Augmented Reality

EdTech: Five Areas to Focus in 2022 and Beyond

Written by Team LiqvidJanuary 13, 2022

Venture capital in the EdTech industry has grown exponentially since 2010. It was $16.1 billion in 2020, but by 2022, the industry has attracted close to $50 billion in funding! And though all the regions are growing, Asia makes up 80% of all global VC dollars. It’s a reflection of the growing demand for disruptive technology in education.

The past two years accelerated the change the industry was already going through and we have much more to look forward to in 2022 and beyond. Here are the five areas to focus on:

1. AI-enabled adaptive learning

AI is already being used extensively in learning curriculums. 2022 will only see an acceleration of this trend to create effective personalized and interactive learning experiences, which can help resolve most of the challenges the industry is facing today. Leveraging dynamic AI, education providers can enable learners to take hyper-personalized journeys by interpreting the interests of each student and predicting their behavior to offer them the exact content that they need.

For instance, Singapore-based Vere360 uses AI and VR to offer quality education for social issues and skills development. The platform partners with several knowledge partners to build content easily accessible through a VR education app. Other examples include:

>> Smart Sparrow, whose adaptive learning platform adapts through modules and offers interactive quizzes and simulations.

>> IBM Research, in association with Skillsoft, launched an adaptive learning pilot program to offer adaptive data over user-content interactions, content relationships, and consumption patterns.

2. Gamification

Gamification isn’t new; it has been in use in classrooms and corporate board rooms for years with numerous hackathons and coding challenges. In 2022, however, gamification is bound to become a mainstay with the domination of the Metaverse. Most of the learners across the corporate world and students at all levels are digital natives and already have high expectations of digital applications. This year would see elements in the EdTech companies’ strategies, where learners can create their own content and collaborate. Even educators will use resources created by game designers, giving students sufficient challenges to keep them interested.

For instance, Brainscape has customized gamification through flashcards with an extensive list of topics, where learners can create their own cards or ask the program to make the cards for them. Another famous example is Duolingo – the language learning app, where lessons are grouped in skills, and they gradually teach you vocabulary and phrases. Learners can choose daily goals, and a notable element is their “Immersion area,” which lets you practice your language skills by translating texts in a special wiki-style, collaborative system.

3. Immersive learning with VR/AR

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies started in the gaming industry first before being adopted by the EdTech industry as an effective means of learning. The technologies help learners eliminate distractions and immerse themselves in their work. It’s also proven to be a very handy tool for students with ADD/ADHD. For instance, in 2022, teachers will increasingly use AR to teach students real-life lessons, like creating a tornado and bringing the funnel right into the classroom so students can experience these destructive storms close up.

Microsoft HoloLens has developed an interesting way to teach medical students and clinicians to interact and learn more about the human body using mixed reality. Learners can isolate, enlarge, and even walk inside the components of the human body to understand anatomy and learn how to treat different medical conditions.

4. Video-assisted learning

Videos – whether they are short or targeted clips – are huge already. And they have some proven benefits to different aspects of learners’ development and educational progress. 2022 will see more enhancements in video-assisted learning not just as a learning pedagogy but to enhance inclusivity and cultural awareness.

Teachers will use educational technologies, like whiteboards, to make their lessons varied, dynamic, and interactive. EdTech companies will increasingly use video clips or short videos to bring up a new discussion point in their courses, rather than just uploading videos on platforms for learners to watch later.

5. Learning flexibility

2022 is also going to be the year for flexibility in learning. Technology has made our lives enriching and the same flexibility will come to learning content as well. In 2021, we spoke about the end of the 9-5 routine. Gone will be the days when there will be fixed one-or two-year academic programs. With the advent of more streamlined virtual learning tools and video conferencing, learners will be able to pursue education when, where, and at the pace that suits them best.

Higher and professional education is leveraging technology to break from the routine timelines. For instance, Birmingham Business School recently introduced its 100% online MBA program that can be completed in anything from two-and-a-half to five years. This flexibility also has a name – the hybrid-flexible model, or HyFlex, defined as simultaneously hybrid instruction (a combination of online and face-to-face), and flexible. Learners can choose to attend face-to-face or learn online.

While in 2022

2022 is an exciting year for EdTech, thanks to organizations and educators for leveraging a connected world and delivering media-rich, student-centric solutions to help learners across the globe. But as the methodologies become more accessible and interactive, technologies and expertise need to keep up with the learners’ growth aspirations. A reliable digital learning partner can help with that.

Liqvid has two decades of eLearning design and delivery experience across instructional design methodologies, content authoring tools, and learning management systems. We are the partner of choice for several reputed EdTech and extended enterprise training providers—helping them take their programs to market faster in the most efficient way. Our approach is to create personalized learning experiences for every user of the digital learning programs we deliver for our clients. We have developed hundreds of interactive templates, AI tools, and learning apps that enable our clients to hit the ground running in this fast-paced EdTech market. Contact us!

