The Future of eLearning and What to Expect in 2023 and Beyond
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For those who don’t know what it is, eLearning is teaching that utilizes electronic means to create a more dynamic learning environment. This can come in various forms, including interactive whiteboards, online classes, instructional and interactable documents, slides, etc.
Rather than developing as a niche concept in the workplace and education sector, eLearning is becoming increasingly important in delivering knowledge and training people of all ages. However, since it is still evolving and changing, there are many different types of eLearning.
These will all offer additional avenues for learning new languages quickly and efficiently. Still, with the increasing demand for larger global teams to communicate with one another, there will be endless opportunities to offer localization and translation services for those teams that will complement HR training and overall workplace communication and knowledge retention.
In this blog, we will explore some improvements and changes happening in this field and how it affects translation and localization in terms of learning necessary skills in the workplace and simplifying the language learning process.
VR and AR In eLearning
As the long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic continue to be felt, eLearning professionals are turning to immersive VR platforms to create more effective training programs. These mediums are already changing the way we learn in the classroom. The old-fashioned image of a teacher standing in front of the classroom is quickly being replaced by technology in this modern world.
In practice, augmented and virtual reality allow learners to experience subjects as if they were part of the lesson. It provides a more immersive experience than other forms of eLearning, such as video learning, gamification and mobile learning.
With augmented reality, you can experience a lesson as if it were happening in front of your eyes. You might see a 3D model of an engine part or the plumbing blueprint superimposed on a house. With virtual reality, you can be transported into another environment and walk around as if it were real life –which is incredible for historical re-enactments for learning purposes. You could even use it to interact and teach a colleague a new skill from across the globe as if you were across the table from one another.
Immersive multimedia has nearly limitless applications because, if you can imagine it, you can construct it, interact with it, and include it in your learning experience. With the rapid advancement of computer-aided design (CAD) software and multimodal devices—devices that can reproduce sensory sensations such as taste, smell, sound, touch, and images—a futuristic learning experience could include produced sensory sensations.
Larger global offices and remote users will benefit the most from this technology as translation in this field will prove pivotal. UI and interactions will have to be localized to various languages as the technology becomes more mainstream.
Even within the grand scope of language learning, companies are developing software and games that put you in virtual scenarios where you use interactive sensory mechanics to learn a foreign language, as scientifically, you retain more by enveloping yourself within the process rather than simply aiming to memorize it from a book. For example, the game “Noun Town” uses motivating gameplay and cutting-edge learning techniques to make language learning fun and accessible and gamifies the entire process by learning while doing. The environment around you starts as grey, and as you interact with the items and characters, you comprehend their language equivalent, and their colour fills in. Over time the colour fades, and by indicating what the thing is in the language, you retain the knowledge over time with reputation.
Micro-learning
Many students may need help with the prospect of taking on large, multi-phase projects regardless of age. A good strategy for working on these kinds of projects is to break them into smaller chunks. For example, you could watch a video lecture or read a chapter in a textbook, then go back and try an interactive activity.
Otherwise known as “micro-learning,” instructors have found that lessons and online modules yield more excellent retention when broken into smaller chunks, such as in a 2-hour long lesson broken up into four 30-minute-long sessions.
The microlearning trend indicates a more significant shift in how we consume information as learners. With the rise of smartphones and tablets, people are becoming more accustomed to consuming content in even shorter and more frequent bursts. Sitting down for a lecture or presentation may feel like too much time for many younger students.
With laptops and the internet available to them at an early age, today’s younger generations are more comfortable consuming content on their cell phones or tablets in short intervals throughout the day. And with them slowly entering the workforce, these micro-learning methods need to be implemented in the workplace to ensure that employees maximize their potential.
It allows employees to get the most out of their time, ensuring that they are constantly learning new skills and knowledge. This will help them to stay motivated and engaged in their work, which in turn boosts productivity.
As the workforce becomes more globalized and employees are required to learn new skills, it is critical to have a system that allows for quick and practical training. Today’s workers need to be able to learn something new in a short period and immediately apply it.
Mobile Learning
Although it is not strictly a part of what makes up traditional eLearning, the evolution of mobile learning, or mLearning, is undoubtedly an appropriate trend to consider. Not long ago, the concept of doing anything on your mobile device beyond simple phone calls and pixel-based games was a pipe dream. Fast forward to today, just about everything is possible.
