Tracking changes in how we are set to learn
Today, we are witnessing industries undergo disruption, with rapid convergence of technologies. Constant change is making competencies in workforce go obsolete, leaving lifelong learning the only feasible option.
On the other hand, we have a new generation with a set of unique behavioural attributes, a fact that is shaping the workings of the education industry and pushing it to develop new formats, modules and approaches.
Here are some of the evolving industry trends when it comes to delivering learning:
NANO LEARNING
The attention span of learners is persistently shrinking. With the existence of lengthy, text-intensive, un-interactive learning content, students are unwilling to sit in sessions spread over hours. To address this, nanolearning or bite-sized learning is fast becoming a significant trend to support the learner behaviour and ensure attention.
LIFELONG LEARNING
Reports suggest that by 2022, 9% of India’s workforce will be employed in roles that don’t exist today while 37% is believed to be in new job roles.
In order to prepare for this change, it is important to know that learning is not discreet, rather a continuous and connected process in which the needs of the learners vary with time and the stage of their life. Every moment provides a learning opportunity. Hence, it is necessary to keep a track of the learning culture of an individual across different stages and not just specific learning in a particular stage. This will help understand the cognitive capabilities of a learner in its true sense.
LARGE-SCALE PERSONALISATION
The pattern of customer-based personalization is gradually progressing wherein adaptive means of learning is taking over the concept of ‘one-size fits all’. Being an effective mode of learning, this approach takes into consideration the individual learner abilities, and the appropriate time to consume content, thereby enhancing the quality of learning and the overall experience of learners.
DATA-DRIVEN LEARNING
Every individual leaves a large footprint of his/her learning behaviour while learning.
Today, such interactions (learning better with video, preferring game format, etc.) are acting as data sources for understanding the learner’s patterns and trends, and for devising strategies to make learning more effective than before.
SELF-PACED LEARNING
Learners have some nuances, which are unique to them where some students slow in a certain subject but might have the ability to grasp other subjects better. Taking this into consideration, the pace of the content is now being adjusted according to the strengths and weaknesses of the individual student in specific subjects.
ADDICTIVE MECHANISMS
There are specific constructs either in the content or in the learning platform that attract a learner’s attention. These include ‘like’ or ‘comment’ buttons, challenges, the capability to score and compete, win badges and points, and so on.
The focus of learning is slowly transforming to include these constructs in the content to make learning more addictive.
ENGAGED AND IMMERSIVE LEARNING
The learner today desires an engaging, interactive experience. Hence, there is a growing trend of designing content using gaming, and technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality to create immersive and engaging experiences.
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
Learning is no longer a one-toone interaction between the con- tent and the learner.
Instead, it is transforming to be an interaction between a group of people in a community construct where students can learn by debating and deliberating on a common platform.
This concept moves beyond the traditional custom of a student and a teacher. A teacher’s role is to facilitate learning for learners together learn from each other.
21ST CENTURY SKILLS
According to a survey, India is expected to form 25% of the world’s workforce by 2025.
This creates the urgency to equip the country’s youth with 21st century skills which have a much higher preference over specific domain skills. Today, learners are assessed on their ability to work in teams, be ethical in given scenarios, and to be creative and assertive.
As a result, the focus has shifted towards developing these capabilities to help learners have a greater advantage in the job space. It is not just about academics either; this extends beyond, to social skills.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE PLATFORMS
Today, rendering mere content is not enough; instead one needs to render experiences to make learning enjoyable.
The emphasis rests on enhancing learner experience management system which uses engaging game cartridges to modulate experiences while delivering content.
As we progress through 2019, we need our energies focused on these evolving trends which are about to dominate the next few years in the education sector.
The writer is Global Head of TCS ION,
a Tata Consultancy Services unit.