It’s no secret that 2020 has been an unprecedented yet crucial year for e-Learning and everyone is expecting no less for 2021. The utility and convenience digital learning brings have proven that it is not a mere trend or phase, but rather an essential part of the learning process and experience in the modern classroom setting.
As we have witnessed from the previous year, establishments ranging from global corporations to mom-and-pop stores have adopted different educational technology tools in order to facilitate learning and development in ways unique to their own institution and industry. In this newsletter, we’ll be examining the exciting trends that shaped the education industry in 2020 and how they will impact other industries in 2021.
Virtual Reality as a viable solution to re-skilling
Many have been anticipating the rise of technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) in the industry for some time now and it looks like organizations are getting in on the bandwagon. A study by Mursion and Future Workplace anticipates explosive growth in VR Technology for this year and 2022 in terms of soft skills, more specifically for training in “conflict resolution, communications, and sales of new products and services” as shared by Jeanne Meister, Future Workplace’s Managing Partner.
Last year, plenty of employers have adopted VR solutions in practice in order to address their current skills gap issues. For example, technicians in the industrial field have been doing digital simulation to practice their work. Doug Donovan of Interplay Learning has noted that the gamification elements that come with Virtual Reality helps people learn the skill more effectively.
Check out LinkedIn News’s video how VR has accelerated the changes that occurred in the current work training landscape.
A unified online learning experience through hybridization
When the pandemic first started, educational institutions were faced with a plethora of options for continuing education distribution virtually. There was synchronous and asynchronous learning, fixed and adaptive learning, linear and nonlinear, individual and collaborative, even mobile learning. These choices arise partly as separate solutions for the unique learning needs each student faces. E-student relays the advantages and disadvantages of each type of online learning in their article.
There have been significant efforts to solidify these methods into a single, coherent process, blurring the lines between traditional and online learning. This is how hybridization became of utmost importance to many instructors. A unified experience improves on learning convenience for students–both in school and in the workplace–as they can choose to continue their lessons and training, whether remotely or in-person.
The continuing development of social learning
Digital education is constantly improving, developing, and refining the student learning experience. This is why social learning platforms have been a game-changer in ensuring effective learner engagement. These platforms facilitate conversation and exchange of thoughts and ideas among students and instructors, harnessing the strengths digital tools provide.
In an article by ViewSonic, they explain the importance of transferring learning dynamics that have been proven to be effective in the traditional classroom toward digital platforms. Factors such as collaboration, support, and trust are made possible through forums, file-sharing, and chat rooms found in online education mediums, to name a few.
Social learning is expected to develop as providers adapt to the changing needs of its users and the disruptions transforming the education industry.
In their report, Zeal Insider listed some of the world’s top learning management platforms, including:
- SAP Litmos
- eFront
- TalentCards
- Tovuti
- Bridge
- Saba Cloud
Teaching the teachers digital tools and technologies
The pandemic has forced schools to utilize the digital to educate students, thrusting countless instructors and teachers into a whole new world of digital learning tools and platforms. From this resulted in a plethora of articles, social media posts, and videos that have shed light on the encounters educators have had with the online teaching experience.
The strategies that have worked inside the classroom were no longer viable when applied virtually. The skill sets needed to run a successful class are different, and new challenges and pitfalls have risen from using the internet to distribute education.
Some of the challenges students have faced are:
- Student Engagement
- Catching up from schoolwork
- Academic confidence and performance
- Lack of consistency between courses
These issues made it clear that there is a need for teaching professionals to revamp the way they work, not just through the tools they use but the mindset they adopt as well. There is much anticipation for online teaching courses’ potential to help instructors better adjust from in-person classes to virtual teaching for 2021.
