As one year comes to an end and another begins, it’s important to take some time to reflect on major happenings in 2011 – and look to the future for what is to come. Bersin & Associates recently released the report, “Strategic Human Resources & Talent Management: Predictions for 2012,” which offers insights from the past year, as well as predictions for what the next year will bring.Before diving into some of the 2012 predictions, the Bersin & Associates article lists two important current developments that are influencing employee interaction in the workplace:A) Technology: Although this seems an obvious implication, new technologies and social learning platforms are drastically changing how employees operate at work. Constant access to the Internet, iPads and mobile phones allow employees to communicate with anyone at any time. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter make it possible to share information and discuss topics in real time, regardless of location or time.B) Communication: The introduction of these new technologies results in a shift of employee attention from fellow co-workers to the Internet. Instead of communicating with co-workers sitting nearby, employees are posting on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter – breaking away from their current environments and opening themselves up to countless individuals on the Internet.As these current trends continue to progress, we must take into consideration how they will affect employee training and education. More specifically, we must ask how the e-Learning industry will be affected. What lies in the future for e-Learning training in professional environments?Bersin & Associates’ sixth prediction for 2012, “Corporate Training Will Continue to Transform Itself,” addresses these inquiries and provides specific changes for e-Learning training in the workplace.1) Informal Learning: Organizations are beginning to embrace more informal learning techniques and practices, such as using social media or mobile devices for learning. As e-Learning developers, it is our job to seek out affordable technologies that embrace informal learning techniques and new e-Learning trends while still meeting the needs of employees and organizations.2) Instant Gratification: Employees are used to YouTube, Twitter and Facebook giving them exactly what they want, when they want it. This “instant gratification” mindset means that standards are higher and attention spans are shorter – employees only want to take the time to view what is fast, new and exciting. From an e-Learning perspective, courses and training in 2012 must be created in a way that meets high standards and short attention spans, i.e. courses must be short and to-the-point, and they must be engaging and interactive to hold the attention of learners through the entire course.3)HTML5 and mLearning: Since video is now replacing Flash, HTML5 will explode in the upcoming year. In order for employees to be able to view content from mobile devices, such as the iPad or iPhone, e-Learning tools must have the ability to record videos and support them in an HTML5 format. Without these capabilities, creating and sharing e-Learning in the workplace will be near impossible.4) Gamification: Games in e-Learning are more popular now than ever before. They’re easy to build, simple to implement and make learning fun. Adding games to training is a great way to increase interactivity and create an enjoyable learning environment.2012 is sure to be an exciting, game-changing year for the e-Learning industry. From informal learning to mobile learning to games, all of these changes and developments will affect how we create, publish and share e-Learning on a daily basis– and Lectora can help us meet these changing needs. Of course, we can never know for sure whether these predictions are accurate or not – we will just have to wait and see. Until then, here’s to a bright future for e-Learning professionals as we step into a brand new year!To learn more about Lectora e-Learning, please visit: lectora.com.
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