Do you know what learning would look like 10 years from now? The Me Learning team has been answering this question recently. After 13 years of making an impact in the digital learning industry, we’ve discovered that asking the right questions through the years is one way we’ve stayed committed to transforming the way people learn.
Today, a few members of the Me Learning team are taking a leap into the future to uncover what they believe would be some of the key drivers that could largely influence the world of learning as we know it in 2030. Their answers to this question generated key points that are vital for anyone interested in contributing to a revolution in learning.
Learning in 2030
Learner-centric and time-based In the last ten years we have seen a shift to learner-centric and time-based learning. This trend will continue through out the next decade. Learning will be tailored to fit the way learners absorb knowledge best – which is in small bits. We can expect to see a continuing departure from extremely long training sessions to shorter and sharper sessions. Learners will also be able access the knowledge they need right when they need it. Here’s an example. We can expect to see more individuals choosing to learn just what they need to fix a broken chain on a bicycle instead of taking the time to learn how a bicycle works. It’s what our CEO Nick Richards describes as ‘learning at the point of need.’
With regards to time, we can anticipate that instead of lengthy training sessions or a full day of learning, it is possible that the learning covering a specific topic would be broken down into 10-minute daily sessions over an extended period of time. This model will provide learning that is reinforced through daily repetition which has been proven to increase knowledge retention
Personalised learning outcomes Presently, when a learner signs up for a course, the objectives and direction the course will take is laid out from the beginning. As a result, learners have limited input on what they want their learning journey to look like – in most cases they are tied to the road map the instructor provides. However, our Systems Training Manager, Sue Caverley, believes this would not be the norm 10 years from now. Caverley believes that learners will have more input in their learning experience, allowing them to choose to learn only the bits that are most relevant to them. This personalisation of the learning experience would also allow the learner design their own learning pathways. This flexibility would enable the learner to determine (based on what they want to get out of a learning experience) key areas in a specific topic they would prefer to spend more time on. Ten years from now, we see learners having more say in what they want from their learning outcomes.
Rise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) One major factor that will impact the learning experience 10 years from now would be the channels used to deliver knowledge. There is no doubt that AI will continue to shape learning in a variety of sectors. Nevertheless, virtual reality is disrupting the learning experience too. We can expect to see an increase in the use of VR especially with learners conducting very risky or costly experiments. Stepping into the world of virtual reality makes the learning experience as close to the real thing as possible. Our Head of Customer Experience, Jon Cross, also highlighted that learning would be very accessible to learners anytime and at any place. He anticipates that the same way social media has become a major part of our daily lives, access to knowledge would be as close as that. There would be almost no obstacles for anyone seeking knowledge on a particular subject because learning will become integrated into our daily lives.
We won’t be able to exhaust all the answers in this post, so watch out for the second part of this discussion. In the meantime, we’re already moving in the direction we see learning going in the next couple of years. You can visit our LearnStream page to find out how our training methodology is transforming the learning experience of workforces developing new skills for the digital age. Technology is no doubt transforming how we work. But Me Learning is transforming how we learn. Whatever the size of your workforce and however diverse their learning needs, we are creating learning that unlocks workforce potential. We plan to keep doing so 10 years from now.