Here on our blog, we like to keep our readers in the know on the latest eLearning trends. Our first article of 2012 discussed several eLearning predictions for the new year. As January is quickly coming to a close, we would like to share some technology trends to keep your eye on in 2012. As anyone in the field of eLearning knows, technology is an ever growing and ever changing entity and below are three of the hottest trends in technology that will affect how people work, live, play, and, of course, learn in the upcoming year.
Trend: Mobility and Portability
It seems like anyone who is talking about technology trends for 2012 lists mobile technology or portable technology as the number one trend. While mobile and portable technology is nothing new by any means, this is considered to be a trend to watch because many technophiles agree that there is going to be an explosive increase in the number of consumers, businesses, and organizations that use this type of technology. For the world of eLearning, this means that many of the tools and applications used for course creation and delivery will need to be adapted for use on mobile and portable devices. This could also mean that the mLearning (mobile learning – using a mobile device as a source of course content or creation) will also expand rapidly alongside the ever-increasing mobile and portable device consumer base.
Trend: Augmented Reality
Almost every technology trend report we came across for 2012 mentioned augmented reality as well. Wikipedia defines augmented reality as “a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.” While is seems like many people are talking about what augmented reality can do for marketing and advertising, do not discount the impact it can have on eLearning. With augmented reality, learning a great deal more about something you have encountered in your environment could be as simple as snapping a picture with your smartphone or tablet to electronically retrieve information tied to the object of interest.
Trend: Voice Command
Voice command technology is another trend that has been around for quite some time but is expected to seriously expand in the upcoming year. Apple’s introduction of Siri for the iPhone 4S is probably the most notable advancement in voice controlled interaction in the recent past and is expected by many technology professionals to bring voice command technology into the mainstream. This technological trend will most likely have its largest impact on eLearning in voice to text applications. Using tools such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, Google Voice, or several other applications, spoken word can be transcribed to text fairly easily. This could streamline many eLearning tasks, especially if the eLearning is taking place using a mobile or portable device.