eLearning Trends to Watch for in 2020

by CoSo

February 7, 2020

What a year 2019 was for eLearning! Last year, we saw the rise of microlearning, mobile learning, just in time learning, and so much more. Video-based learning continued to take over while virtual/augmented reality gained a real foothold in large and other vertical-specific enterprises.

So what’s in store for 2020? Here’s what we at CoSo will have our eye on:

Analytics

As more enterprises flocked to the cloud, more companies were able to exploit cloud-based learning management systems that in turn allowed them to tap into automated data analytics. With such data, organizations can, in addition to providing learning experiences that are more personalized and engaging, learn from their training programs to make them more effective overall. Our own CoSo Insights was designed to help our managed service customers better understand, demonstrate and improve upon the value of their Adobe Connect systems. Just as their workers must learn, training managers too must learn. Attendance and engagement can always be improved upon. Learning techniques can always be refined. Organizations simply need the data to inform their corrections and advancements. This year, we expect to see more organizations taking full advantage of all the data they have at their disposal to more effectively arm workers with the knowledge and skills they need to quickly resolve any challenge and capitalize on every opportunity.

Virtual Reality

With research firm IDC predicting global spend on VR training to hit $8.5 billion by 2023, look for VR to continue revolutionizing eLearning in 2020. Building on its early use cases in law enforcement and the military, VR as an eLearning function has been making steady inroads in 2019—in all kinds of businesses. We expect this growth to continue. Walmart has said it expects to be using VR to train two million employees by January. Already, we’re seeing VR training programs blossom within the airline, financial, sports and other industries as well as in customer service and other functions. But in 2020, expect to see more of VR making its way into every day office situations. As the Financial Times has reported, VR-assisted training programs are being developed to help office workers with build on their soft skills—interviewing, team leadership, presenting, etc. This year, as VR continues to prove itself in new ways, more organizations will be devising ways to incorporate it into their eLearning programs. Inevitably, VR-assisted training will become the norm.

AI

AI was a big topic in 2019. It will be even bigger in 2020, particularly for eLearning. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it will be used by more organizations to detect educational needs and then serve up personalized educational content and programs to the workers that can gain from it. Look to start hearing more about smart learning content—where AI actually creates and/or optimizes digital content and even whole digital curriculums to ensure greater effectiveness—as well as intelligent tutoring systems for custom-tailored learning and even virtual facilitators that can create realistic virtual characters for all kinds of learning scenarios. AI will be doing all this while automating all kinds of menial tasks that distract training managers from what should be their singular purpose—arming employees with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their jobs and further the business.

Yes, 2020 promises to be an exciting year for eLearning and training managers all around the globe. Which trends and technologies will you tap into to ensure your learners are getting the ongoing training they need to excel?