4 Technologies That Are Transforming eLearning

Written by Team LiqvidJuly 13, 2021

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GSK Vaccines launched a custom project as part of their global onboarding event to introduce new hires to the business structure via a simulation game – a mix of live role-play and digital eLearning elements, including news-style videos and an online player dashboard.
New hires at Toyota Motor Europe get an interactive video onboarding tour consisting of quizzes and videos to see the customer value chain from beginning to end.
Tesco’s annual mandatory compliance campaign – Learning Leap – combines mini eLearning modules with microlearning quizzes and a gamified leaderboard to drive participation.

There are countless examples like these, which underscore the importance of technology in eLearning content development today. Gone are those static screens with long winding text. eLearning is evolving at a rapid pace, part of which is driven by emerging technologies, the gig economy, and automation, rapidly changing the nature of work and resulting in a “skills gap.” To top it, the disruption of face-to-face learning due to the pandemic pushed eLearning content development to new highs.

Consider this – eLearning industry growth is projected to increase from $101 billion in 2019 to $370 billion by 2026. And the growing need for students and employees to keep up with changes serves well for the eLearning industry. It’s a win-win for all as effective eLearning content can contribute measurably to a well-trained staff who can steer an enterprise to measurable growth.

So, How Is Technology Shaping the Industry?

In 2020, 90% of companies used eLearning as a training tool, according to Corporate E-learning – Global Market Outlook (2017-2026) report. It’s only going to pick up the pace with the introduction of new gadgets, innovative tools for trainers, and cutting-edge equipment that have enabled new eLearning experiences. Here are just a few emerging technologies that have taken the eLearning world by storm.

1. Virtual Reality (VR) – It comes with the promise of enhanced engagement, improved retention, and experiential learning. For instance, American Airlines’ VR training solution allows its cabin crew to explore the aircraft at their own pace and includes several passenger scenarios and practical guidance on performing tasks when airborne. Or take the example of the construction equipment rental company, United Rentals, which leveraged VR training solutions in its classroom. The trainer asks everyone questions based on real-life job scenarios, such as safety concerns. This allows the entire group to learn and participate in the VR experience even when they are not wearing the headset.

2. Augmented Reality (AR) – AR goes one step above VR by offering a composite view, making the learning process more interesting and easier to grasp. Plus, its promise of affordability makes it prime for adaptation even by small and mid-size companies. You don’t have to look far than Pokemon Go to realize the power of AR and its use is widespread.

For example, Deakin University in Australia uses an AR app to teach students to perform ECG procedures. The app features a 3D model of a heart with normal and abnormal cardiogram patterns and blood flow simulation with built-in testing modules to check what students have learned. While German industrial giant Bosch has its own AR platform, displaying wiring and block diagrams that help service technicians and consumers repair cars.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – AI tools are increasingly used to spot the difficult topics for students, identify students who need additional help, and produce personalized content plans at the click of a button. Many online learning platforms use AI to deliver tailored content to students without any human involvement. Many of these platforms also use spaced repetition learning systems and AI-powered chatbots to help with queries.

Perhaps the most famous example is IBM, whose corporate training platform leverages AI to recommend content based on the employee’s role, experience, and prior training. The popular foreign language-learning app Duolingo uses the Second Language Acquisition AI model to analyze a history of errors made by learners of a second language to predict the mistakes that they are likely to make at arbitrary points in the future for personalized learning.

4. Analytics or Big Data – Big Data helps eLearning experts understand how the users digest the information, which learning aspects appeal to them, and which learning interactions should be fine-tuned. Based on these patterns, eLearning experts can predict where learners may excel or struggle.

Australian superannuation fund UniSuper built an xAPI data model to gather data on training effectiveness, success rates, responses, participation rates, completion statistics, and employee confidence across several operational risks. The resulting interactive scenarios helped the company to increase users’ self-confidence scores, leading to better compliance.

Similarly, City & Guilds’ TechBac program for 14–19-year-olds uses big data to integrate data from multiple systems, websites, and apps and displays it to learners and their tutors on its Skills Zone portal. Learners can visualize their work on the City & Guilds Skills Wheel and export this data to their own tailored CV, customizing the information they present to potential employers.

Challenging the Status Quo

Learning has always been a teacher/student interaction model in which knowledge flows from one person to another. While this is still the status quo, the latest technologies like neural networks and machine learning challenge this model.

Now, developers can build applications that can automatically collect, sort, and organize the information, leading to on-demand learning and tutoring systems. And leveraging the engaging properties of gamification makes learning a more fun experience.