Top 5 trends in corporate eLearning for 2021
Next to a successful business strategy, a company’s prosperity very much depends on its people and the expertise they use to execute the day to day work to achieve company goals. Training is a large part of that and an increasing number of businesses are looking to create effective eLearning programs to improve efficiency in the workplace.
In answer to this rising demand for eLearning resources, developers and the market have responded with different technologies to create a more immersive learning experience for employees.
Microlearning for a quick intake of smaller chunks
Attention spans have shortened dramatically in recent years. Long lecture-style content has become overwhelming. As a result, microlearning with its bite-size materials like short videos or quick problem-solving games, have gained in popularity.
Just like search now happens more on a mobile device than on desktop, microlearning has moved the learning experience to mobile phones. Employees can use an app to quickly look for an answer, watch tutorials, interact with other students, and unlock certifications.
A big bonus here is that it’s more playful and users can do a quick training when they’ve got a couple of spare minutes during their busy day.
Gamification and story-bas]ed learning
In an effort to create a more engaging learning experience, developers have been working hard on blending training courses with games. Gamification is a brilliant tool in eLearning that appeals to the competitive nature in all of us. Employees are motivated to win by earning badges to get to the next level or displaying points for everyone to see to encourage friendly competition.
Gamification also creates an immersive experience through story-based learning. Instead of ticking the boxes on a syllabus, employees go through lesson after lesson as part of a story, which helps with the intake and retention of information.
Great news for visual learners as companies have started experimenting with virtual, augmented, and mixed reality to get their new employees up to speed quickly. Studies have shown a 60% increase in employee engagement and a 50% improved productivity due to gamification features.
Personalized training
Customisable content that fits individual learning needs depending on the skill set of the employee has gained increasing traction.
Courses that are adaptable to a student’s pace and individual goals serve talent development better than generic video tutorials. This enables employees to skip one area they don’t require training in while exploring other topics required for their position in more depth.
Even different approaches to learning can be covered. Some people might prefer watching videos and taking notes while others retain information better if they are quizzed immediately after listening to the instructions.
Interactive video content
Making video content interactive is taking visual learning a step further. Instead of a passive intake of information, the learning turns into a more immersive experience.
For example, in the interactive practice of branching employees are asked to choose an action in response to a problem. Then they are shown the consequences of their choice. This is not only insightful for the employee but course creators can also learn from the answers and tweak a course accordingly.
The possibilities with interactive content are endless through the various features that can be embedded like quizzes, links, maps, widgets, and images.
Chatbots
This might seem strange at first. Has technology reached the point where a bot can teach a human something?
Chatbots can support corporate eLearning by helping with the onboarding process and providing a skills gap analysis. Instead of time-consuming meetings between managers and employees, the bot asks a set of questions to deliver insights on the required training.
Chatbots are also an easy way to get reviews of training and find out what’s working and what should be adjusted by the eLearning team.
The company’s knowledge base can also be fed into the chatbot to turn it into a search engine employees can use for their day to day tasks. Instead of sifting through handbooks and other documents, an answer pops up in seconds.
Next to all the shiny new features gained through technological advances, the overarching trend in eLearning is towards customisation and creating a more engaging learning experience. This approach puts employees first creating a more immersive and successful training.
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