News Roundup

NEWS ROUNDUP!

What’s happening in e-learning?

(hint: 2024 looks like it’s the year of headsets and even more AI)

Microlearning continues to rise for 2024

It comes as little surprise that the importance of microlearning continues to increase in the workplace. Microlearning, or “bite-sized” as it was more affectionately known, is an approach that involves delivering content in small, specific bursts. Although the industry fell out of love with the “digestible” term, the approach continues to gain popularity in corporate training.

According to recent surveys, shorter 10-minute microlearning courses have a completion rate of 83%, compared to 20% to 30% for standard learning and development courses. It therefore comes as no surprise that busy workers prefer shorter courses over conventional learning strategies, but at what cost? Providing less information in an effort to reduce learning time might sound great in principle, but are we creating a “TikTok” style culture in corporate training?

AR & VR Reimagine Learning

Unless you’ve been off the grid for the past 8 months, locked away playing on your Mega Drive, then you will have seen the likes of Apple and Sony competing with the Meta Quest headset. With each company trying to redefine the way we use such devices in the workplace.

But whilst this has been happening, other companies such as STRIVR and Talespin are pushing the boundaries of immersive learning experiences. Talespin claims learners who adopt their technology are able to learn new skills four times faster than traditional training, are four times more focussed and three times more “emotionally connected” to the learning experience. STRIVR customer Verizon claims that employee engagement is up 97%, and Walmart boasts a 96% in cost savings. Here at Dirtyword, we take these numbers and testimonials with a pinch of salt. But what we do know is that VR headsets are not a fad, and over the course of the next few years will be widely adopted in the home and office. It does all feel like Back to the Future II, but hey, we had self-tying shoes a few years back.

Coursera implement AI to craft a more flexible education experience for 2024

Coursera, one of the biggest LMS platforms on the planet, with around 129 million registered users, have responded to the threats of Chat GPT and generative AI by embracing it.

Instead of fretting over whether learners are cheating on exams and coursework, Coursera has implemented a new chatbot named “Coach”. Students can ask the chatbot to provide help on a concept, create practice problems, or summarize learning activities. Coursera CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda says, “Basically, what we’re doing is we’re building ChatGPT into every course as your personalized tutor”.

Adobe Captivate trumps Articulate Storyline in a recent Techradar review

Techradar recently ranked the new Adobe Captivate as the better tool for project content creation. Singling out its ability to create VR content as a core factor. The debate between Storyline and Captivate has gone back decades, and although not as fierce as The Stones Vs The Beatles, it has certainly divided the instructional design community.

Storyline still seems to be the tool of choice for most, whilst Captivate still tries to regain popularity. Here at Dirtyword, we have long debates over the future of SCORM and slide-based content, but perhaps the rise of VR and the adoption of headsets will see the authoring tools heading in different directions and perhaps see a resurgence in their use. Hopefully, the role of the instructional designer will live to fight another day in the ever-changing world of AI.

What’s happening in the Open Source World?

Moodle Founder stepping down as CEO

Martin Dougiamas, the man behind the popular opensource LMS platform Moodle, is stepping down as CEO in February 2024. The reins are been handed over to Scott Anderberg, previously the CRO of Boundless Learning and before that, Vice President of Online Learning at Pearson. So, what does this mean for Moodle? Well, Martin will still very much be part of Moodle, shifting to the role of Head of Research and actively focussing on AI. Dougiamas states, “Some of that work will be aimed at the current Moodle products, and some of it will be new products”. So can we expect to see AI weaving its way into the trusty LMS? With or without Martin Dougiamas, this seems inevitable.

H5P claims you can “Build faster with AI”

H5P, the highly popular open-source content authoring tool, first dipped its toes into AI back in July 2023 when it released a video of a new feature known as “Smart Import”.

Smart Import helps instructors and instructional designers build large amounts of interactive content in minutes and static content can effortlessly be made interactive.

Smart Import is currently available as a new premium tier for H5P.com, so it’s unlikely it will make its way into the “free” version of the plugin anytime soon. If it is indeed the speed you are after, and you are prepared to sacrifice “instructor knowledge” over development time, then yes, you can certainly build faster with AI.