Udemy’s recent L&D report has shed light on the direction the L&D landscape is moving towards in 2018 and beyond. Udemy is a global marketplace for learning and teaching online, they reached out to 263 L&D managers to understand where L&D managers are focusing for 2018.

#1 Personalised learning experiences, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

Currently only 4% of L&D offerings are powered by AI and machine learning today, and no wonder, the whole area is bleeding edge not just cutting edge. Udemys report claims  24% of L&D managers plan to leverage machine learning over the next few years.

Personalised learning and AI is of special interest to Totem. We are exploring how we can capture behavioural data from game play. The entertainment games world has played around with changing narrative and difficulty levels based on player performance so it's only a matter of time before L&D catches up.  

#2 Gamification as a game-changer

Despite all of the talk around Gamification only 8% of L&D programmes leverage this tool. However the opportunities and confidence are growing and 31% of respondents indicated that they intend to add gamification to their corporate learning programs to make learning engaging while helping staff retain and apply their new knowledge.

This is definitely reflected in what we are currently seeing in the market place. 

Interestingly the report recommends that L&D leaders 'must understand the science behind it and design their programs thoughtfully'. Game design is a very specialised skill set and one that is costly to develop in house if its not your core business. Working with a studio like Totem can speed up your L&D projects and you don't have the overheads of recruiting a game development team. 

#3 Virtual reality and augmented reality is gaining ground

VR and AR seems to sit alongside AI and machine learning in terms of rate of adoption with 20% of responders planning to use the approach in the next few years.

AR is fantastic for providing additional information on top of the real world. There have been some amazing applications for physical interactions with IT systems and maintenance for example and the ROI is clear to see. 

VR is wonderful when learning needs to be represented at a 1:1 scale and where you need to really feel as though you are there. We've played around with creating enclosed spaces as well as creating compelling and engaging narrative marketing videos. The best use of VR in L&D in our opinion is when you need to create that immediate emotional connection between the player and the environment. 

Penetration of technology and new methodologies in the L&D space is certainly a slow burn, but the evidence for the effectiveness of these approaching is developing. Costs are coming down and organisations are becoming more creative in how they view learning and development. Its an incredibly exciting place to be, an incredibly rewarding position to be in and the possibilities are truly endless.