Demands Are Driving Changes Towards A Learning Technology Fit For 2018
The modern day learner isn’t looking for standalone content that solves just one problem in the here and now. Learning technology fit for 2018 delivers learning experiences that are consistent and keep learners coming back for more as a key part of their longer-term learning.
The eLearning providers that will thrive in 2018 and beyond are those that think about their offering in the context of the full learner experience. They’re the ones who value innovation and put learning at the heart of everything they do.
Is Your Learning Technology Fit For The Future?
Don’t panic. There are some simple ways that you can assess whether or not your learning technology is fit for the future. These fall into 5 categories:
1. Flexibility
Does your learning technology facilitate flexible access and distribution? This is vital as your learners are going to become frustrated very quickly if they can’t find what they’re looking for easily.
To assess the flexibility of your eLearning, ask yourself:
- How will my content be accessed and hosted?
- Can my learners access my content on any type of device?
- Does my learning technology support e-commerce so that I can sell to new learners instantly?
- What capabilities and functions are associated with my Learning Management System?
2. Curation
Are you giving your learners a compelling reason to come back for more?
Curating content that you already have at your disposal, ready to go, is a brilliant way of making sure your learners will pay you another visit. Just double check that any resources you do gather are really relevant to your learner’s needs.
There are some curated learning best practices you should follow to perfectly execute this strategy to ensure you’re always relevant and personalized to the learner.
3. Social
In the modern world where social media platforms are big players, offering your learner the chance to engage in social learning is a must.
Consider how you can introduce social learning and a feeling of connectedness within your content. You could try using forums and social polls or including the ability for social sharing. This will enable your learners to take inspiration and ideas from each other.
4. Learner Motivation
How are you going to keep your learner engaged?
You might want to pick learning technology that allows you to introduce some competitiveness between your learners to motivate them and make them feel rewarded.
Features could include:
- Badges: Awarded at the end of a chapter or module, or for receiving a certain score.
- Leaderboards: To benchmark learners against their peers.
- Points: Gained for completing sections or answering correctly in assessments.
Using strategies to gamify your eLearning can be a great way to hook learners in and keep them coming back for more.
5. Business Scalability
The best learning technology will have the capabilities for you to automate certain processes so that you can do more without needing more time or resources. eLearning authoring tools can make a huge impact here and there are some common authoring challenges that can be overcome with the right tool.
This will help you grow your business whilst side-stepping all of the limitations associated with delivering engaging and effective eLearning on a large scale.
Summary
Did you know that a whopping 48% of learning professionals want to change their tools? (Brandon Hall 2016). Make sure you’re not one of them by using the suggestions shared here to check your learning technology is future-proofed, ideally before you invest!
If you’ve realized that your learning technology is holding you back, don’t panic! Start a free trial of Elucidat’s award-winning authoring platform.