eLearning Trends

New eLearning Trends for 2024: eLearning Industry 101

Whether you’ve been living under a rock since the pandemic or have first-hand experience struggling to get your kids to jump on Zoom with their teachers, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the upcoming eLearning trends.

I’ll never forget the struggle of trying to keep my son focused on his teacher’s Zoom calls. Trying to get your kids to sit still is hard enough to do in a classroom where they can engage in social interaction. However, add staring at a screen all day to the mix, and this is enough to make anyone go crazy, ESPECIALLY KIDS!

Unfortunately, none of us were prepared for the sudden impact Covid-19 would have on our education system.

Whether you are interested in discovering more about online course creation or just want some fun facts about eLearning, we’ll cover some up-and-coming learning trends and see how much has improved in the online learning space since my son and I struggled all those years ago. 

What are Some eLearning Trends We’ll See in 2024?

Remember those painfully awkward Zoom classes when the pandemic hit? We’ve come a long way since then!

The abrupt digital transformation kicked the eLearning industry into hyperdrive. Now, online learning is breaking all kinds of boundaries in 2024 with some seriously game-changing trends.

Mobile learning is about to explode thanks to our addictions to smartphones. Bite-sized courses conveniently crammable into any free moment? Yes, please!

Then we’ve got learning management systems – these all-singing, all-dancing platforms are the NASA control centers for companies running online training. Powered by AI and big data, they automate and optimize the whole experience.

But the trendiest kid on the block is adaptive learning tech. This smart personalization wizard customizes the entire learning journey based on your unique strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles. Say bye-bye to “one-size-fits-some” boredom!

The future of eLearning is pretty much putting the “experience” into the learning experience. It’s an immersive, intelligent, hyper-customized world, and I’m so ready for it.

Mobile Learning

Mobile phone trying to learn

When we talk about mobile learning, we’re not just referring to boring PDF versions of textbooks crammed onto tiny screens. Nope, this eLearning trend is all about leveraging the full capabilities of mobile devices to make learning more interactive, immersive, and accessible than ever before.

Leading companies are investing heavily in developing mobile-first courses with gamification, simulations, augmented reality experiences, and more.

Why? Because our smartphones and tablets have become powerful enough to enable rich multimedia training that’s portable enough to fit into the micro-moments of our increasingly on-the-go lives.

The numbers don’t lie – Mobile learning revenues are projected to explode past $84 billion by 2027 as more organizations embrace this flexible format.

Whether it’s Instagram-style bite-sized lessons, just-in-time performance support, or location-based AR experiences, mobile is shaping the future of how we’ll acquire knowledge and skills. For busy modern learners, having that level of freedom and convenience is absolutely game-changing.

VR (Virtual Reality)

VR Headset

VR is undoubtedly one of the top eLearning trends exploding in 2024. While virtual reality itself isn’t brand new, recent technology improvements have finally made it realistic and affordable for creating immersive training experiences.

Just imagine transporting your learners into hyper-realistic 3D environments that simulate everything from crisis response to complex surgeries.

With VR, the possibilities for risk-free, hands-on practice are mind-blowing! No more relying on flat videos or role-playing – learners can now fully immerse themselves directly into the action as if it’s real.

But VR’s potential extends way beyond simulations. Cutting-edge eLearning is using virtual reality to build deeply engaging learning paths that gamify the entire educational journey. From interactive branching scenarios to epic quest-based narratives, VR unlocks a whole new dimension of active learning.

The results speak for themselves – businesses using VR report 40% higher attention spans and 35% faster learning comprehension compared to traditional classroom settings. As the hardware and software continue advancing, you can bet virtual training will quickly go mainstream.

 AR (Augmented Reality)

Augmented reality (AR) is quickly becoming one of the coolest new trends in eLearning. Unlike virtual reality’s fully digital worlds, AR allows you to overlay virtual objects and graphics onto the real world through your smartphone or tablet camera. It’s like having a magic lens that makes the physical and digital realms seamlessly merge!

Companies are going all-in on leveraging AR for training programs that teach complex skills. Instead of just watching a boring video, you can use an AR app to visualize 3D models, animated instructions, and even virtual guides that appear right before your eyes while learning hands-on tasks.

Imagine you’re learning new equipment repairs. With AR, you can hold up your tablet’s camera to the actual machine, and an AR overlay will project visuals that peel back the outer layers to expose the interior components and systems.

It’s like getting x-ray vision paired with an interactive tutor walking you through each procedure step-by-step in the real environment.

Big brands like Boeing and Walmart have already implemented AR training, which reports higher knowledge retention and faster competency.

As 5G enables even more mind-blowing AR capabilities, this trend is rapidly reshaping how we’ll acquire skills that require physical mastery. Being able to digitally augment our perception of the world is a total game-changer for experiential learning.

Personalized Learning

The eLearning landscape is rapidly evolving to become hyper-personalized and adaptive. One of the biggest trends taking the industry by storm is personalized learning experiences that dynamically tailor the entire educational journey to each individual student.

Rather than generic, one-size-fits-all courses, this approach leverages AI, machine learning, and data analytics to continuously adjust and optimize the learning content, activities, pacing, teaching styles, and delivery methods. Personalized learning allows the platforms to recognize and adapt to your unique strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and proficiency levels in real time.

For example, suppose you struggle with a particular concept. In that case, the system automatically surfaces additional practice exercises, supplemental resources from alternate angles, and customized learning paths to help you overcome that hurdle. Meanwhile, materials you easily grasp are abbreviated to be more efficient with your time. Even the formatting and multimedia get customized to your optimal modality – visual, auditory, hands-on, etc.

Early adopters report stellar results like 60% higher knowledge retention, 35% faster completion rates, and massively improved engagement. As the underlying AI technologies rapidly advance, you can expect personalized experiences to become the new standard in the eLearning landscape, finally ending the era of tedious one-size-fits-some courses.

Blended Learning (Hybrid Learning)

Blended learning (also called hybrid learning) is having a major moment as one of the top eLearning trends in 2024. The idea is pretty straightforward – combining online education with good ol’ fashioned in-person classroom sessions.

Instead of an entirely digital course or totally instructor-led training, blended learning leverages the strengths of both worlds. The online portion provides flexibility to learn core concepts remotely and self-paced through videos, reading materials, etc. However, learners still get valuable in-person sessions for interactive activities, hands-on practice, and direct guidance from an educator.

This hybrid model is a game-changer for corporate training focused on building new skills. Employees can efficiently learn the fundamentals online according to their schedule. But the physical classroom lets them apply that knowledge through collaborative exercises, simulations, and answering questions with their peers and trainer.

The data proves that blended learning is highly effective when designed properly. By strategically mapping the right learning objectives to each modality, you get significantly better outcomes like higher engagement, knowledge retention, and productivity gains. It’s the best of both worlds!

Final Thoughts On The eLearning Industry

As you can see, the way eLearning content is being delivered has vastly changed since my son and I struggled to get on a Zoom call. 

Between AI, AR, and VR, the possibilities seem endless when it comes to eLearning and online course creation. Whether you’re preparing for a company meeting, onboarding new employees, teaching a class of kids, or creating a new online course, the sky is the limit with all the tools available.