The future of elearning

+1 for the Smart Sparrow reference. I was eyeing them as a company to work for. Unfortunately, they were bought this year by a big publishing company (Pearson), so we’ll see what happens with their technology.

Excellent video selections, almost leading us through the possible evolution:

  • China with research into learning engagement
  • Jane McGonigal with AI research on emotional connections
  • Rana el Kaliouby with AI and evolving storytelling

I enjoy science fiction and in many instances, they pave the way for where technology leads us. I think of three examples of forecasting where we are heading:

  1. Ready Player One

  2. Caprica

  3. Upload

Each of these has depictions of alternate realities (AR) in different capacities. Immersive environments, like those alluded to by Jane McGonigal, captivate the user, or Rana el Kaliouby branching by emotions. This is depicted in the movie Upload and comes with unexpected consequences - or morals about reality.

When listening to Responsive Stories, I thought this would be breaking our collective consciousness, how would we share experiences? But isn't that already a part of our reality.

I feel as we move forward a struggle will be building background knowledge. We are impatient and want to move right into the doing, or application. I think that will be an ongoing struggle, building solid foundations - one that currently exists.

In 10-20 years, the need for Learning Designers will grow. The field will become even more diverse as our world continues to focus on user experience. We will continue to move learners from point A to B meeting goals, and the tools we use will only ever be expanding.

In contradiction to the last statement, looking at the incorporations of AI or Adaptive Learning, wouldn’t the designer's role be replaced by technology? The algorithm would be making the decisions.

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