journey guided by the VR approach.

Apps for Learning that are Gamified

We offer a personalized learning route, real-time tracking, and on-the-go feedback to learners, as well as triggers or calls to action.

Gamified microlearning

We use this strategy to provide short Gamified nuggets that incorporate level ideas or use stand-alone nuggets as individual tasks or practice sessions.

Virtual Reality

By increasing the Scenarios in a VR environment to produce a highly immersive approach, we employ this strategy to augment gamification into VR experiences.

Immersive Education

We provide 360-degree 3D and real-world environments that allow learners to make decisions in real-life circumstances. This raises the engagement quotient to a new level, transforming learning into an authentic “experiential” experience.

Interactive Videos

Our adaptable framework promotes active learning and passive learning experiences. Multi-device support, SCORM, and Tin Can API support, plus a variety of interactivities and knowledge checks, are also included.

LXP

We provide custom next-gen eLearning solutions that you can integrate into your existing LMS using the LXP front end. These are mLearning and mobile apps that feature microlearning-based learning journeys (that can be gamified).

mLearning with predictive learnability

To ensure a lasting learning experience, we can provide Predictive Learnability (or Learning Effectiveness) criteria.

Ad: PlayAblo’s Enterprise-Grade Micro-Learning platform is built for millennial learners. Micro-Learning, along with assessments and gamification features, ensures learning outcome measurement along with sustained engagement.
Find out more and request a custom demo!

Conclusion

It’s vital to remember that, just as eLearning has grown from its beginnings in 1999 to what it is now, next-gen eLearning will continue to evolve. As a result, when businesses begin preparing for next-generation eLearning, their strategies must be flexible. Roadmaps, action and project plans, and learning programs will need to alter to keep up with learners’ technological and social behavioral changes.