Top 5 Learning Technology Trends for 2016

Bryant Nielson, Publisher and Managing Editor

12/23/2015

8786

New Year is coming and we all are at the edge of planning and redefining a lot of things, so do the businesses and their learning departments. If there is something quite certain about the future, it’s the emerging eLearning. Nowadays, I have been observing that various new online learning solutions are popping every month and conventional classroom settings are getting even keener than ever to integrate new technologies into their content and strategies. The segment of eLearning is itself prone to witness various new trends and technologies, so it’s just a question of time before we encounter completely transformed strategies and methodologies rising from this powerful segment. In this article, we would explore what’s in the store for the novel learning methods in 2016.

Trend # 1 Automation

Many education experts forecast that 2016 is going to be the year when automation is finally becoming a critical aspect of both content development and processing[1]. It’s most likely that the content providers would utilize an increasing number of automated tools to develop new courses and learning content, saving both money and time invested in conventional processes. The coursework components like quizzes, tests and assignments would all be generated through tools that are able to effectively scan the course content and determine its most critical aspects that must be tested. Courses would pass through the optimization process in order to match the requirements and preferences of every single user. Their knowledge and skill level would be assessed by the automated tools that would in turn give algorithm solutions used in developing course content.

Trend # 2 Augmented Learning

This is the area under extreme development. It is quite possible that by 2016, the augmented reality devices, including Google Glass, Apple Watch etc would become the common tool in our everyday realities[2]. If we talk about learning, the augmented learning gives a high value in adapting the environments to the learners. This is the solution for which the market is anticipated to grow quite faster, hitting a smashing figure of 200 million users in just 3 years. The year of 2015 would surely pave the way to an augmented use of augmented reality in eLearning, increasing its extensive use in 2016. In eLearning, the learners would be able to have an access to augmented environments through QR codes or mobile technologies such as Google Glass or Apple Watch. This type of learning would mainly engage learners with action oriented functionalities in real life executed through GPS tracking, as well as with the courses made by Oculus Rift.

Trend # 3 Big Data

Big data is now everywhere, including eLearning. It’s quite obvious that each year more and more data comes to process, and learning institutions would use tools made exclusively for big data analytics to make sense of the user generated information. Only these tools would be able to assess a heap of data generated during the one semester and give valuable and meaningful conclusions about course content optimization or user performance[3]. Big data analytics would aid learning providers to better understand the learning mechanism itself, by tracking group and learner patterns and performing a careful and comprehensive feedback analysis. They would be offering complete course customization and build a thorough ROI report for learning. The promises pledged by big data analytics for learning seem quite impressive and would become more significant in 2016.

Trend # 4 Cloud

The application of cloud is on the rise, in almost every sector, including eLearning. Businesses are ready to embrace the comfort, functionality and security of the cloud, even though there are many people who still think it’s not good to place data on public servers[4]. However, this attitude seems slowly evading. As predicted by eLearning market trends and forecast report[5], the utilization of cloud based learning platforms and authoring tools would increase by 9 percent in the United States. This essentially implies that by 2016, eLearning udders would exploit established cloud technologies helping their learning process in a number of diverse ways.

Trend # 5 Gamification

This is the major trend in 2016. Gamification today is a key trend that most of the people are still waiting to explore, in particular, on the learning scene. Experts admit that using game mechanics to non gaming contexts brings amazing outcomes, most importantly, in motivating users to attain their goals[6]. This is the feature that can easily be included in learning and eLearning settings. Gamification gives a potential strategy for enhancing user engagement with the learning context, while some experts assert that the technique can enhance learners’ motivation to an outstanding 90 percent recall rate. It is so simple. Once the learners presume an active role in a knowledge and skill reception, they would automatically enhance their possibilities at remembering it.

[1] https://www.enterpriseirregulars.com/102729/gartner-top-10-strategic-technology-trends-2016/
[2] http://www.elearninglearning.com/2015/trends/
[3] http://memeburn.com/2015/09/10-top-strategic-technology-trends-for-2016/
[4] https://trainingmag.com/5-trends-future-learning-and-development
[5] https://www.docebo.com/landing/contactform/elearning-market-trends-and-forecast-2014-2016-docebo-report.pdf
[6] http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/09/26/5-disruptive-tech-trends-that-could-dominate-in-20.aspx

Bryant Nielson – Managing Director of CapitalWave Inc.– Being a big believer in Technology Enabled Learning, Bryant seeks to create awareness, motivate adoption and engage organizations and people in the changing business of education. Bryant is a entrepreneur, trainer, and strategic training adviser for many organizations. Bryant’s business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering the individual.
Learn more about Bryant at LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bryantnielson