Education is no longer limited to traditional classrooms, tests, and textbooks; eLearning is now at the forefront of the education industry and has become an essential part of the modern learning landscape. The future of this learning relies on its ability to tend to everyone's needs, regardless of their ability or chosen device. This blog will look at what this future looks like and how eLearning influences it.
Accessible Learning
Looking into the early stages of eLearning, you'll find that accessibility was more of an afterthought than a requirement. However, due to the push for equity within the education industry, an increasing emphasis on creating inclusive learning environments has risen. And as a result, accessibility isn't only the right thing to incorporate into learning but also is a requirement outlined in guidelines like WCAG 2.0. In this case, accessibility is described as the approach to learning design that considers the abilities of all individuals, such as visual, auditory, and cognitive impairments.
So what does the future look like for accessible learning? We can expect to see a greater focus on accessible learning design as personalised learning becomes more and more powerful. Features such as closed captions, audio descriptions, and alternate text for images will be available at the click of a button, like any other features common in authoring tools. The more talked about the expansion will include VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) to be available to all learners and will fit their personal needs. Learning will be more interactive and will allow those with differing abilities to experience learning that is not only effective but enjoyable.
Responsive Learning
We all know what a phone is, and I can confidently say that if you are reading this, it's likely your phone is nearby, or you are, in fact, looking at it now. This is a responsive design, with the option to view online material on any device – mobile, tablet, laptop and so on.
In the future, we can expect new devices and, in turn, new ways of consuming information for the purpose of education. You'll be able to design your course on any device and choose specific ones that you may see as more suitable for your course. In the future, more and more people will be learning on the go, so in turn, more people will be learning. Elearning authoring tools can help make this happen by providing responsive design templates and making it easy to create courses that are optimised for different devices.
Personalised Learning
Personalised learning refers to designing eLearning courses tailored to learners' individual needs. This includes incorporating features such as adaptive learning, which adjusts the course content based on the learner's progress, and personalised feedback, which provides learners with individualised feedback based on their performance.
In the future, we can expect to see a greater emphasis on personalised learning. This includes designing courses that are tailored to the individual needs of learners, such as courses that are designed for different learning styles and abilities or that incorporate personalised feedback.
The Future of Learning
The implications of accessible and responsive learning are far-reaching and significant. By designing eLearning courses that are accessible to people with disabilities, we can create more inclusive learning environments that enable all learners to participate and succeed. Additionally, responsive learning can increase access to education by making it easier for learners to access courses on a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets. Finally, personalised learning can improve the effectiveness of eLearning by tailoring courses to the individual needs of learners, leading to better learning outcomes. The future of accessible and responsive learning is, therefore, one in which education is more accessible, inclusive, and effective than ever before.
We should look forward to the future of education, an inclusive, accessible world where anyone can join on any device. However, this all begins with eLearning authoring tools. Without the necessary features, designers have no choice but not to include accessibility or responsiveness. So be sure to choose your authoring tool wisely when you start designing.