October eLearning Bytes: 15 Years of eLearning
As EPI celebrates 15 years in business this month, we thought it would be interesting to look back on the incredible changes we've seen in eLearning.
Because technology is a key component to eLearning development, we now must consider many newer mobile technologies when developing courses. Let's look at a few important eLearning components that didn't exist 15 years ago.
Mobile Technology. Think about the ubiquity of iPads and other tablets. Hospitals, maintenance techs, retail shops, and countless other places of business use them. Our eLearning development must adhere to the design and function of mobile technology. The courses must look good on them. And we need to consider how the mobile learner might need smaller, more manageable learning options.
VR Technology. We're still in the early stages of truly incorporating virtual reality models into eLearning courses. Now that Facebook plans to release $200 VR headsets in 2018, we might see a real push for easier-to-use VR-compatible software.
Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. None of these existed when EPI first started. Our eLearning courses aren't directly connected with social media, but it's no stretch to say that the adoption of social media has dramatically influenced how we all communicate and connect with people. As for eLearning, we've taken micro-learning to heart. The ways in which people use social media to push information takes the concept of chunking to a whole new level. Our brains are increasingly becoming used to this way of absorbing ideas.
eLearning Development Software. The history of eLearning is not much older than EPI itself. The tools many of us rely on to build quality courses did not exist 15 years ago. Adobe's Captivate as we now know it was a very different iteration in 2002. Articulate first introduced an eLearning product at this time, but it was nothing like what we use today. Undoubtedly, the software side of the industry has grown tremendously. And developers don't need to be coding experts anymore to use it!