2015: A brief recap and looking beyond!

The New Year, 2015 is just a few days old and it is that time of the year where we all have come back from the vacations, and are on a verge to kick start the New Year with a bang. So, before we look beyond, it will be better to take a dig at the past and see what is coming ahead this year.

Global Industry Analysts, which is a research company, have estimated that the market value for e-Learning will reach a $US 107 billion in 2015.

Let us all get together to see what’s in store for the year ahead for us, and predict the key learning trends.

Learning via mobile is a new phenomenon

Last year saw a tremendous growth in mobile learning due to an increase in the usage of smartphones. Mobile Learning Market Report have predicted the five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the mLearning market to be 18.2% and estimated global revenues would be at $US 12.2 billion by 2017. It has also been predicted that almost all of the world’s population will have a smartphone though this had been already true for most of the year 2014. As the usage of mobiles continues to grow, it has become evident now that mobile learning will be the new mode of learning due to ease-of-access capabilities as it allows a learner to access learning anywhere and at any time.

Increase usage of APIs in learning

Like last year, this year too will see an extended growth in the usage of APIs or Application Programming Interface like Tin Can API. Tin Can, which is a Learning Record Store (LRS), helps track learner’s progress as they engage in traditional, formal learning as well as informal and social learning. This API is all set to overhaul SCORM as the “Go-To” industry standard LRS.

Gamification in learning

As Karl Kapp have said, “The future of eLearning cannot be boring courses lacking engagement or emotional response…the future of eLearning must include games and gamification.”

Gamification has emerged as a significant trend since recent years, and it will be one of the top trends this year as well. This type of learning includes game mechanism and game design techniques, and it is a powerful tool to engage the learners. It helps to develop skills and enable innovation among the learners. Gamification allows the learner to learn a new skill by doing real tasks in in a real environment in a fun and interactive manner.

Video-based learning

With the rise of mobile devices, video-based learning also saw a tremendous increase last year. It was estimated by Google and Ipsos MediaCT that over 67% of mobile users who own a smartphone watch videos. In addition, it was also estimated that 14% use videos at least once a day.

Rise of cloud-based LMS

Like last year, cloud-based LMS will see a continuous growth due to excessive rise of cloud technology. The forecasts show that the Learning Management Systems or LMS will rise at a rate of 25% for the next five years reaching $ US 783 billion in 2018. It also has been projected that the growth of cloud-based LMS will rise in 2015.

Use of Analytics in learning

Last year, Big Data was an area that had a greater impact in the IT industry and we also saw how Big Data has been used by the companies to determine the efficiency of learning. This will help calculate and project a more accurate ROI—and then create personalized learning to suit the needs of the learners.