Redesign is a common thread in these six eLearning trends that will keep courses at peak performance in 2020.
The most exciting trends in 2020 eLearning, if implemented, will impact user experience more than anything. For instance, with the retirement of Adobe Flash, functionality will be a top concern for managers of instructional design. Otherwise, redesign is the name of the game. Chunking learning, improving the user interface, and giving learners spaces to interact are essential this year.
1. Affordable Microlearning
More minicourses will be arriving on the scene in 2020. For example, Lynda.com moved to LinkedIn in 2019, and now their courses are a click away from employment seekers eager to pad their resumes. In 2020, instructional designers at universities will improve on this trend. Namely, they’ll find ways to chunk learning into modules. They’ll make sure that learning content is more easily accessible with fewer clicks. They’ll also include customizable content that grows along with the institution’s needs.
2. Out with the Old
Adobe Flash Player takes a bow in 2020. Sadly, this animation standby will be obsolete by the end of the year. Thus, any Flash-based course content will need to be removed, converted to HTML5, or redesigned with a different tool. As a result, this forced update will benefit higher education as new tools are incorporated into the process. An early trend-setter, the US Department of Defense took advantage of their massive redesign effort to add the new xAPI to collect data and improve learner analytics.
3. More Original Video
As YouTube becomes increasingly ad-heavy and subscription-only, course designers will need to generate even more original content. Video will be easier than ever to create with apps like Wondershare Filmora. An app for purchase, Wondershare stands out as a solid video editing tool among many options. Moreover, subscribing to something like Teachertube is another option for curating content.
4. Seeing is Believing
Gamification was a 2019 trend that will impact many aspects of eLearning in 2020. One key area impacted is the display of assessment results and progress. eLearning designers should always keep in mind the user experience. They may not be gamers, but learners benefit from easy-to-read progress bars, badges, and pie charts.
5. Apps Make it Real
More holdout learners and instructors will get hooked on eLearning as it becomes more accessible and user friendly. By 2020, course mobile apps should be up to speed and more fluid. Moodle’s LMS app is a good example of a welcoming interface. Therefore, many latecomers will find that eLearning and eTeaching are much easier than expected.
6. Learning Communities
It’s not enough just to interact with content and instructors. For instance, learners are inspired and motivated as they work together. With a recent emphasis on social-emotional needs, curriculum designers are including more opportunities for meaningful connections. Modeled after social media apps, mobile-friendly courses will include a place for learners to connect comfortably.
Final Thought
In short, all of these 2020 trends are impressive advances that will make eLearning more interactive and accessible. Two trends, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), both get honorable mention. They had high visibility in 2019, but price and pedagogy have hindered rapid progress.
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