What are the top eLearning trends for 2021?

Over the past few years, the learning design industry has shifted from designing content to designing experiences. This shift involves how instructors used to create content and how learners used to consume online courses. In modern-day e-Learning, learners decide what, when and where to learn. Some of the trends that determine these shifts include:

• Personalized Learning

Personalized learning involves an educational environment and curriculum that revolves around each individual student’s needs and abilities. This means that each learner gets a learning plan that’s based on what they know and how they learn best. A majority of the personalized-learning proponents take a much wider lens, saying schools or educationists, in general, must nurture individual child’s social, emotional, and physical development. In addition, the learning course is adjusted according to the learner’s performance.

For example, the difficulty of quiz questions is adjusted based on the learner level of knowledge and previous results.

• Microlearning

Microlearning means that the learning process is divided into small chunks that are easy-to-consume. It covers a specific topic, so can be consumed independently.

This learning saves time. It is easier to find time for a small lesson rather than a 1 or 2-hour session or lecture. It also has a more focused learning experience, and better memorisation. Microlearning can be provided as videos, small games, quizzes, and infographics. Such a learning approach is in high demand nowadays, when it’s hard to find time for ourselves and focus on one thing for long periods of time. Most companies that are after upskilling their employees or are in need of refresher courses take this approach.

• Content Gamification

Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as business and social impact challenges. This allows learners to learn and understand the concept in a fun and engaging manner. Gamification has been a strong trend in education for a long time as it betters learner’s engagement and improves the overall success of the learning process. In gamification, the topics are converted into some kind of games so that students can focus more. This also makes them have an interest in learning too. One can include leaderboards to track their performance and can provide badges as rewards to acknowledge their accomplishments.

• Video-based Learning

Videos are one of the most prevalent modes of training now. The ubiquity of video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo have forced e-Learning companies to adopt videos into their training programs. The online video consumption rate is constantly increasing. A majority of the online audience is already hooked and addicted to video content, hence introducing video training modules will keep the users engaged in their training programme. Videos are cost-effective to produce, even the less skilled individuals can produce them. Distribution of videos is also easy as social platforms such as youtube, Vimeo, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok etc. are readily available.

• M- learning

We cannot talk about the future of e-Learning without mentioning the influence mobile phones and smartphones, in particular, have on learning. Mobile learning enables and effectively facilitates three of the trends we have talked about so far: microlearning, gamification and video-based learning. Mobile apps for learning provide an opportunity for the learner to learn anywhere and anytime.

• Social Learning

Social learning involves collaboration between individuals at the workplace through various modes, such as forums, informal chat discussion sessions, sharing sessions, group activities and learning circles. In today’s age, it is of utmost importance that employees share their thoughts, ideas, and learnings with their colleagues for the greater good of every teammate.