When we published the ‘eLearning trends in 2023’ blog in January this year, we were sure that Chat GPT would be a key part of several conversations and our intuition did not go wrong. What served as a surprise was the entire episode with Sam Altman and the Open AI board and the eventual acquisition/hiring by Microsoft’s Satya Nadella that served as social media popcorn for a couple of days at least. In addition to Chat GPT, we have Microsoft’s Bing Co-Pilot, Google’s Gemini, and Bard which are pushing the limits of technology to break the frontiers of knowledge and make the process of finding and curating information easier.
In 2024, workplace learning does not seem to be very different. The challenges remain the same:
Training a hybrid/remote workforce
Enabling easy access to content
Measuring the effectiveness of learning
Holding the attention span of learners
Improving engagement and increasing the retention of learning
Battling with Finance teams for a higher L&D budget
The LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report has been an important document for analysis since its first publication. This year too the report makes some interesting findings:
89% of L&D professionals agree that employee skills must be developed
93% of organizations are concerned about employee retention
Improve data literacy and make informed decisions
What this means is that organizations are looking for ways to retain employees and also upskill them so that the best talent remains within the organization and that they don’t have to go through an expensive process of hiring talent from outside. There is also a greater focus on examining the efficacy of learning, interpreting data from an LMS/LXP/mobile learning app to understand why a course worked or did not, and what it means to the growth of the learner and the organization.
eLearning Trends in 2024
Trend 1 - Continuous Learning for Upskilling
This will be a major trend that organizations will look to implement in their organization. To enable the successful deployment of continuous learning within an organization, the organization may opt for microlearning or mobile app-based learning solutions, which ensure that learning is delivered when it is needed.
As the focus continues to be on upskilling, there will be greater synergy between organizations with a specific training need and L&D providers or course aggregators, which offer customized as well as off-the-shelf courses, which can be deployed as per requirements. Though we keep speaking about the death of catalog courses, Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and edX are ample proof that properly designed programs that have a clear goal-driven, learning outcome, will never go out of fashion.
Trend 2 - AI-Powered Learning Platforms
5mins.ai and Gnowbe Learning are just two popular AI-powered learning platforms amongst several other platforms in the market that offer courses catering to diverse learning requirements. In the case of 5mins.ai, the focus is on microlearning videos, and a highly gamified and rewards-based learning journey makes the whole experience a pleasure instead of being a chore or a task. Gnowbe also offers a powerful course-building tool that’s integrated within the platform, and it makes life easier for L&D professionals to create and deploy courses.
As AI goes from being a buzzword to technology that is magically reshaping lives across industries, the next big challenge to overcome would be a solution that develops a full-fledged course based on target audience and learning objectives. Work is underway by major tech players, and it is just a matter of who will bell the cat first and also ensure that no compliance regulations are broken before we get to hear a major announcement.
Trend 3 - Deep Learning, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing
Deep Learning, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing are three important technologies that are powering the growth of Artificial Intelligence and its adoption in different industries. When one looks at eLearning, we have seen recommendation engines getting smarter, we are seeing tools that help instructors grade assessments faster and check for plagiarism, we see the growth of conversational chatbots within learning platforms that guide learners to access content faster, constructive feedback generation, and automatic summarization of longer videos or texts, these are all enabled by NLP at one level or the other. The demand for highly trained NLP engineers is something that will have to be met and the future only seems to be brighter for such qualified NLP engineers and programmers. This article on the role of NLP in eLearning offers more insights on the topic.
Trend 4 – Adaptive Learning Systems
Adaptive learning as an approach towards creating eLearning has been around for a while. L&D teams have built courses and assessments using this approach which makes learning easier and bases questions in an assessment on the correct or incorrect answer provided by learners for the previous question.
In the last few years, there has been an integrated push towards making the platforms or learning systems ‘smarter’ by using AI to make the system adaptive. An adaptive learning system or ALS is defined as software that uses powerful algorithms to optimize the content as per the goals of the learners and their current knowledge levels. Adaptive Learning Systems are better suited for personalized learning and 2024 is likely to see more adaptive learning platforms with more interesting features being launched in the market. This is a list of top 10 adaptive learning platforms currently available in the market.
Trend 5 – Gamification
Calling gamification as a new trend would be grossly incorrect. Gamification in eLearning has been around for a long time. Initially an important element of K12 education, gamification slowly found favor in corporate learning as well. Major eLearning awards have a separate category for the best-gamified learning solution, and gamification continues to be an important part of modern workplace learning. The challenge in 2024 for L&D teams is to ensure uniqueness in their gamified learning solutions.
Gamification of learning, which is used to deliver a personalized learning experience with an element of social learning added to it could make a world of difference to learner engagement and retention of learning. In 2024, we can expect customizable gamified assessments available as modules, which can be integrated with an eLearning program to generate assessments or quizzes.
Trend 6 - B2B Growth in eLearning
This is again a trend that will grow in the coming years as organizations looking to invest in the growth of their employees will look to find vendors/businesses that will design and deploy cutting-edge eLearning for them. For eLearning vendors, this is an ideal opportunity as the promise of a top-quality learning platform and fully developed courses will make the deal sweeter for organizations. They would prefer one vendor for all their needs instead of going to one for content design, one for course creation, and one for LMS implementation. This year will put B2B eLearning on a high pedestal and vendors who can complement their services with outstanding support will win the race. Please read this report to learn more on how the global eLearning market is poised to grow to US$ 665.5 billion by 2032.
Trend 7 - Sustainable eLearning and ESG Compliance
When one uses the term ESG – Environmental, Social, and Governance; one does not immediately connect it with eLearning vendors. One looks at large business conglomerates in manufacturing and retail and banks funding these businesses. As ESG becomes a hot topic of discussion and there is greater awareness among people on the environmental impact of how we run a business, all businesses of a specific size will come under scrutiny. The focus is on organizations to reduce their carbon footprint and eLearning vendors are no different. The ability to create sustainable eLearning solutions, migrating to the cloud to reduce the carbon footprint, and following sustainable design practices will be some key parameters that will come into play as eLearning vendors look at meeting sustainability compliance laws.
Conclusion
From all of us at S4Carlisle, we wish our readers, followers, and valued customers a Happy 2024 ahead. Our commitment to democratizing learning and offering cutting-edge learning solutions that deliver value for you and your organization remains steady. Reach out to us at sales@s4carlisle.com to learn how we can help transform your organization’s learning culture.