Hickok & Boardman

By Doreen Dartez – of iBTR

More than ever, with continued layoffs and hiring freezes, companies need tools to access and develop talent internally.  Your organization may currently leverage LMS (learning management system) tools for standard training on diversity, harassment, and safety, however LMS solutions are not just courses any more. As we know, the demands of employees are growing.  As employees are increasingly identifying with their value, employers have an opportunity to get better in recognizing their talents.  Unfortunately, the most valuable skills across most industries are not true certifications or those that could allow for easy checking of a box. Many employers do not have a way of tracking the ever-so-unidentified skills like leadership, communication, listening, collaboration, and other soft skills.  This is your opportunity to track and value employees before they are more sophisticated in their needs and demands.  Another reason why “Learning Tech” is so popular is that we now have API integrations and industry standards in this area to help facilitate. A decade ago, the only way to measure or track online learning was through SCORM, an old standard built around CD-ROM tracking initially developed for aviation training. Today the xAPI (experience API) lets us track and measure every single interaction, for example an interaction a user has with content, very similar to the way advertising tech works. xAPI answers the question “who did what on what learning activity.”

More recently, we are seeing the explosion of growth in what we now call “cohort-based learning.” As you remember from school, people tend to learn in small groups. That’s why we always had our desks pulled together in grade school to work on various projects. Well, this idea is sweeping across corporate training and technology with many of ways one can learn from their peers in exercises or courses.  And within innovative corporations we are now finding use of some awesome solutions which use VR, AR (augmented reality), AI-enabled learning paths, and highly sophisticated career pathways.

What is VR, AR and AI?

• VR is Virtual Reality and is a completely immersive experience that replaces a real-life environment with a simulated one. You may have likely used these tools or played with a child’s VR experience toy.
• AR is Augmented Reality as it augments your surroundings by adding digital elements to a live view, often by using the camera on a smartphone.
• AI is Artificial Intelligence.

We are also observing the emergence of video in Learning Tech. Once considered a way to “capture an expert” like TedTalks, it is now a way to capture moments, ideas, and concepts in a highly memorable way. You may not be surprised that TedTalks are dropping in popularity.  Why….because they’re too long! TikTok, a favorite app for many, especially Gen Z aka “Zoomers”, is a perfect example.  Additionally, we would be remiss if we did not mention the growth of AI, as it’s everywhere. Of all the HR applications that have AI, learning is probably the one trending the most in HR technology. Platforms like EdCast, Degreed, Eightfold, and many others can guess at your skills, watch your activity online, and recommend content in the flow of work. This is reality, today! And now that Microsoft, LinkedIn, Cornerstone, and other big companies are investing in this space, the options will only advance.  And not to be forgotten, learning tech has always been and will continue to be related to skills tracking, and in tandem will continue to evolve as usage is sweeping across organizations.

Sources: Josh Bersin Academy