30 Nov ‘20
Wish List for 2025: 7 Online Learning Innovations We Want to See
30 Nov ‘20
In: Online Learning, / By: Ripe Media
Are you looking forward to the emerging trends in online learning?
With the pandemic forcing closure on many schools and universities, educators have had to act quickly to provide alternative learning environments or face extremely reduced education for many students. Online education was the obvious answer, and it largely—and rapidly—addressed the gap between learning at home and learning at school.
But this major change also revealed many of the limitations of the tools and platforms we’ve come know and love/hate. Here are some learning innovations that we expect (and hope!) to see in online education soon. Discover what’s ahead and prepare yourself for these online learning innovations.
1. Personalized Learning Through Data Analytics
With the world becoming much more fast-paced because of the Internet, people also need to learn faster to keep up. However, as we mentioned above, some people have that problem. It’s often not about how they’re taught the lesson, but it’s about how they understand it.
This creates a large gap between them and other students when it comes to understanding the same module. What’s great is that future online education promises better learning for all students. This is, in part, thanks to better data gathering methods.
This gathers data from each learner and measures their performance. It’s a good way to determine whether a learner is having trouble with their topic. In this case, the system then gives them a more personalized learning experience.
This is because the system will also note what methods they respond to. It’s a surefire way to educate someone through any means they deem fit. It also helps the service have a better ROI since it produces good results for the learner.
2. Integrated UGC
Another expected trend and innovation is user-generated content. We see examples of these everywhere when we look at it from a marketing standpoint. The most notable example is Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign.
When it comes to digital learning, though, UGC takes on the form of user-created modules. A learner can create their own module to share on the platform. It’s then read by other learners, creating something similar to the “Share a Coke” campaign.
What’s great about this is that the module is much more understandable for the learner. This is because the custom module came from someone who understands how other learners think.
Of course, you can’t expect all these modules to come out well or up to your brand’s standards. This makes it important to check every module submitted by any learner. If necessary, edit them to ensure they’re up to par with the other modules of your brand.
3. Gamified Learning
You can expect to see online education to resemble a lot of the games you see today. This isn’t only to appeal to the children and get them into learning through gaming. Doing this also helps people get engaged while learning.
Among the main problems of e-learning is that people don’t get engaged enough. This leads to them missing a good chunk of the lecture or falling asleep during class. It makes them waste their time and prevents them from proceeding with their module.
With gaming integrated into learning, engagement increases, and so does the effectiveness of e-learning. This is because learners will have something keeping them occupied while they learn. This is enough to keep them aware of what they’re learning about.
4. Mobile and Microlearning
Among the innovations of the e-learning industry, these will be the most simple ones. However, it doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be the most effective ones, too.
Mobile learning will become a prominent factor in e-learning in the future. This is because people already use their smartphones to access the Internet all the time. Because of this, more people are making their websites optimized for mobile devices.
With the convenience that these devices bring, it only makes sense to use them for e-learning. You’ll soon see that modules and activities are better on mobile screens than desktops.
Another trend on the rise is microlearning. This is when, instead of full lessons, students receive small activities for learning. This is a better and more effective way of learning online.
This is because students will avoid getting burnt out this way. It keeps their brains at full capacity as they go on about their days.
5. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is already a part of e-learning, but there’s room for improvement. Soon enough, AI can be in charge of the learner’s education. You can see these become prominent through chatbot-like services.
A learner only needs to start a conversation for the process to begin. Once they do, an AI teacher will deliver their module and teach the student. It’s a more efficient way of teaching someone since it doesn’t take up the time of an actual person.
This means that there’s no rush in teaching and each learner can get a dedicated teacher. This way, the AI can also track the learner’s performance and create a better experience for them.
6. Custom Learning Platforms
With the rise of e-learning also comes the rise of different platforms getting in on the trend. You can even see platforms like LinkedIn offer teaching services for their users. While this can be effective for now, you’ll see more platforms dedicated to e-learning.
These will be better learning environments compared to others. What’s great is that you can make one yourself. All you need to do is to know the best way to design one for it to become successful.
7. VR and AR for Immersive Learning Experiences
The most exciting and the most effective innovation will be AR and VR for online education. This gives learners a good look into the course they’ve signed up in. The immersive experience the learners will get will tell them if they’re a good fit for the course.
It also allows for better training methods. What better way to train aspiring surgeons than by running a simulation to test them? The interactive environment will tell you if they’re ready for it or not.
Keep Yourself Informed About Online Learning Today
Online learning doesn’t have to be hard and confusing. Check out these innovations and trends to know what’s coming! Make sure you get the best that online education has to offer today!
Do you need help designing the best e-learning platform? Websites for e-learning are a lot different from most website designs to accommodate for their function and audience. Contact us here, and we’ll help you create the best platform you can think of today!