Edtech – The Future of Business

The education market is a consistent first adopter for new learning technologies, and it has a long history of vetting new learning technologies long before they reach the corporate environment.

Case in point, the LMS. In 1990, SoftArc created the first LMS as a tool for classrooms. And that really hasn’t changed…the largest LMSs are all designed with education in mind. It took nearly 10 years before LMSs began to be adopted by corporate L&D departments. In the late 1990s, corporate learning departments took what was designed for the classroom and developed it into specific LMS systems specifically designed for corporate training.

So if you want to know what trends corporate L&D can expect to encounter in the next few years, look no further than what the current trends are in edtech.

AI

At the top of the list is AI. While this technology is already being used across many businesses, it has yet to gain significant traction in L&D. But in education, it’s a different story. Edtech solutions are increasingly leveraging AI to drive learning efficacy and personalization, and offer automation that eases instructional burdens. For example:

As AI becomes more pervasive in education and other businesses, it’s only a matter of time, and money, before L&D will begin to explore what they can do with the technology within corporate training.

Interactive Video and Social Learning

Educators are also embracing new interactive video platforms and technologies that enable social learning. Due in part to the acceleration the current pandemic has caused in the evolution of remote learning, these tools combine all the learning benefits of video with the engagement benefits of discussion, collaboration, and self-direction. With these platforms, rather than passively watching a piece of content, learners can actively participate – posing and answering questions, commenting, and discussing the content with their peers and instructors all the way. Here are just two examples of interactive video tools at work within the education space:

AR and Voice

While still largely on the fringe in corporate training, AR and voice technologies are beginning to gain traction in education. Educators are using this unique technology to better explain abstract concepts and engage students where they’re often most engrossed – their smartphones. Additionally, colleges and schools are using voice technology, like Amazon’s Alexa, to improve student engagement and, in turn, success rates.

If you’d like to learn more about these new ways edtech is being utilized in the corporate world, or would like information on how Teach Smarter can help your business, please contact us.