Which Are the Top Upcoming Technology Trends and Their Impact on Learning & Development?


Learners nowadays have easier access to endless quantities of information and are subject to more distractions than ever before. How is learning and development (L&D) supposed to compete with social media, mobile apps, and the internet as a whole? Instead of competing, the goal is to adapt to new technological developments that are impacting learning and development and the L&D industry as a whole.

The traditional desktop eLearning experience and instructor-led training (ILT) or virtual instructor-led training (vILT) are both available. "At this time, we're moving to a new media. We have the opportunity to mix learning strategies to produce something that takes advantage of the changing learning and development landscape. Let's examine some of the most significant and powerful upcoming technological developments to see how, if not already, they may affect how we create learning and training programs.

Top Emerging Technological Trends: Learning and Development Affected

Understand the advantages of including cutting-edge technologies in your learning and development initiatives.

Virtual Reality

You have heard the uproar. The headset wearers have been watched. You want to give it a go, but are you sure you fully get what Virtual Reality (VR) is and how it could aid in learning and development? VR is one of the most significant recent technical advancements in learning and development to date, in part because the currently available technology has attained a form of critical mass that eventually makes it feasible for accessibility at a cost-effective price and increasing more so every day. In fact, Goldman Sachs predicted that the business will be valued at around $80 and $110 billion by 2025 and that people would spend greater sums on VR than on TV. Yet, what really sets VR apart as a unique learning tool again for the workplace are immersion and presence.

Mixing immersion with presence enables students to feel as though they are in and participating in a digitally simulated world, which increases engagement and retention. No other media can provide consumers the opportunity to feel what it's like to accomplish something firsthand like virtual reality (VR). The major applications of VR in education are numerous. Mitchell says that virtual reality (VR) "transports students to a different universe and allows individuals to undertake something that could be unsafe, too expensive, or too difficult to repeat in real life." Embrace the hype. VR has long since lost its reputation as a futuristic technology.

Augmented Reality

On July 6, 2016, a smartphone game called Pokémon GO took the globe by storm. It allowed users to explore their actual environment and come across artificially intelligent Pokemons that they could catch using their phones. We were interested in Augmented Reality (AR) for the first time because of its popular use. An actual-world environment is layered with a computer picture in augmented reality to create a composite perspective. While employing a cutting-edge immersive VR system, you won't be traveling far from a powerful Computer. Contrarily, AR nearly by definition necessitates that the user be able to move about in the actual environment with some degree of freedom.

By providing a 3D picture of items, AR can improve conventional learning and improve understanding. Think about medical students having the opportunity to open up a 3D model of a heart to see what the actual thing might look like. AR is basically about improving understanding through the depiction of items that would be challenging to recreate in real life. It's not only about making the learning experience more fascinating and enjoyable. The productivity of workers can be increased on a variety of jobs the first time AR is used, even without prior training, according to a Harvard Business Review study.

According to the article, which focuses on the application of AR smart glasses in manufacturing, employees may, for example, watch repair instructions while they are mending an object by overlaying task aids like videos, pictures, or text onto things. "AR raises the bar for existing data. That offers us the chance to breathe new life into something that may otherwise be dull and lifeless," Mitchell continues. It's comparable to the difference between seeing a statue in a book and really seeing it, taking in all the nuances, and comprehending how it would seem in the real world.

Computerized Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already present in our world, despite the fact that the idea of it could seem a little frightening. By learning from users, Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, and even the Google search engine rely on AI. The just-in-time information that AI provides is excellent. L&D encompasses a lot more than formal education. It also occurs in the workplace. Internet searches and other performance support systems can then assist people to discover what they need at the perfect time thanks to AI. Smarter learning routes are one of the things lacking in L&D, Mitchell continues. Using AI, we can learn from the user and comprehend their strengths and weaknesses. We may now only display the information that is tailored to their needs.

Big Data

Big data is a terminology used to refer to great amounts of data that may be processed to uncover insights that improve decision-making. According to Christopher Pappas essay, "Big Data" in the sense or meaning of learning is "the data that is produced by learners while they are completing an e-Learning course or training module." The potential applications of this knowledge are its principal draw. Using Experience API, customized tracking systems may assist in gathering information about learning encounters and constructing more adaptable solutions.

According to Gannon, using big data to determine how and how quickly a student is absorbing information enables instructional designers to design more individualized learning pathways. "Use the training to gather data on how individuals think, believe, and behave, for example in simulated circumstances, instead of merely developing training, rolling it out, and hoping it works—that is, a first-best guess at what a learner requires." "Then, utilize that data to inform decisions about future training."

Podcasts

Are you surprised? Podcasts haven't traditionally been thought of as educational tools since sitting through an hour-long lecture isn’t always the most interesting way to learn. The fact that "podcasts are truly becoming more popular in the public in general, and the art and understanding of how to make a compelling podcast are expanding," as Gannon puts it, is what is, nevertheless, shifting the tide. It is real. In the US, podcast consumption has increased gradually up to 26% over the previous ten years, according to Statista [4]. Gannon predicts that as podcasts gain popularity, the L&D industry will adopt them.

Podcasts don't have to be extremely long to be enjoyable; when done effectively, they may be. Podcasts aren't technically a new technology; rather, they're a new application of older technology. "I believe it will become more prevalent, albeit perhaps not in L&D due to ethical concerns, such as whether or not students should be paid to listen to podcasts. But I already see students who are engaged in their own professional development using it," adds Gannon. However, she adds, "There are benefits for specific audiences. Driving the car or cleaning the dishes, for that matter, are also activities where they may learn.

The L&D industry is at an interesting time right now. The more we comprehend the new technological trends that are always evolving, the greater and better learning and training experiences we will be able to deliver and create. For students, the future is promising.

Updated on: 07-Apr-2023

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