What’s in store for e-learning in 2020 and beyond? Technavio’s market research report suggests that the global academic e-learning market will achieve a compound annual growth rate of over 10% during the 2019-2023 period. Much of this is attributed to microlearning – open learning in digestible, bite-sized bits.

E-learning has gone from strength to strength. It allows us to learn at the speed of need required to outpace with the rapid reality of ‘shelf-life skills’. The evolving world of work threatens to render many positions obsolete. Relevance depends on continuous learning, which makes our ability to learn more important than ever before.

What are the top e-learning trends for 2020?

Firstly, there’ll be the continuation of a critical psychological shift. The value we now perceive in learning has made it an active pursuit. Both employers and employees are seeking to bridge capability gaps and evolve value propositions to become future fit.

As an imperative aspect of the office, learning is now being tailored to the needs of corporates’ and individuals’, resulting in a hyper-personalised offering. Ultimately, as IQbusiness’ Head of Learning Adi Stephan says in his e-learning article, education must tick the box of meeting career needs while fulfilling individual interests.

Here are some of the other big learning trends to anticipate this year:

1. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR):

By no means new, this kind of tech is being increasingly integrated into our day-to-day… think of Instagram filters that alter your appearance in real-time.

Extended reality (XR) has long been suggested as an educational game changer. It’s one thing to read about something. It’s completely different to be utterly immersed in Ancient Egypt – to the point where you believe you can reach out and touch a toga. Of course, the technology remains inaccessible to most, but it certainly could simulate a new kind of on-the-job learning and problem-solving experience. VR classrooms could create collaborative learning environments that aren’t bound by physical locale. AR could provide real-time training notes for difficult jobs via devices like Apple’s 8k glasses. Imagine an engineer seeing live safety hazards virtually superimposed on a construction scene. Or a nurse being guided to a tricky-to-find vein.

Then there’s the gamification and rewards side of it. Picture a digital ‘room’ of employees all learning via VR. They can see how their speed and accuracy of recall measures up against their peers in real-time. Plus, they earn rewards and ‘level up’ as they go.

It seems like the beginning of a Black Mirror episode. But it’s not that far away.

2. Blended learning

Another not so new trend. Blended learning models (blend of classroom and online learning) are favoured for their flexibility.

Hybridising the learning experience, they offer the best of both with face-to-face interaction and distance learning activities. Increasingly, students can choose how they want to receive information. Blended learning facilitates those who can physically attend a course and those who want to be able to learn online, anytime, anywhere, on any device.

3. All round wellness:

How do you do your taxes, make time for self-care, get consistent cash flow, and become savvier at handling stress? E-learning courses will increasingly adopt a more holistic approach, giving students tools to thrive in every aspect of their lives. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you start a new job, get promoted or choose to start your studies. Hence, there’ll be courses that help better prepare students to achieve all-round wellness.

4. Quality control:

The fact that the market is getting flooded with e-learning options will call for tighter quality control. Increasingly, individuals will gravitate to courses that provide accreditation that counts – aka, it’s a locally and internationally recognised certification.

In the corporate education space, courses are becoming increasingly tailored to fill key skill gaps. These often focus on soft skills like empathy, complex problem solving, creativity and fundamental leadership principles.

Conclusion:

USB-ED offers a myriad of online courses such as Fundamental Business Skills, allowing employees to maximise their value propositions and bring something special to the table. From leadership to project and risk management, financial fundamentals, and HR and operational principles, the courses cover a wide array of subject matter that’s applicable across industries. Study online in 2020 to up your expertise and ensure you stay relevant in the digital age.