However, when it comes to mobile learning, there is still a long way before it becomes fully viable. The past couple of years has seen great strides in phone-based language learning applications. Still, mLearning architectures need to find solutions to embrace the same learning techniques that eLearning managed before they can become widespread and commonplace. That said, there’s no doubt that mLearning will be huge in the future.
Here are a few ways that mLearning is going to change the way we learn in the coming years:
● Aided by technological advances, mobile learning will become more pervasive and accessible than ever before.
● Mobile learning applications will be able to cater specifically to each user’s needs.
● The sheer number of mobile learning applications will increase dramatically, resulting in even greater availability of mobile learning content.
● Mobile learning technologies will be able to collect and analyze data about how users interact with these applications and adapt to accommodate all sorts of scenarios better.
These techniques have proven successful for language learning apps like Duolingo, Rosetta Stone and Memrise, which initially had websites to teach their users. However, their mobile versions have proven to be much more successful, and many more companies will likely follow their lead. The technology behind mobile learning applications will continue to improve, which means that the quality of these applications will be better than ever before and will have a broader use case in offices and remote on-the-go learning.
Adaptive Learning
It’s time for educational institutions to discard the idea of one-size-fits-all curricula and focus instead on creating pathways designed for individuals based on their interests and cognitive abilities. Adaptive learning methods, which allow everyone to learn at their own pace, are becoming increasingly popular.
Thanks to technological advances, advanced algorithms, artificial intelligence, and machine-learning programs, people can now learn in a more personalized way, even though it’s fair to say that this type of learning is still in its early stages. Adaptive learning is a style of education that tailors resources, activities, projects, and assignments to each student’s needs. This can be accomplished by way of established algorithms and assessments instead of arbitrary determinations made by instructors.
So far, adaptive learning has been largely experimental. Companies and competitors are still working out the kinks, but that’s changing as more companies use this new technology in their training programs. The major eLearning platforms are already offering adaptive learning services, and there’s no reason that the trend won’t continue for the foreseeable future.
It’s important to note that adaptive learning is not synonymous with “personalized” or “individualized” learning. While this technology can personalize and individualize content, it doesn’t have to be. It can also tailor the learning experience for groups with shared characteristics or interests.
For example, an adaptive learning system could create a course for people working with Microsoft Office applications. It would automatically customize the content based on what the learner knew about using Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This could include showing more advanced features of those programs if they were familiar with them or providing detailed instruction in basic features if they weren’t.
With this technology in place, it could drastically change language learning for an individual, determine weak points, and adapt to encourage natural progression in its user.
Gamification
It doesn’t matter whether you’re six years old or sixty –learning is more exciting and easier to digest when it’s fun and engaging. This concept is often referred to as “gamification,” and it makes eLearning even more effective.
However, it’s not all fun and games. There are many benefits to integrating games into lesson plans. Games can provide immediate application and interaction with the material. Learners who understand the material better become more engaged in the lesson and retain that information better. This leads to increased grades, knowledge retention and classroom satisfaction.
Game-based learning has many positive results, and instructors will most likely continue implementing this technology in classrooms and at work. Furthermore, since eLearning can sometimes be impersonal, gamification of the industry will be most welcome.
Learners enjoy playing, getting rapid feedback, levelling up, interacting with characters with distinct personalities, and learning concepts. Many of these components are likely to be present in future offerings, making the learning experience so much more interesting, interactive, and fun that students will participate eagerly and get the advantage of mastering the subject.
Gamification of eLearning is not just about adding fun to the learning experience. Gamification can also help businesses improve employee performance and increase their bottom line by making training more engaging, effective and efficient.
It helps businesses improve employee performance and make training more engaging, effective and efficient. The rise of gamification in eLearning is due to several factors:
● The popularity of games among people of all ages.
● The ability of games to engage learners and keep their attention for extended periods.
● The fact that most people today are familiar with gamification makes it easier to accept it as part of their training.
● The ability of games to engage the brain’s reward system increases motivation and drive.
With all these elements, it’s easy to see why applications on all forefronts implement gamification, from health and fitness trackers to social media and mLearning.
Conclusion
The benefits are clear no matter which eLearning trend you implement. Giving your students a fun and unique way to interact with the content ensures they learn best and are happy in their educational experience.
By implementing all of the above in eLearning technologies in the future, the field will see a substantial increase in users and an increase in language retention and will increase the demand for localization services.
We hope you enjoyed this blog and you found yourself excited about the advancements in learning in the future. If it sparked your interest in learning languages, check out our other blog about eLearning localization.
We have an ever-growing team of excellent natural language translators available in over 60 languages to solve any translation or localization request you might have.
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